32°42′09.09″N 117°03′55.16″W / 32.7025250°N 117.0653222°W / 32.7025250; -117.0653222

The O'Farrell Charter Schools is a system of public charter schools on a campus in San Diego, California, United States. The school opened its doors in the San Diego Unified School District in 1959 chosen in 1957 as Mabel E. O'Farrell Junior High.^[1] It was voted to become a charter school in 1994.

Through the years, the O'Farrell Charter School has received numerous awards and distinctions. It was named one of America's top high schools by U.S. News and World report six years in a row. It has also been named a school of distinction by National Center for Urban School Transformation. O'Farrell is an AVID National Demonstration School.

Schools within a school

The O'Farrell Charter Schools is divided into two local education agencies and multiple schools.

• The O'Farrell Charter Schools are comprised of:
  • The O'Farrell Elementary School
  • The O'Farrell Charter Middle School
  • The O'Farrell Charter High School
• Ingenuity Charter School is an Independent Study and Blended Learning Program located on the campus as well as other resource centers in Southeast San Diego.

All schools operate on the same campus at the corner of 61st Street and Skyline Drive. The middle school entrance is off of Skyline Drive, at 6130 Skyline. The high school entrance in located at a separate entrance at 6150 Skyline Drive. The elementary school entrance is located on the intersecting 61st Street.

Each O'Farrell school has a principal and vice principal, and has a separate program, teachers, and bell schedules.

In 2014, "Ingenuity Charter School, Blended Learning Independent Study Program" was added as an official part of The O'Farrell Charter Schools. Students attend in person at one of the school's resource centers at least twice per week and work independently online on the other days.

Athletics

The O'Farrell Falcons (also O'Farrell Charter Falcons or OCS Falcons) is the name of all athletic teams that represent the O'Farrell Charter Middle School, the O'Farrell Charter High School and Ingenuity Charter School. The Falcons compete in a high school athletic association called the CIF (California Interscholastic Federation), of which they are in Division 5 of the San Diego Section. The Falcons' name represents members of every O'Farrell school (see Schools within a School heading above), primarily their athletic teams. Along with the men's volleyball team, the men's and women's basketball teams compete in the Summit League. The soccer teams and cross country teams are members of the Frontier-Patriot League, the women's volleyball team is in the Frontier-Sierra league, and the school's varsity football team is a part of the Pacific League. O'Farrell Charter has a strong rivalry with the Calexico Bulldogs and Tubman Village Tigers.

Trivia

President Bill Clinton made a visit to San Diego in 1995 to sign the Goals 2000 education bill and to visit O'Farrell because it was a charter.^[2]

The school was mentioned in Hillary Clinton's book It Takes a Village.^[3]

Notable alumni

• Rosalie Hamlin, known for 1960 song "Angel Baby"^[4]
• Shirley Horton, California assemblywoman and former mayor of Chula Vista^[5]
• Tom Waits, claimed to have attended this school and remembered it as an all-black school in a 1973 interview^[6]

References