The lower- and middle-school campuses of Ocean Beach’s homegrown independent Warren-Walker School, separated for two decades, are being reunited for the 2024-25 academic year.
Currently in Mission Valley, Warren-Walker Middle School for sixth through eighth grades will be returning to the Peninsula, and the school’s staff is excited to have all of its PK-eighth grade students next school year at its main campus once again at 4605 Point Loma Ave.
Lori Ornelas, associate head of curriculum and instruction and a middle-school instructor at Warren-Walker, discussed how the school’s two campuses got split apart, and are now coming back together.
“In the late ‘90s the lower school determined that we were ready to start a middle school, which we actually started building on the Point Loma campus improving an existing building there,” said Ornelas. “But enrollment at the middle school started to explode, and by the time the lower-school campus was completed, the middle school was already too big to go there. So, we looked for another place for our middle-school campus, and that turned out to be (2231 Camino del Rio S.) in Mission Valley where we’ve been for over 20 years.”
But times, and circumstances, have changed necessitating reuniting both lower- and middle-school campuses. “The plan for 20 years was to have a PK to eighth-grade campus in Point Loma,” Ornelas said. “It’s really been great here in Mission Valley. However, our lease was up for renewal again, as it is every five years, and the property here needs quite a bit of work. So our best option became investing in a property we do own, rather than investing in a property we don’t own.”
The school’s teaching methods are as independent as the school itself, said Kris Iacono, head of the lower school campus. “Warren-Walker School is focused on teaching children to become respectful and responsible citizens, successful scholars, and self-directed and independent thinkers,” he said. “The school has an academically challenging core curriculum (math, science, language arts, social studies) which is surrounded by what the school calls its ‘specialist programs.’ The specialist programs include Spanish, music, drama, art, physical education, and wellness in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, with the addition of team sports and industrial arts in sixth through eighth grades.”
Added Iacono: “Running through the center of all of this is a robust character education program, which is at the heart of the school’s ethos. At the youngest of ages, students learn about such traits as respect, responsibility, patience, self-discipline, and honesty. With a warm and welcoming community, Warren-Walker is a special place for kids to go to school.”
Ornelas concurred with Iacono that Warren-Walker is a great place to learn. “We’re a private, not religious, school and we’ve got an integrated, multi-faceted curriculum offering a well-rounded, hands-on education,” she said adding, “We call ourselves, ‘The pencil and paper school.’ We have created our own philosophy and approach. We are committed to developing scholarship along with character and depth and breadth of knowledge.”
The middle-school instructor noted that Warren-Walker is a great place to teach, too. “We have small class sizes, 12 to 14 students,” she said adding, “I’ve taught here for 21 years, and I love it.”
SCHOOL HISTORY
Warren-Walker School was founded in Ocean Beach in 1932 by Nellie Warren-Walker, an experienced educator who believed young children should be challenged with a multifaceted program that included music, foreign language, and the hands-on study of the world around them. Her first class was held above Sen. Kraft’s drugstore at 1891 Bacon St.
It moved in 1934 to larger quarters with a beach cottage at 4867 Santa Cruz Ave. In 1939, Walker purchased the current school site used for the Lower School at 4605 Point Loma Ave. and moved the cottage to the property. A new building was planned and built and still stands on the corner. Thereafter, Walker’s daughter, Ruth Sweeney, joined the school as an administrative assistant. The school continued to grow, surrounding the cottage with many of the buildings there today. Walker retired in 1980, leaving the direction of the school to Sweeney. In 1983, she was joined by Raymond J. Volker who became the school’s first headmaster. Sweeney retired in June of 1988, and Volker was joined by Janet H. Smith and Pamela L. Volker, who together made up the board of administration of Warren-Walker Schools. Twenty-five years ago, a middle school was created and has been operating in Mission Valley for the last 22 years. Next year, the middle school will be moving to the Point Loma campus to combine for a PK-eighth-grade educational experience. The three campuses currently accommodate 375 students.
