Luther Burbank Middle School (San Francisco, Calif.)

Luther Burbank Junior High School opened in 1956 to serve the Crocker-Amazon and Visitacion Valley neighborhoods of San Francisco. Classes were temporarily held at Samuel Gompers School while a new building was under construction. The new structure opened in the fall of 1957. Burbank became a middle school in 1978. Declining enrollment prompted the school district to close the school in the spring of 2006.

Historical Note

Luther Burbank Junior High School opened in 1955 to serve families residing in the Crocker-Amazon and Visitacion Valley districts of San Francisco. Classes were temporarily held at Samuel Gompers School at 22nd and Bartlett Streets while a new building was under construction. The new structure, designed to serve 1,500 students and called "The City's Most Beautiful School," opened in the fall of 1957 and was dedicated on April 30, 1959. Named in honor of the renowned botanist and naturalist, the school was located in a corner of John McLaren Park. After ten years, the school was serving 1,800 students. Burbank became a middle school in 1978. By 1989, the enrollment was at 900 students. Declining enrollment prompted the school district to close the school in the spring of 2006. The La Grande Avenue property currently houses the June Jordan School for Equity, a charter high school, and Excelsior Middle School.