Our school has a long history in the community of San Diego stretching back nearly a century. We opened our doors as Ocean View School, as pictured above right, sometime before 1925. Ocean View was outside city limits at this time until becoming part of San Diego City Schools in 1925 and thrived until the 1960's. In 1964, soon after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the charismatic and popular Democratic President, the school went through a major rennovation and was rebuilt and renamed John F. Kennedy Elementary.
Then in the late1970's and early 1980's, the school began to struggle with declining enrollment, a high turnover rate of students and declining test scores. In 2004, with the passing of Prop MM, Kennedy Elementary was rebuilt and renamed Walter J. Porter Elementary School after co-founder of ECC, former teacher at Lincoln High School, entertainer, and local educational reformer, Walter J. Porter. In December 2005 we moved into our new south campus on T Street and the following year the old Kennedy was torn down to make space for the new Porter North Campus. Today, Walter J.Porter is flourishing on both campuses with over 1,000 students. Porter South campus houses TK-2, while Porter North campus houses 3-5.