What were the first public schools like in Pleasanton? How have they changed over the years?

A group of community members are seeking to answer those questions through their work on the newly formed School History Committee of Amador/Pleasanton Public Schools. And with committee members like Anthony Silva and Jim Georgis, their work should be fruitful.

Silva is a recently retired school district employee who came on board in 1948. He remembers when the district consisted solely of Amador High School, built in 1922 and from which he graduated. Georgis is a Pleasanton resident since 1920 and has made a fulltime hobby out of collecting and maintaining old Pleasanton artifacts and photographs.

The School History Committee was convened by La Vern Walker, purchasing manager for the school districts. The committee has outlined three projects to tackle over the coming year. First, a visual timeline will be created. The timeline will show all the schools, school board members and superintendents from the local districts' histories. Volunteers will be reviewing school board minutes from over the years to pull pertinent information.

Second, the committee will schedule and organize interviews with "most senior students" who still live in the area. Volunteer interviewers will work to obtain and compile first hand accounts of old school days from these former students. The goal is to edit these interviews into a video tape.

The third component of the committee's efforts is coordinating the donations and loans of mementos from members of the community. The items will be handled with care by Ann Doss, Curator of the Amador/Livermore Historical Society Museum located at 603 Main Street.

Doss will catalog the shared artifacts and will make copies of unique items on loan. Community members are urged to consider donating or loaning old school yearbooks, class photos, programs from special events and graduations, report cards and any other items like these being sought by the committee.

Committee originator, Walker says, "we're quite enthusiastic about this project. Lots of people have expressed a desire to help out."

If you'd like to be involved in the School History Committee, call Walker at 462-5500 during the work week.

Monthly meetings are scheduled for the fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:30 pm in the school district's administrative office, 123 Main Street.

To see a reproduction of the original article and edition of Pleasanton Pathways, visit: August 11, 1986 Pathways.