C. Fred Schroeder
College and Career Academy
Year Founded: 1962-63
Colors: Blue and White
Mascot: Mustangs
History of Schroeder Elementary School
By the 1960s Huntington Beach was beginning to grow from being a small coastal town known for its surf culture and oil production to an expanding suburban city like Westminster. This would mean that schools would need to be built for the children of these new neighborhoods. At the border where Westminster and Huntington Beach met on Bolsa Avenue new schools were constructed as a part of the Westminster School District. C. Fred Schroeder was one of these schools taking in the students from the new neighborhood.
In 1962, students that would eventually be the first official class of Schroeder Elementary attended Clara Cook School about a mile and a half away. In 1963, Schroeder Elementary was opened by the school’s first principal, Iva Meairs, an experienced Westminster educator. The move from Cook School was recounted decades later by one of its first teachers Lucea Shipler, who walked the classroom rug with her kindergarten students from Cook over to the new school. ”
After Mrs. Meairs retired in 1965 the second principal, Mr. Glen Stice, brought his sense of community ethics with him to Schroeder, seen in his family’s singing group, the Stice Singers. Additionally, Schroeder’s PTA has been incredibly active since its inception, with 400 active members in 1972 and has remained strong since.
As time changed, so did Schroeder. Declining enrollment and rising financial costs meant Schroeder took in students and teachers from closed schools. By the 1990s, an increasing number of pupils meant that the district needed to once again consolidate. Students from the closed Franklin school neighborhood eventually warranted the addition of portable classrooms.
The school’s namesake, Reverend Christian Fredrick Schroeder, was a prominent resident of the Midway City-Westminster area. The son of German immigrants, he served as the minister of the Midway City Friends Church and was active in community organizations such as the Rotary Club. In recognition of his work with the Westminster School District PTA, the new school was named in his honor.
Photos
C. Fred Schroeder School shortly after it was opened. c. 1963 (WSD Photo)
Schroeder students from Ms. Knapp’s kindergarten class, c. 2001. (Hungerford Collection)
Reverend C. Fred Schroeder. The colored photo was presented to the school by his family during the school’s dedication on June 26, 1963. (WSD Photo)
FUN FACT
- From the 1980s to 1995 Schroeder school had a pet cat named Friskie. She started off following kids to school and eventually made Schroeder her home where everyone took care of her at the school. She even had her picture taken multiple times for the school yearbook. (WSD Photo)
