What Back to School Looked Like in Vintage Los Angeles

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3 children heading into a school on the first day

It's the day lots of adults look forward to, and lots of kids dread. After a summer of fun, it's time to start setting that alarm again, shop for supplies, and go back to school!

Looking through our photo archives, not much has changed from days gone by, though the school year does seem to start earlier and earlier, with LAUSD students going back to school on August 14.

And don't forget, the Los Angeles Public Library is your best resource as you head back to the classroom.

Dr. Alexander Stoddard, new superintendent of schools, and Mrs. Bertha Norton, teacher, look over the first group of children
Dr. Alexander Stoddard, new superintendent of schools, and Mrs. Bertha Norton, teacher, look over the first group of children enrolled in kindergarten at Fremont School, [September 13, 1948]. Herald Examiner Collection
Women waking up and turning off her alarm clock
Photograph caption dated September 14, 1962 reads,
a man and a women point at a back to school sign on a chalk board
School bells beckoning Valley students also sound a call to square dancers as fall and winter club schedules begin. Pictured are Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Davis of Square Crows, [September 7, 1961]. Valley Times Collection
Shown modeling fall fashions are Sandie Bingaman, Sonia Dennis and Jane Bum Balugh
Photograph caption reads "The May Company Valley Tea Room was the setting for a Back-To-School Fashion Show presented by the Central Valley District Camp Fire Girls last week. Shown modeling fall fashions are Sandie Bingaman, Sonia Dennis and Jane Bum Balugh," [September 11, 1956]. Valley Times Collection
Joe Wedgewood and his dog, Major
"You have to stay home, pal," says Joe Wedgewood as he ties up his dog, Major, before returning to school on September 15, 1947—the first day of the fall semester. More than 650,000 school children all over the county marched back to their classrooms this morning, [1947]. Herald Examiner Collection
Teen age models in the latest fashions, 1962
Back to school fashions at Fashion Square in San Fernando Valley. Teen-age models are from left Terry King, Sherman Oaks; Andrea Aston, Sunland, and Barbara Hunter, also Sherman Oaks, [1962]. Valley Times Collection
, first grade pupils of Hoover Street School gathered around their teacher, Miss Martha Ingram
Back to the world of reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic after three months of summertime, first-grade pupils of Hoover Street School gathered around their teacher, Miss Martha Ingram, for their first lesson on September 17, 1951. Nearly 600,000 boys and girls answered the call of school bells as the fall semester opened. Herald Examiner Collection
Students at Eagle Rock
Students at Eagle Rock's first elementary school in 1888. The school was located at the corner of Casper and Colorado. It was razed about 1908. Security Pacific National Bank Collection
Group photograph of the first class of the first public school in the San Fernando Valley
Group photograph of the first class of the first public school in the San Fernando Valley, on the site of the San Fernando Reservoir near Lopez Street, [1884]. Valley Times Collection
Young students pose for a class photo outside of the wooden schoolhouse of the Lemon School in Puente
Young students pose for a class photo outside of the wooden schoolhouse of the Lemon School in Puente, later to be known as La Puente, [ca 1890]. Security Pacific National Bank Collection