Rosita Park / Covington History
The Complete History of the Covington Site
1952
Covington Junior High opened with seventh grade students. Los Altos School District enrollment in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s was significantly larger than it is today - by 2000 students - and at one point operated on double shifts! Covington was constructed in three stages with construction lasting through 1955 while students attended. Covington was the anchor junior high for Los Altos and had an enrollment greater than 500 students.
1953
St. Nicholas School opened on Rosita Avenue with four grades.
1954
Covington Pool opened
1959
St. Nicholas Parish split to accommodate the growing Catholic population in Los Altos and St. William Church was founded. The school that began in 1953 was renamed St. William School. St. Nicholas later acquired the land at El Monte and 280 and reopened in 1961. St. William Parish operated both the School and the Church (in the Parish Hall, which is still standing and is home to basketball and volleyball today) at that site. The school had 8 grades with about 50 students per grade and the Church operated several services each Sunday morning.
1971
Church building opened on El Monte. Originally, St. William planned to build the Church on Rosita, but there was significant concern from Rosita neighbors about traffic on the cul-de-sac. The Church acquired the property on El Monte and the Church was built there. St. William School, with its approximately 400 students, continued to operate on Rosita.
1975
Covington School was converted from a junior high to an elementary school.
1980
Covington Elementary closed.
1990
St. William School closed because of declining enrollment. However, Waldorf School operated at the site from 1990 through 1995 when it moved into its current location on Mora Avenue (the old LASD Eastbrook School which had been closed.) In 1996, Waldorf School enrollment was 180 students and has grown to 240 today.
1996
The City of Los Altos acquired, for $6.385 million, the 5.5-acre St. William parcel on Rosita, which became Rosita Park. Because Los Altos is nearly completely built out, the opportunity to purchase the land was a golden opportunity to augment Los Altos' minimal recreational land holdings.
1999
St. William School buildings were demolished early in the year and the park was dedicated in October. (The baseball diamond and soccer fields were first used in spring 2000).
2001
Covington Pool demolished and Covington School renovations began.
2002
Springer School uses Covington Campus as camp school during their renovations. After a 20+ year hiatus, the campus is once again an active elementary school.
2003
Covington School re-opens August 25, 2003.