Our Name

Lucille M. Nixon School proudly bears the name of an outstanding Palo Alto educator.  From 1958 to 1963, Lucille (“Luchi”) Nixon served as consultant for curriculum and instruction for the elementary grades of the Palo Alto Unified School District.  She had originally come to the district in 1948 as a classroom teacher.  In 1956, she gained international attention when her poetry won an award.  She met an untimely death in 1963 at the age of 55.  At that time, the Palo Alto Board of Education lamented her loss:

“The district has lost a great educator, a teacher, a teacher of teachers, and above all, a creative person of remarkable stature.  In a day of increasing specialization, she was able to make contributions on an astonishingly wide front which embraces reading and writing, social studies, art, literature, intercultural studies, programs for gifted students and the stimulation of creativity in young children.  The district can take pride in the fact that it has created an environment in which a Lucille Nixon could develop and flourish.”

When our school opened in 1970, the parents and staff of the PAUSD gave tribute to the contributions made by Lucille Nixon by naming our school after her.

Nixon School has the largest grounds of all the PAUSD Elementary schools, and the architecture was designed to reflect and promote a sense of space both within and around the building, with the library serving as the central hub of the school’s activities.