In the San Diego of 80 years ago, the term “Naval Training Center” (NTC) meant just that. Seven years in the making, the center opened in 1923, with 350 recruits enrolled in classes at four schools. Soon, hundreds of thousands of Navy personnel would live, work and receive educations on 200 acres of land north of San Diego Bay as the city sought to strengthen its economic ties with the military.
Wholesale changes have transformed NTC’s face since then. And while the recruits have long since departed from the decommissioned base, a new stage is being set in the spirit of NTC’s educational traditions.
The NTC Foundation has received an endowment from San Diego National Bank to fund the establishment of the School at NTC, a collaboration among NTC’s resident arts, culture, science and technology groups, and area schools. The $500,000 grant will fund a program of state standards-based courses taught by these groups. The goal of the program, said NTC Foundation board chairman Gordon Swanson, “is to bring students of all ages to NTC to experience the facilities and programs of our nonprofit and educational resident groups in a program that strengthens learning about arts, regional history, culture, science and technology.”
The grant, part of San Diego National Bank’s 25th anniversary celebration, is one of three such endowments to major community organizations.
A portion of the money will fund an NTC study to determine the grant’s most effective uses and the program’s most helpful directions.
“This is what we’re going to spend the next two months assessing,” said NTC Foundation executive director Alan Ziter. “We’re going to talk with educators, with our resident groups that go to the schools. Now that we have the funds, we’re going to outline a scope of work that we want to try to accomplish by March 1.”
Ziter added that he hopes “kids can actually start being on campus here as an innovative extension of the classroom” by September.
“Obviously,” Ziter continued, “the [schools] closest to the base would be the easiest to get kids from. But we want to find where the needs in the city are and what age ranges would benefit from the opportunities here.”
NTC comprises 26 historic buildings on 28 acres at the former San Diego Naval Training Center in Point Loma. The buildings, most of which date to the 1920s, were used by the Navy as training facilities, barracks and administration centers. All active military use on the base ceased in 1997. The following year, a charter was adopted to reopen the base for its new uses. Six buildings are set for completion this month.
For more information on the NTC Foundation, visit www.ntcpromenade.org.