New Library/Innovation Center building dedicated on PLHS campus

A new three-story Library/Innovation Center building was among the new site modernization phases dedicated recently on the Point Loma High School campus.

The library, with several large conference rooms and student study areas, and 20 new classrooms on the two top floors, was the focus of the June 6 event held in the spacious new quad area of the 97-year-old campus. Also celebrated was the renovation of the 200 and 300 buildings on campus and upgrades to Pete Ross Stadium, which include practice fields for athletics, band, and NJROTC students plus new stands and facilities for visiting fans.

Dr. Sharon Whitehurst-Payne, San Diego Unified School District Board of Education president, praised the beauty of the new building and noted this year’s senior class will be able to once again have its graduation on campus in the updated stadium.

The school’s ASB president, Ella Sykes, told how “Students feel proud to be at Point Loma High School and see their transformed campus. We will be excited to graduate next week on our football field, the first class to do so since 2019.”

PLHS students hold both ends of the ribbon at the dedication of the school’s new Library/Innovation Center building, which also includes 20 new classrooms. From left are Principal Kelly Lowry; Lee Dulgeroff, chief of facilities planning and construction, San Diego Unified; ASB president Ella Sykes; PLHS library technician Lisa Cooper; School Board President Dr. Sharon Whitehurst-Payne; alumni director Kim Jessop Moore and former PLHS principals Hans Becker and Bobbie Samilson. SCOTT HOPKINS/PENINSULA BEACON

Kim Jessop Moore, director of the PLHS Alumni Association, reminded the crowd that the school’s first students in 1925 were inspired by the best teachers and motivated to excel. They built friendships that lasted a lifetime. While the beautiful Spanish architecture of the original campus is no longer visible, students of today will learn from the best teachers in the district and be inspired by the legacy of those who walked the halls before them, and continue to build those same friendships.

She gently chided those who bemoan the school’s “new look” when she said, “My 50th reunion is coming up next year and I have to be honest. The school doesn’t look the same but neither do I. But we’re both aging gracefully with a few upgrades.”

Principal Kelly Lowry welcomed former principals Bobbie Samilson and Hans Becker to the ceremony, both of whom were involved in early modernization planning and construction.

“We have many second, third and fourth generation students at Point Loma High and that’s what makes it so special,” Lowry noted.

Further improvements to the campus are planned.