History of Vina F. Danks Middle School
Vina Francis Danks
Vina Danks Middle School was originally called Ontario Junior High School and had 7th and 8th grade students. It was built in 1922-23 at its current site with 4th Street on the north, J Street on the south, and Vine Avenue on the west. Its first year of enrollment was the 1923-24 school year, with the first graduating class numbering 187 students. The front entrance of the school was facing J Street. Vina Francis Danks was the original principal of Ontario Junior High School until her death due to a heart attack in 1938. Miss Danks taught at San Antonio School for several years before becoming the principal at San Antonio School in 1914. She remained the principal and 8th grade teacher at San Antonio School prior to her taking the principal position at Ontario Junior High School in 1923. Prior to her death, during the bad floods of 1938, Miss Danks took students home who were stranded, fed and housed them overnight and took them to school the next day. She soon came down with the flu, returned to school and suffered the heart attack on March 16, 1938. The Ontario Junior High School's name was changed in 1939 in honor of its former principal, to Vina F. Danks Junior High School.
Because the main building was built prior to the earthquake standards adopted in California in the Field Act of 1933, it was torn down and a new main building was built in 1975 where the atheletic fields used to be. The main entrance to the new building was now facing Vine Avenue instead of J Street. The site of the old school building was used to build handball and tennis courts. When the new building was opened in 1975, 6th grade was added to the school. In 1983 the name of the school was changed to Vina Danks Middle School.
The names of the principals in the history of our school are:
Vina Danks 1923-1938
Bruce Miller 1938-1940
Homer Briggs 1940-1951
Mildred Fulmor 1951-1957
Josephine Goldsmith 1957-1965
Raymond Wiltsey 1965-1977
Patrick King 1977-1982
Susan Crum 1982-1984
Ken Gable 1984-1990
Betty Normand 1990-1992
Jeanette Troesh 1992-1996
Ellen Ransons 1996-present