School History

Calaroga Jr. High School school opened in September, 1957. Originally, the board named the school Holly Hill Upper Grade School, but the student body chose a different name, Calaroga. The name was selected by the student body because Calaroga was a city in the province of castle in Spain and withstood the sieges of the moors. When the Calaroga missionaries came to California, they built churches and hospitals. One hospital in particular accomplished many good deeds. This hospital was located in the area of Southgate, Hayward. With this in mind, the students felt Caloraga would be a fine name for the school. Calaroga was the Mt. Eden School District’s first 7th and 8th grade school.  

 

 

After 25 years, Calaroga school was closed in 1983 because the District made a decision to close all of the junior high schools.

In August of 1986, after having been closed for 3 years by the District, the old Calaroga Jr. High School was reopened and named Martin Luther King Jr. Intermediate School after the great civil rights leader.   Many teachers who had worked there in the 60’s, 70’s, and early 80’s under its previous name, such as Glen Arney and Dave Cobble, returned after spending those 3 years at an elementary school. In addition, the district hired new teachers to cover positions at King and 3 other newly-reopened Intermediate Schools.

 

 

During the 1st semester of that school year, King held a contest to decide the school’s mascot and full name. Cobras ended up being the choice of the students, and a 2nd contest led to the specific Cobra that was put on letter-heads, t-shirts, and other school-related item.

In the spring of 1987, an assembly was held which made the new name official, and guests from the Hayward School Board, NAACP, and even our then mayor attended. A letter was read to the audience from Martin Luther King III thanking Hayward for the honor at that assembly.       

 

 

The 1st King Intermediate School Yearbook came out in June of 1987. It showed the new school mascot and design as well as some pictures from the assembly. In later years, a mural was also created by the students that adorned the entrance to the school, with the phrase, Where Potential Becomes Reality, on it. That phrase was the primary motto of the school for the better part of 25 years.

 

 

In 2008, the district passed the Measure I school funding bond to rebuild some of the Hayward schools. A new gym, field, MPR, library, media lab and additional building and classrooms were added to the newly-remodeled school. The rebuilding allows King Middle School to become a school of the 21th century.