History of the School

Hamlin School Founded in 1863

The Hamlin School traces its history from 1863. It was originally located at 402 Van Ness Avenue and was known as the Van Ness Seminary. Under the guidance of Mrs. Sarah B. Gamble, the school achieved a reputation for academic excellence. At a later date, the seminary moved to a new address at 1222 Pine Street.

In 1889 it came under the direction of the Reverend Samuel H. Willey, a pioneer missionary and educator. At that time, an advertisement of the school, complete with a large picture, appeared in the classified section of the San Francisco telephone directory announcing "a boarding and day school offering superior advantages for pursuing both Common and Special Studies."

A distinguished educator, Dr. Willey was instrumental in helping to develop California’s educational system. He arrived in Monterey in 1849 and opened a school there. He played an important role in the establishment of Benicia’s Young Ladies’ Seminary, later to become Mills Seminary, and then Mills College. He was also one of the founders of the University of California, which, in his day, was the College of California in Oakland.

In 1896, Miss Sarah Dix Hamlin acquired the school, and it now bore the sign, "Van Ness Seminary and The Hamlin School." Miss Hamlin was a woman of outstanding character and intelligence. She was born in Westford, Massachusetts, on November 27, 1844. For some years, she taught in New England and New Jersey and then decided to enter college. She was one of the few women accepted at the University of Michigan.

After graduation she spent a year in post-graduate work, and subsequently taught in a Detroit high school and a Nevada mining camp before coming to San Francisco. She was soon sent to India by the Ramabai Association of America to assist in the establishment of a school for child widows. On her return to San Francisco she taught at the Van Ness Seminary, which she eventually purchased. For 27 years she inspired and directed the school, whose next home was on Pacific Avenue. It gradually developed from a finishing school into a college preparatory school. When she died in 1923, her sister, Miss Kate Hamlin, took over the management of the school.

In September 1927, Mrs. Edward B. Stanwood, a close friend of Sarah Dix Hamlin, as well as a member of her faculty, became the new principal of the school. Mrs. Stanwood bought one of the Flood mansions, which had been built by James L. Flood and later given by Miss Jennie Flood to the University of California. Under Mrs. Stanwood’s guidance, the Sarah Dix Hamlin School moved to its current site on Broadway and continued to develop its fine academic program. Its graduates went on to competitive colleges nationally. In 1946, Mrs. Stanwood retired after 19 years of devoted service.

The school next came under the supervision of Miss Edith A. Mereen, a noted educator. In June 1957, the school was established as a nonprofit corporation, and a board of directors was formed. Miss Mereen retired on September 1, 1958.

Miss Mereen’s successor was Miss E. Louise Colvert who had come from Milwaukee-Downer Seminary where she had served for a number of years, first as teacher of English, then as head of the English Department, and finally as academic dean.

In October of 1959 Miss Lila McKinne, sister of Mrs. Stanwood, generously deeded to the corporation the school property. Subsequently a new classroom building was constructed on Vallejo Street. At the dedication on September 6, 1961, it became known as McKinne Hall and the building at 2120 Broadway as Stanwood Hall.

In 1968 Miss Colvert retired, and Mrs. Ernest H. Wiener became principal. The boarding department was abolished and Stanwood Hall was now used for administrative offices and classrooms. Development of additional space permitted an expansion of the curriculum, particularly in the area of the fine and performing arts. In the summer of 1970 the Jennie Mae Hooker Laboratory, housing science classrooms, was constructed in the area between Stanwood and McKinne Halls. In 1971, the Board of Directors added a new dimension to Hamlin with the decision to accept boys in the high school. Hamlin remained coeducational in grades 9-12 until the high school closed in 1975. Upon Mrs. Wiener’s retirement, Mr. Donald Gordon became the first male head of school.

In 1979 Mrs. Coghlan MacLean, a graduate of Mills College, who had served as a teacher, assistant in admissions, and assistant to the principal, was named principal. Mrs. MacLean retired in 1984 and was succeeded by Ms. Arlene Hogan.

A graduate of Brooklyn College and the University of Illinois, Ms. Hogan came to Hamlin from the Mary Institute in St. Louis, where she held administrative positions including assistant head of the upper school and head of the middle school. During her thirteen years as head of Hamlin, she also served as president of the California Association of Independent Schools and the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools. Under her leadership, Hamlin became a nationally recognized leader in girls’ education and constructed a new library, kindergarten rooms, gymnasium, and state-of-the-art technology and information center. Ms. Hogan completed her tenure in 1997.

Hamlin’s tenth head was Mrs. Coreen Ruiz Hester, who received her Masters in education from Stanford University. Mrs. Hester bought a rich and varied background in education to her position at Hamlin. She held the position of Principal of the High School at The American School in London, England, and the positions of Assistant Head of School and Interim Head of School at The Branson School in Ross, California. She taught high school English and served as director of the west coast office of Independent Educational Services, a national non-profit organization devoted to teacher and administrator placement. During her ten-year tenure, the school completed a successful capital campaign; the largest in Hamlin's history, reconfigured the campus, and brought the school into compliance with City ordinances for safety. In addition, the school expanded the footprint of the campus for the first time since 1927 by acquiring a lot adjacent to the school on Broadway and by receiving a donation of a house adjacent to the school on Vallejo Street. Along with other educational leaders in the community, Mrs. Hester was instrumental in the founding of the Bay Area Teacher Development Collaborative, a non-profit organization for the benefit of effective and strategic professional development for Bay Area teachers. In 2007, Mrs. Hester left the school to pursue the headship of The American School in London, England.

While the school conducted a national search to replace Coreen Ruiz Hester, Dr. Priscilla Winn Barlow served as the Interim Head of School in the 2007-08 school year.  Dr. Winn Barlow headed the upper school at the Wheeler School in Rhode Island, and served as the Dean of Girls and Upper School Principal at Milton Academy in Massachusetts before becoming the Principal of Havergal College in Toronto, Canada. Most recently, she served for six years as the Head of the Brearley School, a K-12 girls' school in New York City.

Wanda Holland Greene, the eleventh head of Hamlin is a graduate of Columbia College, who also received her Master of Arts degree in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching from Columbia University.  Ms. Holland Greene was most recently the Assistant Head of The Park School in Brookline, Massachusetts, a pre-school through 9th grade co-ed day school.  She joined The Park School in 1997 and served as Head of the Upper School for seven years and as the Acting Head of The Park School for six months, just prior to being promoted to Assistant Head of School in 2004.