About Us

"Building Thoughtful Citizens"   The Brisbane School District is a public, K-8 school district comprised of two elementary schools and one middle school with a combined enrollment of approximately 550 students. The district lies just south of the city of San Francisco, nestled within the eastern side of San Bruno Mountain, and includes the Southern Hills portion of Daly City, the city of Brisbane, and the northeastern corner of the city of South San Francisco.  

Brisbane offers the kind of humanistic and rich instructional program many parents have given up on trying to find in public schools. The Board of Trustees has adopted an integrated instructional program in which we teach basic skills through the focus of year-long themes. We consciously teach basic democratic values along with basic skills and the California Content Standards. These form the core of a rich, meaningful, academically-rigorous instructional program. This program is known as Highly Effective Teaching or HET.  (For more information on HET, go to http://www.thecenter4learning.com/html/resources/hetmodel.htm.)   

Of course, we have computers, but technology is seen as a means for learning rather than an end. We have high test scores, but more importantly, our children develop an enthusiasm for learning and a confidence in their ability to compete.   

The Brisbane School District does not have any charter, magnet, or year-round schools. All schools have traditional calendars.   

Our Vision   The students of the Brisbane School District will be safe, happy, engaged, respectful, and motivated learners.  They will be critical thinkers who are creative, collaborative, and courageous.  Students will reach their full and unique potential academically, emotionally, socially, and physically.  Students will engage in and learn from the real world, participating in and contributing to their communities. 

If you have questions or would like additional information, please feel free to contact any of the following individuals:

Ms. Toni Presta, Superintendent - Brisbane School District: One Solano Street, Brisbane, CA 94005-1342; Tel: 415-467-0550 

Ms. Jolene Heckerman, Principal - Lipman Middle School: One Solano Street, Brisbane, CA 94005-1342; Tel: 415-467-9541 

Mr. Chad Carvey, Principal - Brisbane Elementary School: 500 San Bruno Avenue, Brisbane, CA 94005; Tel: 415-467-0120 

Mr. Chad Carvey, Principal - Panorama Elementary School: 25 Bellevue Avenue, Daly City, CA 94014; Tel: 415-586-6595   

OUR HISTORY:  The Brisbane School District was, in, 1859, part of the San Mateo School District No. 1.  This included the later districts of San Mateo, Hillsborough, Millbrae, Rockaway, San Pedro, Jefferson, San Bruno, South San Francisco, Brisbane and Bayshore.  

By 1866, other district branched off, and the boundaries were essentially those of the existing cities of Daly City and Brisbane.  In 1874, the Visitacion School District (Bayshore and Brisbane) branched off from the Jefferson School District.  At this time, the school district boundaries included most of San Bruno Mountain and were coterminous with that of the old Rancho Cañada Guadalupe La Visitación y Rodeo Viejo land grant from which it derived its name.   

In 1937-38, the portion of the district now known as Bayshore was separated to form a new district.  The remaining portion kept the name of Visitacion until 1940 when it took its present name of Brisbane.  With the departure of the Bayshore area, the Vistacion District went from being a loosely rectangular area to resembling more of a kidney-shape.  At the time, it was thought that the top of San Bruno Mountain would be developed and the various communities in the district would be contiguous. 

As a promise to the Southern Hills community, the District purchased a school site of 17.8 acres adjacent to the end of South Hill Boulevard in the late 1950s-early 1960s.  The school was named Panorama School after the Panorama Development Company which was building new homes in the area.   

The district’s current boundaries form a rough kidney shape from the west side of the San Francisco Bay, over San Bruno Mountain, and across parts of the cities of South San Francisco, Brisbane, and Daly City.  The district’s northwest edge abuts San Francisco, and the southeast corner includes a small portion of the city of South San Francisco. 

The district's three district schools - Brisbane Elementary School (1936), Lipman Middle School (1956), and Panorama Elementary School (1963) - serve approximately 570 students in grades K-8.   As of July 1, 2010, the District employs approximately 77 employees, including 44 certificated (credentialed) staff, 33 classified (non-teaching) staff, and 6 management personnel (all of whom are counted as certificated or classified staff).