Sabin Elementary School

School Description

Sabin Elementary is named in honor of two sisters who dedicated their lives to the welfare of others, Mary S. Sabin and Dr. Florence Sabin. Mary and Florence were born in Central City in 1869 and 1871. Later the family moved to Denver. Upon graduating from Smith College in1891, Mary Sabin was offered an Assistantship in Astronomy. She refused the offer as she felt that she should help her sister, Florence, continue her education. Mary returned to Denver and accepted a position as teacher of mathematics at East High School. She continued teaching there until she retired in 1931. Mary was one of the founders of the Colorado Mountain Club as a result of her knowledge and love of nature. Florence Sabin graduated from Smith College and entered Johns Hopkins Medical School in the class of 1900. In 1917 she was the first woman to attain the rank of full professor at Johns Hopkins University. When she was 73 years old, she embarked on her second great career as chairwoman of a Colorado committee on health. She campaigned in every one of the 63 counties of Colorado to promote a series of bills to bring Colorado a modern public health program. Before the Legislature adjourned in 1947, the Sabin Health Laws had been passed. One of the many honors she received is a statue of her likeness in Statuary Hall in the Capitol at Washington, D.C. Sabin Elementary was opened on February 17, 1958. On January 29, 1962, a ten-room addition was opened. Five years ago a commons area was added and the library media center was expanded. In 1997 the playground was completely renovated with grass, trees, and sprinkler system.

Learning Landscape Description

This master plan has a strong Colorado theme focused on geography, geology, and ecology and includes an inlaid fossil walkway, climbing boulders that spatially represent the Colorado Fourteeners, a shade structure that mimics the snowcapped mountains of Colorado, and maps.