One of the earliest schools on record was “Foster School,” sometimes referred to as “San Vicente School.”  Joseph Foster, County Supervisor for many years, owned the ranch which became the town of Foster.

As the population grew there was a need for a school. On the Foster ranch was a homesteader’s cabin owned by Joseph “Uncle Joe” Foster that became the first school. It was located just outside and north of the boundary line of the El Cajon Rancho Grant. The Foster School District was formed in 1879, and classes started the same year.

When the Cuyamaca-Eastern Railroad line was extended from Lakeside to Foster in 1892, the settlement aroundFoster’s Ranch grew and in 1893 was granted a post office with Angel M. Corona as Postmaster. The town of Foster was about 3 miles north of Lakeside. The Foster school lapsed July 3, 1895 when many families moved away.

January 8, 1913: 15 families living within the school boundaries, with school age children and residing at a greater distance than two miles by a traveled road from the school house, petitioned the County Superintendent of Schools for the reformation of the school district to be known as Foster School District.

The signed petition indicates some pupils lived 6 1/4 and 6 1/8 miles from the school. There were 27 children over  five years of age and under 17 years of age, and six children under five years of age.

Following a hearing the petition was granted and the Foster School District was reformed February 10, 1913. The district was created from territory from Poway, El Capitan and Lakeside School Districts. The old homesteader’s school building was torn down and a new building was built in the same location.

The school lapsed again in 1925 when the last two pupils graduated. All the families had moved out after the City of San Diego purchased a large area of land for the San Vicente Dam site. During the years of  1924-1925 and 1925-1926 the pupils of the Foster District were educated at Lakeside Grammar School. Foster School district was admitted to the Lakeside Union School district February 20, 1928.

The second schoolhouse was bought by Harold Laws, a member of the Foster School Board, and moved to his lot on Orange Street (now Castle Court Drive) in Lakeside. The site of the old school is now covered by the waters of the San Vicente Dam. As of 2011, the home remains as an enlarged residence.