Salk Elementary School first opened for the 1971-72 school year. Salk was named after Dr. Jonas Salk. He was an American physician and epidemiologist who is best known for developing the first effective vaccine against polio, a crippling disease that killed more than 3,000 Americans at the epidemic peak in 1952, and left many thousands more crippled or paralyzed. Salk began his research into polio in 1947, and tested his inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) or “killed-virus” polio vaccine in the early 1950’s. The vaccine retained enough virulence to cause antibodies to be produced and thus immunize the shot’s recipient, but not enough virulence to risk infection. Salk declined to have his vaccine patented, believing that royalties and profits would raise the cost and make the medicine unavailable to the poor. The vaccine was approved for public use on 12 April 1955.

In November 1976, Mrs. Pat Johnson the gifted program teacher, arranged for 4 Salk students who were chosen by their classmates to travel to the Jonas Salk Institure in La Jolla, California to interview Dr. Salk. The Mesa School Board approval was given and Mrs. Johnson, the school principal Dr. Phelps Wilkins, and the 4 students, Nancy Hensley, (3rd grade), Paul Williams (6th grade), Stacy Nutt (5th grade), and Khali Crawford (5th grade) took the students to interview Dr. Salk, documenting the trip to give a presentation at the Salk Dedication Birthday Party in Jaunuary which they did. The students talked with Dr. Salk about 30 -45 minutes and presented him with a $50.00 check from Student Council for research, a Salk T-shirt and some other items. The students were impressed that he was a “regular man”, and very quiet. He gave the students a poem he wrote on one of his wife’s drawings and also wrote them a letter thanking them for their gifts and their visit.

Salk recently celebrated 35 years with a community celebration in April 2009. Salk Elementary School also is a recipient of the 2011 A+ School of Excellence Award2011 A+ School of Excellence Award2011 A+ School of Excellence Award2011 A+ School of Excellence Award from the Arizona Educational Foundation. We were one of 25 schools selected in the state of Arizona that year!