The War Years
The year 1939 brought many changes to the school. It was the end of the Great Depression, but also the start of WWII. Because of the war, Clairbourn's high school and middle school grades were discontinued, and a nursery school program was added. A property expansion followed in 1956 when an adjacent 5-acre estate came on the market. The estate was purchased and Clairbourn School took over the whole 8-acre block.
The School Takes Shape
By the 1980s, Clairbourn settled in to offering preschool through 8th grade classes, and had become a popular and respected destination for families seeking a private school education for their children. The campus facilities, however, which still had older buildings from when the property was comprised of two residential estates, required a lot of work, to match the quality of instruction taking place. To bring the campus into the 20th Century, Clairbourn's Trustees established a Master Plan that included a renovated infrastructure of sidewalks, central lighting, irrigation, electrical and gas lines, as well as a new Library, Art Studio, and Music Room. By 1986, all these improvements were in place.
Other key structures, such as a new 4th and 5th grade classrooms building and a Multi-Purpose Building to house indoor sports and assemblies, soon followed in the late 1980s and early 90s.