Jefferson School was constructed in the years immediately following the conclusion of World War II and opened in the fall of 1949. The school was built to relieve over-crowding at Franklin and Whitney Elementary Schools. It consisted of six classrooms, each of which was filled to capacity that first year.

Fortunately, Jefferson was designed so that new rooms could be easily added. In 1953, six classrooms were built onto the south end of the school. In 1955, six more were added onto the north end, making Jefferson an 18-room school.