O'Farrell Community School: Center for Advanced Academic Studies opened to students as a district-run magnet school on Tuesday, September 4, 1990 after one and one-half years of planning. O'Farrell Community School is the first middle level magnet school in the San Diego City Schools system whose focus and instructional program were determined through the collaborative efforts of teachers, administrators and community. The original design of the school program and organizational structure resulted from a careful study of reports regarding middle level schooling, including Caught in the Middle by James J. Fenwick, 1987 and Turning Points by the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development's Task Force on Education of Young Adolescents, 1989. O'Farrell's vision utilizes a student-centered, activity-oriented learning program, with state-of-the-art technology and community participation.