Jefferson School opened as an elementary school in November of 1958 during the "Baby Boom." It was named after President Thomas Jefferson. It was built on 10.4 acres, which was purchased in 1956 for $104,000.00. Its construction costs at that time were $631,000.00. Additions were made in 1993, 1995 and 1997 after it became a middle school. It currently has 9 buildings with 27 classrooms.

During the fifties and sixties, the new Torrance Unified School District sought to serve the needs of the growing suburb of Torrance by quickly adding new schools. The huge jump in population growth in the Los Angeles area after World War II placed great demands on the resources of the area. Almost every school district in the Los Angeles county was constructing new schools to meet the demands of all the new families flocking into the area. Industry was booming and school districts kept growing and growing.

At one point, in 1967, Jefferson Elementary School had an erollment of 785 students, Kindergarten through Eighth Grade. But, as the sixites ended, the population boom began slowing and enrollment at Torrance's schools' began declining. Jefferson was designated as a middle school in 1971. As the area's housing prices increased, and the population aged, there were fewer and fewer school-age children in the Southwood area, which Jefferson served. In 1986, Jefferson Middle School was closed and students for that area were re-assigned to Bert Lynn Middle School. The school district retained the site, using it as an Adult Education Center until 1993. In 1993, it was re-opened with sixth-graders only for the first year.

Principals
George Marich - 1958 to 1968
William Zecher - 1968 to 1971
Paul Harenski - 1971 to 1981
Robert Scharf - 1981 to 1986 and 1993 to 2000
James Jones - 2000 to 2008
Lee Lee Chou - 2008 - present