I had fanciful expectations before heading over to San Francisco’s esteemed Lowell High School. This is, after all, a school that has produced some of the most accomplished Americans in history, reaching the highest ranks of government, business, science and the arts.

I figured I would find the Taj Mahal of education, some sort of mythic marbled-columned Acropolis with scholars roaming the campus reciting the classics, perhaps from unfurled scrolls.

However, as I quickly discovered, Lowell is very much a public high school. Tidy, but not fancy. The buildings feel dated, the floors are plain blue linoleum, and the walls are scuffed and could use fresh paint – typical of most public schools these days.

Oh, and no scrolls.

And just like other California schools, despite its many achievements, Lowell has faced budget cuts because of the state’s fiscal crisis and the recession. But Lowell is dealing with these shortfalls in an unusual way – outsiders have stepped forward and raised private donations for the public school.

Sure, other public schools do fundraisers, but at Lowell we’re talking about a substantial amount of money, and it’s not to build some fancy new wing. The funds are being used for day-to-day operating expenses, or as one alumnus called it, “the nuts and bolts.”

The effort is extraordinary, and the subject of my column today.

So who attends Lowell? Prospective students must apply, and competition to enroll is intense. This make these students the city’s academic elite, but that does not mean they’re all from privileged homes. In fact, out of the 2,550 students, more than 1,000 come from lower-income families.

Overwhelmingly, the student population is Asian. San Francisco has one of the largest Asian populations per capita of any American city, about one in three residents. But at Lowell, here’s the ethnic breakdown:

African American          2.4%
Chinese                      51.1%
Filipino                         6.2%
Japanese                      1.4%
Korean                         1.5%
Latino                           8.0%
Native American            0.2%
Other Non-White         14.7%
Other White                14.5%

No doubt these numbers will once again bring up the “tiger mom” discussion that has swirled around Amy Chua’s recent book, which some have suggested is proof that Chinese mothers are doing a better job raising kids.

However, the diversity at Lowell could also be a reflection of the ambitions of immigrant families, perhaps here in the U.S. for only a few generations or less.

Whatever the reason, they see the promise that a school like Lowell holds. True, there are no marble columns here, but clearly that’s not what matters.