The Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD) is a public school district in Santa Clara County, California, United States that serves roughly 14,000 students from the cities of Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and San Jose.[1][6] The Santa Clara Unified School District operates eighteen elementary schools (K–5), four middle schools (6–8), one TK–8 school, five high schools (9–12), one community day school, one adult education program, and one dual enrollment partnership with the West Valley–Mission Community College District.[4] The district is very diverse, with 71% of the community being nonwhite.[7]
| Santa Clara Unified School District | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
1889 Lawrence Road , California, 95051United States | |
| Coordinates | 37°21′27″N 121°59′44″W / 37.35739264149114°N 121.99544432834782°W |
| District information | |
| Type | Public[1] |
| Motto | Unlocking infinite potential in every child[5] |
| Grades | K–12[1] |
| Established | September 28, 1965[2] |
| Superintendent | Gary Waddell[3] |
| Schools | 31[4] |
| NCES District ID | 0635430[1] |
| Students and staff | |
| Students | 13,919[1] (2022–2023) |
| Teachers | 720.69 (FTE)[1] (2022–2023) |
| Staff | 1,582.07 (FTE)[1] (2022–2023) |
| Student–teacher ratio | 19.31[1] (2022–2023) |
| Colors | Dark Blue Orange Blue Yellow[5] |
| Other information | |
| Website | www |
History
Prior to 1965, the Santa Clara region comprised four school districts: the Alviso School District, the Santa Clara Elementary School District,[a] the Santa Clara Union High School District,[b] and the Jefferson School District.[2][11] Due to rapid population increases and industrialization, the four districts began making efforts to unify in the 1950s.[9][12] They ultimately merged in 1965 to form the Santa Clara Unified School District.[2]
The Santa Clara Unified School District underwent significant restructuring before the 1981–1982 school year.[13] Santa Clara Union High School closed and was converted into Buchser Middle School, and Buchser High School was renamed Santa Clara High School.[13] Additionally, Peterson High School was converted into Peterson Middle School, with the high school students joining the Wilcox High School student body.[13]
In June 2014, the Santa Clara Unified School District purchased 59.4 acres of the former Agnews Developmental Center to build a K–12 educational facility.[14] Agnew Elementary School and Huerta Middle School opened in 2021, and MacDonald High School opened in 2022.[15]
Schools
| Name[4][16] | Grades[17] | City[18] | Students[19] | FTE Teachers[19] | Pupil/ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abram Agnew Elementary School | K–5 | San Jose | 317 | 15 | 21.13 |
| Bowers Elementary School | K–5 | Santa Clara | 232 | 13 | 17.85 |
| Bracher Elementary School | K–5 | Santa Clara | 236 | 15.55 | 15.18 |
| Braly Elementary School | K–5 | Sunnyvale | 352 | 19.4 | 18.14 |
| Briarwood Elementary School | K–5 | Santa Clara | 287 | 14.6 | 19.66 |
| Buchser Middle School | 6–8 | Santa Clara | 715 | 39.67 | 18.02 |
| Juan Cabrillo Middle School | 6–8 | Santa Clara | 817 | 43.43 | 18.81 |
| Central Park Elementary School | K–5 | Santa Clara | 430 | 19.1 | 22.51 |
| Don Callejon Arts and Design School | K–8 | Santa Clara | 581 | 37.2 | 15.62 |
| C. W. Haman Elementary School | K–5 | Santa Clara | 319 | 16.4 | 19.45 |
| Dolores Huerta Middle School | 6–8 | San Jose | 377 | 17.05 | 22.11 |
| Kathryn Hughes Elementary School | K–5 | Santa Clara | 270 | 15 | 18 |
| Laurelwood Elementary School | K–5 | Santa Clara | 521 | 22.1 | 23.57 |
| Kathleen MacDonald High School | 9–12 | San Jose | 209 | 14.07 | 14.85 |
| George Mayne Elementary School | K–5 | Alviso | 300 | 14 | 21.43 |
| Millikin Elementary School | K–5 | Santa Clara | 518 | 22 | 23.55 |
| Mission Early College High School | 10–12 | Santa Clara | 159 | 6.93 | 22.94 |
| Montague Elementary School | K–5 | Santa Clara | 272 | 16 | 17 |
| New Valley High School | 9–12 | Santa Clara | 169 | 13.3 | 12.71 |
| Marian A. Peterson Middle School | 6–8 | Sunnyvale | 729 | 35.87 | 20.32 |
| Pomeroy Elementary School | K–5 | Santa Clara | 300 | 16.51 | 18.17 |
| Ponderosa Elementary School | K–5 | Sunnyvale | 501 | 22.7 | 22.07 |
| Santa Clara Adult Education | Adult | Santa Clara | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Santa Clara Community Day School | 6–12[20] | Santa Clara | 10 | 2.03 | 4.93 |
| Santa Clara High School | 9–12 | Santa Clara | 1849 | 92.81 | 19.92 |
| Scott Lane Elementary School | K–5 | Santa Clara | 396 | 19 | 20.84 |
| Sutter Elementary School | K–5 | Santa Clara | 305 | 15.1 | 20.2 |
| Washington Open Elementary School | K–5 | Santa Clara | 309 | 16 | 19.31 |
| Westwood Elementary School | K–5 | Santa Clara | 382 | 18.1 | 21.1 |
| Adrian C. Wilcox High School | 9–12 | Santa Clara | 1859 | 92.45 | 20.11 |
| Wilson High School | 9–12 | Santa Clara | 163 | 16.32 | 9.99 |
High schools
Kathleen MacDonald High School
MacDonald High School opened in 2022 and is the newest school in the Santa Clara Unified School District.[21]
Mission Early College High School
Mission Early College High School is a dual enrollment partnership with the West Valley–Mission Community College District.[22] It was established in 2017 as a college immersion program to replace the former Mission Middle College Program.[22]
New Valley High School
New Valley High School is a small alternative continuation high school.[23]
Santa Clara High School
Santa Clara High School, originally established as Santa Clara Union High School in 1872, moved to the campus of then-Emil R. Buchser High School in 1981.[24][13]
Adrian C. Wilcox High School
Wilcox High School opened in 1961 and has been a California Distinguished School since 2005.[25][26] It is named after Adrian Clyde Wilcox, a longtime Santa Clara Union High School board member.[11]
Wilson High School
Wilson High School is an alternative school established in 1982[27]
Teacher housing
In 2002 the district opened Casa del Maestro ("House of the Teacher" in Spanish), housing for employees. A second phase opened in 2009.[28]
Transportation
Santa Clara Unified School District consists of the following bus fleet; the amounts are unknown
- Gen 3 Thomas Saf-T-Liner HDX
- Gen 4 Blue Bird All American RE (A3)
- Gen 2 Thomas Saf-T-Liner HDX
- Gen 2 Thomas Saf-T-Liner WestCoast-ER
- Gen 3 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 Diesell
- Gen 5 Blue Bird All American RE (D3)
- Gen 6 Blue Bird All American RE (T3) Diesel
- Gen 6 Blue Bird All American RE (T3) Electric (more on the way)