The Santa Clara Unified School District was preceded by three elementary school districts and one high school district.[2][9]
Alviso School District
The Alviso School District administered several primary schools in the North San Jose and Rancho Milpitas areas.[10]: 122 The district primarily served the children of local farmers and had a significant Japanese population.[10]: 122–123 In 1965, the Alviso School District served 757 students.[9]
The Alviso Grammar School was established in 1855 as the oldest school in the area,[11] and it was where Bank of America founder Amadeo Giannini attended elementary school.[10]: 122 After the school burned down in 1899, it was rebuilt as the Alviso School with funding and land from local rancher George Mayne.[11][10]: 124 The Alviso School District also included Midway School and several Japanese-only schools.[10]: 123,125
The Jefferson Union School District had formed from the schools of Jefferson, Millikin, and Braly by 1930.[13][12] The original Jefferson School was established along the San Tomas Creek in 1861, six years after the original Millikin School was established on Lawrence Station Road.[14] In 1927, a new Jefferson School with more amenities was built at the intersection of Lawrence and Monroe.[12]
Santa Clara Elementary School District
The Santa Clara Elementary School District administered several primary schools in downtown Santa Clara, east of the San Tomas Creek. Its oldest school, the Santa Clara Grammar School, was established in 1867.[15] In 1965, the district served 3,366 students.[9]
By 1960, the Santa Clara Elementary School District included Fremont School,[a] C. W. Haman School, Scott Lane School, Washington School, Westwood School, and William A. Wilson Intermediate School.[17]
Santa Clara Union High School District
The Santa Clara Union High School District was a union school district that administered several secondary schools in the areas covered by the Alviso, Jefferson, and Santa Clara Elementary districts.[13][9] The district was established by 1922.[13] In 1959, it served roughly 2,800 students.[13]
Due to rapid population increases and industrialization, the four school districts began making efforts to merge in the 1950s.[13][22][23] Following new financial incentives offered by the state government in 1964, Santa Clara voters approved school district unification in October 1965,[9] and the Santa Clara Unified School District was established on July 1, 1966.[2][3][24] SCUSD's first superintendent was Lawrence C. Curtis, who had previously served as the superintendent of Jefferson Union School District.[12][25]
The Santa Clara Unified School District experienced declining enrollment throughout the 1970s and 1980s, resulting in the closure of 15 schools and significant restructuring before the 1981–1982 school year.[26][27]Buchser High School closed, and its campus was repurposed as Santa Clara High School's new location.[18][28] Buchser Middle School was established at the former Santa Clara High School campus.[26][29] Additionally, Peterson High School was converted into Peterson Middle School, with the high school students joining the Wilcox High School student body.[26]
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.[30] Agnew Elementary School and Huerta Middle School opened in 2021, and MacDonald High School opened in 2022.[31]
The Santa Clara Unified School District is governed by an elected Board of Trustees, which appoints the superintendent.[49][50] The SCUSD Board of Trustees consists of seven members who serve four-year terms.[49] In 2022, the district switched from at-large board member elections to district-based representation.[51]
Merged with Santa Clara High School in 1981;[26] Named for Emil R. Buchser Sr., the last superintendent of the Santa Clara Elementary and Santa Clara Union High School Districts[69]
Mission Early College High School is a dual enrollment partnership with the West Valley–Mission Community College District.[58] It was established in 2017 as a college immersion program to replace the former Mission Middle College Program.[58]
Santa Clara High School is the oldest school in the Santa Clara Unified School District.[13][61] It moved to the campus of then-Emil R. Buchser High School in 1981.[26][83]
In April 2002, the Santa Clara Unified School District opened the Casa del Maestro Apartment Complex as the first subsidized teacher housing in California.[84][85][86] 40 initial apartment units were constructed in 2001, and another 30 apartments opened in 2009.[87][88] The housing complex has inspired dozens of other school districts to consider similar initiatives.[84][86]
Transportation
As of the 2023–2024 school year, the Santa Clara Unified School District has a fleet of 29 school buses.[89] In 2020, SCUSD received four electric buses through the Carl Moyer Grant Program.[90]
^ abcdefghiBuchser, Emil R. (October 11, 1959). "To whom it may concern"(PDF). Benefit Capital. Administration Offices for the Santa Clara Union High School and the Santa Clara Elementary School Districts. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
^"New High School". San Jose Mercury News. Santa Clara. April 17, 1905. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
^"Directory for 1959–60"(PDF). Benefit Capital. Santa Clara Union High School District. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
^"Unified District For Santa Clara Schools Rejected". The Campbell Press. July 15, 1954. Retrieved June 24, 2024. Efforts to unify school districts of Santa Clara, Alviso and Jefferson schools were rejected Tuesday night by trustees of both Santa Clara Union High and Santa Clara Elementary School districts.
^"Big Audience In 'Landslide' For Go-Ahead". Santa Clara Journal. February 2, 1960. p. 65. Retrieved January 14, 2025. Proposed for unification are the Santa Clara High, Santa Clara Elementary, Jefferson and Alviso School Districts.
^Knight, Michelle (June 12, 2009). "School trustee frustrated by interim district chief's selection". Camarillo Acorn. Retrieved December 27, 2024. After leaving Oxnard in 1990, Carter served as superintendent of school districts in Northern California and Maryland.
^Schuk, Carolyn (June 12, 2013). "Santa Clara Education Desk: June 5, 2013". The Silicon Valley Voice. Retrieved December 27, 2024. ...former Superintendent Rod Adams, who retired in 2008 after serving three years...
^ ab"Board of Trustees". Santa Clara Unified School District. Retrieved December 30, 2024.
^"2023 Governance Handbook". Adobe Acrobat. Santa Clara Unified School District. June 20, 2023. p. 4. Retrieved December 30, 2024. The Superintendent is hired by the school board to provide professional expertise in the day-to-day operations of the district.
^"City of Sunnyvale - File #: 15-1086". City of Sunnyvale. January 25, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2025. The Raynor Elementary School site, established in 1957, was deemed as surplus by the Santa Clara Unified School District in 1979, and was subsequently acquired by the City of Sunnyvale.
^Perkins, Rachael N. (January 1, 1966). "On Teaching Poetry". English Journal. 55 (1). National Council of Teachers of English: 91–92. doi:10.58680/ej196622949. Retrieved January 8, 2025.