Santa Clara Unified School District
The Santa Clara Unified School District 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, San Jose, and Cupertino. The district operates eighteen elementary schools, four middle schools, one K–8 school, five high schools, one community day school, one adult education program, and one dual enrollment partnership with the West Valley–Mission Community College District at Mission College. SCUSD is very diverse, with 38% of students being Hispanic or Latino and 31% being Asian.
History
Before unification
The Santa Clara Unified School District was preceded by three elementary school districts and one union high school district.Alviso School District
The Alviso School District was established in 1855 and administered several primary schools in the North San Jose and Rancho Milpitas areas. The district primarily served the children of local farmers and had a significant Japanese population. In 1965, the Alviso School District served 757 students.The Alviso Grammar School was established in 1855 as the oldest school in the area, and it was where Bank of America founder Amadeo Giannini attended elementary school. After the school burned down in 1899, it was rebuilt as the Alviso School with funding and land from local rancher George Mayne. The Alviso School District also included Midway School and several Japanese-only schools.
Jefferson Union School District
The Jefferson Union School District was established in 1926 to administer several primary schools in rural unincorporated areas in Santa Clara and Sunnyvale. Jefferson's first superintendent was George Max Wilhelmy, who was succeeded by Lawrence C. Curtis in 1932. In 1965, the district served 11,511 students.The Jefferson Union School District initially included the schools of Jefferson, Millikin, Braly, and Agnew. The original Jefferson School was established along the San Tomas Aquino Creek in 1861, six years after the original Millikin School was established on Lawrence Station Road. In 1927, a new Jefferson School with more amenities was built at the intersection of Lawrence and Monroe.
Santa Clara Elementary School District
The Santa Clara Elementary School District was established by 1925 and administered several primary schools in downtown Santa Clara, east of the San Tomas Aquino Creek. Its oldest school, the Santa Clara Grammar School, was established in 1867. In 1965, the district served 3,366 students.By 1960, the Santa Clara Elementary School District included Fremont School, C. W. Haman School, Scott Lane School, Washington School, Westwood School, and William A. Wilson Intermediate School.
Santa Clara Union High School District
The Santa Clara Union High School District was a union school district established before the 1921–1922 academic year to administer several secondary schools in the areas covered by the Alviso, Jefferson, and Santa Clara Elementary districts. In 1959, it served roughly 2,800 students.Santa Clara High School was established in 1872 on the same property as the Santa Clara Grammar School, eventually moving to its own location in 1906. By 1966, the district included Santa Clara High School, Emil R. Buchser High School, Adrian C. Wilcox High School, and Marian A. Peterson High School.
Unification and recent history
Due to rapid population increases and industrialization, the four school districts began making efforts to merge in the 1950s. Following new financial incentives offered by the state government in 1964, Santa Clara voters approved school district unification in September 1965. The Santa Clara Unified School District was officially established on July 1, 1966, to serve neighborhoods in Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, San Jose, and Cupertino. SCUSD's first superintendent was Lawrence C. Curtis, who had previously served as the superintendent of Jefferson Union School District.In the 1970s and 1980s, demographic shifts resulted in smaller, older families in the area, causing a 50% decrease in enrollment and the closure of 15 schools before the 1981–1982 academic year. Buchser High School closed, and its campus was repurposed as Santa Clara High School's new location. Buchser Middle School was established at the former Santa Clara High School campus. Additionally, Peterson High School was converted into Peterson Middle School, with the high school students joining the Wilcox High School student body.
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. Agnew Elementary School and Huerta Middle School opened in 2021, and MacDonald High School opened in 2022.
In 2017, the district began paying for certain college entrance and Advanced Placement exams to eliminate barriers for low-income students.
On March 13, 2020, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department announced the closure of all public schools in the county due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of the closure, no SCUSD students or staff had tested positive for COVID-19. The district began distance learning on March 24, 2020, for grades 6–12 and on March 30, 2020, for grades K–5. Distance learning continued into the 2020–2021 academic year. Schools began a phased reopening with a hybrid learning format on March 29, 2021. The district fully reopened for the 2021–2022 academic year with several precautions, including mask-wearing and weekly COVID-19 screening.
In 2023, the Santa Clara Unified School District introduced a student senate consisting of one representative from each high school. The district kept the previously-established student trustee position.
The Santa Clara Unified School District implemented phone- and device-free policies across all schools at the start of the 2025–2026 academic year in accordance with California's Phone-Free School Act.
Superintendents
- Lawrence C. Curtis
- James W. Hoffner
- Donald J. Callejon
- Rudy Gatti
- Donald J. Callejon
- Robert Carter
- Nicholas Gervase
- Paul Perotti
- Rod Adams
- Steve Stavis
- Bobbie Plough
- Stanley Rose III
- Stella M. Kemp
- Gary Waddell
- Damon J. Wright
Administration
SCUSD is a public school district governed by an elected Board of Trustees, which appoints the superintendent. The SCUSD Board of Trustees consists of seven members who serve four-year terms. In 2022, the district switched from at-large board member elections to district-based representation.The district has a six-member student senate with one representative from each high school. One member serves on the Board of Trustees.
The Santa Clara Unified School District's budget was $531.9 million in 2024.
Schools
| Name | Opened | Closed | City | Namesake |
| Agnew Elementary School | 1958 | 1975 | Santa Clara | Abram Agnew, philanthropist who settled in the Santa Clara Valley in 1873 |
| Bennett Elementary School | 1957 | 1978 | Santa Clara | W. S. Bennett, owner of a tract of land south of Homestead Road |
| Brown Elementary School | 1963 | 1979 | Santa Clara | Walter G. Brown, secretary of Jefferson Union School District |
| Emil R. Buchser High School | 1957 | 1981 | Santa Clara | Emil R. Buchser Sr., final superintendent of the Santa Clara Elementary and Union High School Districts |
| Lawrence Curtis Elementary School | 1965 | 1981 | Santa Clara | Lawrence C. Curtis, final superintendent of the Jefferson Union School District and first superintendent of SCUSD |
| Lawrence Curtis Intermediate School | 1958 | 1965 | Santa Clara | Lawrence C. Curtis, final superintendent of the Jefferson Union School District and first superintendent of SCUSD |
| Fremont Elementary School | 1867 | 1966 | Santa Clara | John C. Frémont, explorer and U.S. senator from California |
| Jefferson Intermediate School | 1927 | 1975 | Santa Clara | |
| Mariposa Elementary School | 1956 | 1978 | Santa Clara | |
| Montgomery Elementary School | 1963 | 1975 | Santa Clara | John Joseph Montgomery, pioneer aviator and professor at Santa Clara University |
| Monticello Elementary School | 1961 | 1981 | Santa Clara | |
| Nadine Bollinger McCoy Elementary School | 1959 | 1975 | Santa Clara | Nadine Bollinger McCoy, clerk of the Santa Clara Elementary and Union High School Districts |
| Patrick Henry Intermediate School | 1962 | 1979 | [Sunnyvale, California|] | Patrick Henry, Founding Father of the U.S. |
| Marian A. Peterson High School | 1965 | 1981 | [Sunnyvale, California|] | Marian A. Peterson, board member of the Santa Clara Elementary and Union High School Districts |
| Raynor Elementary School | 1957 | 1979 | [Sunnyvale, California|] | Raymond and Eleanor Bryant, children of landowners Clarence and Clara Bryant |
| William A. Wilson Intermediate School | 1955 | 1981 | Santa Clara | William A. Wilson Sr., school board member and president of the Santa Clara Elementary and Union High School Districts |
High schools
Kathleen MacDonald High School
MacDonald High School opened in 2022 and is the newest school in the Santa Clara Unified School District.Mission Early College High School
Mission Early College High School is a dual enrollment partnership with the West Valley–Mission Community College District. It was established in 2017 as a college immersion program to replace the former Mission Middle College Program.New Valley High School
New Valley High School is a small alternative continuation high school.Santa Clara High School
Santa Clara High School is the oldest school in the Santa Clara Unified School District. It moved to the campus of then-Emil R. Buchser High School in 1981.Adrian C. Wilcox High School
Wilcox High School opened in 1961 and is named after Adrian Clyde Wilcox, a longtime Santa Clara Union High School board member.Wilson High School
Wilson High School is an alternative school established in 1982.Demographics
The Santa Clara Unified School District is very diverse, with most students being Hispanic or Latino, Asian, or white as of May 2025. As of 2024, 22.1% of students are English learners, and 32.6% are considered socioeconomically disadvantaged.Teacher housing
In 2001, the Santa Clara Unified School District began construction on subsidized townhouses for staff. An initial 40 units opened in April 2002 and cost roughly $6 million to build, funded through certificates of participation and rental income. A $6-million second phase was built in 2008 and opened in 2009. The complex is the first subsidized teacher housing in California and has encouraged other school districts to consider similar initiatives.Transportation
As of the 2023–2024 academic year, the Santa Clara Unified School District has a fleet of 29 school buses. In 2020, SCUSD received four electric buses through the Carl Moyer Grant Program.| Make/model | Year | Seating capacity | Energy source | Quantity |
| Thomas Saf-T-Liner ER | 1993 | 90 | Diesel | 1 |
| Blue Bird TC/2000 | 1998 | 84 | Diesel | 1 |
| Thomas MVP-ER | 1998 | 84 | Diesel | 1 |
| Blue Bird All American A3RE | 1999 | 84 | Diesel | 1 |
| Blue Bird All American A3RE | 2000 | 84 | Diesel | 6 |
| Thomas MVP-ER | 2002 | 84 | Diesel | 1 |
| Thomas HDX | 2003 | 84 | Diesel | 6 |
| Blue Bird All American D3RE | 2013 | 78 | Diesel | 2 |
| Blue Bird All American T3RE | 2015 | 78 | Diesel | 6 |
| Blue Bird All American T3RE Electric | 2020 | 81 | Electric | 4 |
| Make/model | Seating capacity | Energy source | Quantity | |
| Blue Bird All American, Gen 2 | 1983–2013 | Unknown | Diesel | 2 |
| Blue Bird All American, Gen 3 | 1990–2020 | Unknown | Diesel | 4 |
| Crown Supercoach | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |