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, 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.
Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, incumbent superintendent Damon J. Wright oversaw a significant reduction in teachers and faculty in the entire school district. His aim is to correct a $30,000,000 dollar deficit in the districts' finances due to decreasing enrollment and overstaffing. His policies were met with major opposition from students, staff, and community members.
Superintendents
Lawrence C. Curtis (1966–1970) James W. Hoffner (1970–1973) Donald J. Callejon (1973–1974) Rudy Gatti (1974–1989) Donald J. Callejon (1989–1990) Robert Carter (1990–1993) Nicholas Gervase (1993–1994) Paul Perotti (1994–2005) Rod Adams (2005–2008) Steve Stavis (2008–2011) Bobbie Plough (2011–2013) Stanley Rose III (2013–2019) Stella M. Kemp (2019–2022) Gary Waddell (2022–2025) Damon J. Wright (2025–present)
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
Schools (2025–2026) Name Grades Opened City Students FTE Teachers Pupil/Teacher Ratio Abram Agnew Elementary School K–5 2021 San Jose 317 15 21.13 Bowers Elementary School K–5 1957 Santa Clara 232 13 17.85 Bracher Elementary School K–5 1958 Santa Clara 236 15.55 15.18 Braly Elementary School K–5 1855 352 19.4 18.14 Briarwood Elementary School K–5 1956 Santa Clara 287 14.6 19.66 Buchser Middle School 6–8 1981 Santa Clara 715 39.67 18.02 Juan Cabrillo Middle School 6–8 1961 Santa Clara 817 43.43 18.81 Central Park Elementary School K–5 1957 Santa Clara 430 19.1 22.51 Don Callejon Arts and Design School (formerly Don Callejon School 2006-2024) TK–8 K-8: 2006, TK: 2025 Santa Clara 581 37.2 15.62 C. W. Haman Elementary School K–5 1952 Santa Clara 319 16.4 19.45 Dolores Huerta Middle School 6–8 2021 San Jose 377 17.05 22.11 Kathryn Hughes Elementary School K–5 1964 Santa Clara 270 15 18 Laurelwood Elementary School K–5 1964 Santa Clara 521 22.1 23.57Kathleen MacDonald High School 9–12 2022 San Jose 209 14.07 14.85 George Mayne Elementary School K–5 1955 Alviso 300 14 21.43 Millikin Elementary School K–5 1855 Santa Clara 518 22 23.55 Mission Early College High School 10–12 2017 Santa Clara 159 6.93 22.94 Montague Elementary School K–5 1961 Santa Clara 272 16 17 New Valley High School 9–12 2001 Santa Clara 169 13.3 12.71 Marian A. Peterson Middle School 6–8 1981 729 35.87 20.32 Pomeroy Elementary School K–5 1952 Santa Clara 300 16.51 18.17 Ponderosa Elementary School K–5 1964 501 22.7 22.07 Santa Clara Adult Education Adult 1981 Santa Clara 581 Unknown Unknown Santa Clara Community Day School 6–12 2011 Santa Clara 10 2.03 4.93 Santa Clara High School 9–12 1872 Santa Clara 1,849 92.81 19.92 Scott Lane Elementary School K–5 1952 Santa Clara 396 19 20.84 Sutter Elementary School K–5 1962 Santa Clara 305 15.1 20.2 Washington Open Elementary School K–5 1961 Santa Clara 309 16 19.31 Westwood Elementary School K–5 1954 Santa Clara 382 18.1 21.1 Adrian C. Wilcox High School 9–12 1961 Santa Clara 1,859 92.45 20.11 Wilson High School 9–12 1982 Santa Clara 163 16.32 9.99 District totals (2023–2024) 14,236 730.92 19.48
Closed 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 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 Patrick Henry, Founding Father of the U.S. Marian A. Peterson High School 1965 1981 Marian A. Peterson, board member of the Santa Clara Elementary and Union High School Districts Raynor Elementary School 1957 1979 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