About Us

Santa Clara Unified School District serves over 15,300 K-12 students and an additional 6,000 students in preschool through adult school. Neighborhoods in the Cities of Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, San Jose, and Cupertino comprise the District's 56 square-mile area. Santa Clara Unified prides itself on having teachers, classified employees, and administrators who are dedicated, experienced professionals who care about each student's well-being and academic preparation.

Our schools offer reading, writing, mathematics, science, social science and physical education at the core of a comprehensive curriculum. Music and choral classes, art, foreign language, dramatic arts, a variety of career technical education classes and competitive athletics are some of the many programs which enrich our students' education. Our students have an abundance of opportunities to explore individual interests through these offerings.

Santa Clara Unified offers a wide array of programs and services to benefit our students and their families including:

• A full range of Special Education services for students with mild to moderate disabilities.
• A supplemental Migrant Education program which assists students with academic services.
• A stimulating, comfortable environment where Limited-English Proficient students can acquire academic skills while learning English.
• A food service program committed to providing appealing, nutritious meals and snacks for breakfast and lunch with free, or reduced-price meals, available for qualified students.

Land Acknowledgement

Santa Clara Unified School District acknowledges that our schools are on the traditional lands of the Tamien Nation — the aboriginal American Indian tribe of Santa Clara Valley. We pay respect and thanks to their people, both past and present.

Vision

Graduates of Santa Clara Unified School District are resilient, future-ready, lifelong learners who think critically, solve problems collaboratively, and are prepared to thrive in a global society.

Mission

The mission of Santa Clara Unified School District is to provide equitable, engaging, and innovative educational experiences so that each student thrives in a global society.

Core Values

Students First

We believe that achieving high performance and full potential for both the organization and the individual comes from a relentless commitment to excellence and the courage to adapt, change, and improve based on results. We believe in fostering a growth mindset by defining failures as opportunities for learning and continuous improvement.

Integrity and Ethical Stewardship

We believe in upholding our fiscal responsibility through integrity and high ethical standards. We gain high levels of trust and foster collective responsibility across our organization, through effective stewardship of our resources and consistent ethical, transparent, accountable behavior and actions.

Connected Families and Collaborative Community

We believe that community action is essential to achieving our vision and having a positive impact on student outcomes, including their health and wellness. We serve as a catalyst for a call-to-action with our parents, families, and community. Through support, engagement, involvement, and collaboration, we leverage our multiple perspectives and collective genius, develop better solutions, and deepen our shared commitment to success.

Equity and Social Justice

We believe in bringing out the full potential of every student and staff member, through our commitment to equity, access, and inclusion. We are passionate and unwavering in our belief that we can make a positive difference for every student if we embrace diversity, acknowledge our interdependence, and exemplify the courage to reflect continually on our personal and systemic biases, and make decisions that disrupt systems of oppression and injustice.

Empathy and Respect

We believe that empathy—the ability to understand and share the feelings of another—is crucial for valuing diverse perspectives, effective collaboration, problem-solving, and leading change. We believe that everyone has value and deserves to be treated respectfully.

World-leading and Future Ready

We believe that preparing our students and educators to thrive requires a culture of creativity and innovation. We are forward-looking and future-ready. We evolve by scanning the horizon for exemplary practices, inspiring fresh ideas, and adapting to our ever-changing world to meet our students’ and educators’ learning needs, now and in the future.

We honor differences and recognize intersectionality— the overlapping identities that combine and intersect in the experiences of marginalized groups—in order to understand the complexity of the prejudices they face and respond with inclusive practices. Empathy and respect also lead to a kind and caring environment, enabling our staff and students to build strong relationships and foster mutual wellbeing.