The Garden Grove Unified School District was established July 1965. The district encompasses 28 square miles of territory, serving most of Garden Grove and portions of six surrounding cities - Anaheim, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Santa Ana, Stanton, and Westminster. The 2011-12 budget is $487.5 million, making the district the largest enterprise in Garden Grove.

 

The district is the third largest among 28 public school districts in Orange County with more than 48,315 students, ranks 11th in size of more than 1,000 school districts in California, and is the 96th largest school district of 17,800 in the U.S. The district employs more than 5,000 staff members and operates 70 schools: 47 elementary, 10 intermediate, 7 high schools, 2 continuation schools, 2 adult education centers, and 2 special education schools.

 

The GGUSD provides comprehensive educational services for K-12 students and adults in safe and well-maintained schools staffed by quality teachers and support staff meeting the highest professional standards. Adult education, preschool, English language development programs, ROP, fine arts education, Gifted and Talented Education, and special education are among the many support programs provided by the district. The district maintains the Class Size Reduction Program — with smaller classes in grades 1-3 and grades K-1 and 3-4 combination classes.

 

All schools in the district focus on a core curriculum of basic skills development in reading, writing, science, history-social science, and mathematics, while recognizing the importance of offering varied educational experiences through comprehensive music and visual arts instruction, electives, athletics, and leadership development. Computers and other technologies in classrooms, school libraries, and dedicated laboratories complement the delivery of the basic curriculum and provide the foundation for courses in computer applications and programming languages. All sites connect to the Wide Area Network, enabling classrooms, schools, and offices to exchange information electronically and have access to the Internet. The system is the largest of its type among Orange County school districts.

 

Additional Information About the GGUSD

• Allen Elementary School was selected as a 2011 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School. The Blue Ribbon program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, recognizes schools that are either academically superior or demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement. Sunnyside Elementary School was chosen for the honor the year before.

• Four Garden Grove Unified School District schools were designated ‘Title I Academic Achievement Schools’ for 2010-11. The GGUSD honorees were Murdy, Paine, and Sunnyside elementary schools, and La Quinta High School. They were among the 13 Orange County schools and 209 statewide selected for the prestigious honor.

• Six Garden Grove Unified School District high schools are listed among the nation’s best in the rankings released by U.S. News & World Report magazine. Five GGUSD high schools – Bolsa Grande, Garden Grove, La Quinta, Los Amigos, and Santiago – ranked as silver medalists, while Rancho Alamitos High School was listed in the bronze medal category. The magazine analyzed more than 21,700 high schools in 48 states.

• All GGUSD high schools have earned full, six-year accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

• The district has made major investments in technology including the continued expansion of a Wide Area Network – enabling all schools and offices to exchange information via e-mail and have access to the Internet.

• The district operates on a very lean management structure in which only a small percentage of the budget is directed to overhead and administration. Only 3.3 percent of the budget is devoted to administrative salaries, which is less than the state average for all school districts.

• In June 2010, district voters approved Measure A, authorizing $250 million in general obligation bonds and enables the GGUSD to qualify for as much as $200 million in matching state school bond funds for large-scale infrastructure repair, improvement, and modernization projects. Bond proceeds, coupled with state matching funds, will help finance such improvements as renovating electrical circuitry, plumbing, lighting, roofing, intercom, and fire safety systems; improving energy efficiency; replacing doors, windows, and outdated heating and ventilation systems; updating playground safety matting; upgrading telecommunications systems to accommodate current technology; replacing restroom and drinking fountain fixtures; and retrofitting schools for better accessibility for the disabled.