From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Simi Valley Unified School District

School district in Ventura County, California

Field	Value
name	Simi Valley Unified School District
logo	[[File:SVUSD-Logo.png]]
type	Public
budget	$142 million (restricted and unrestricted)
city	Simi Valley
state	California
grades	K-12, adult education, preschool
superintendent	Dr. Hani Youssef
us_nces_district_id
students	15,899 (2022–2023)
teachers	704.41 (FTE)
staff	784.16 (FTE)
ratio	22.64:1
schools	27
free_label	Teachers' unions
free_text	Simi Educators Association, California Teachers Association
address	101 West Cochran Street
zipcode	93065
country	United States
website

Simi Valley Unified School District (SVUSD) is a school district in Ventura County, California. The district serves students from the city of Simi Valley, the census-designated place of Santa Susana, and other adjacent unincorporated areas. SVUSD operates 18 elementary schools, three middle schools, four high schools (including two comprehensive schools, one magnet school, and one continuation school), one adult school, and one independent study school. During the 2014–15 school year, the district's enrollment numbered about 18,000. The current superintendent is Dr. Hani Youssef, who has served since July 2022.

History

Ninth grade move to high schools, Santa Susana High opening

Throughout its early history, the Simi Valley Unified School District educated ninth graders at its junior high schools. This changed in the mid-1990s, when the school board approved a controversial plan to move ninth graders to its high schools. To offset the lower enrollment at the junior high schools, the district converted one of the then four junior high campuses into a magnet high school. Sequoia Junior High School reopened as Santa Susana High School in 1996.

Declining enrollment and school closures

Beginning in 1995, the Simi Valley Unified School District considered closing schools due to what was then early on-set declining enrollment. Simi Elementary School, in the 1990s, was already considered first for school closure due to high maintenance costs and its small size. Other schools considered at the time were Sycamore, Mountain View, and Justin elementary schools. Ultimately, the district voted to not close any school due to backlash from the community, as they had previously closed four schools prior in the 1980s.

Enrollment declines in Simi Valley and the state of California continued into the 2000s. Following a peak of 22,000 in 2003, the number of students in the district reduced to 18,000 in 2013. In response, a committee consisting of administrators, teachers, parents, and community members recommended closing three schools. On January 14, 2014, after hearing public testimony, the committee decided not to close any schools and disbanded.

On January 31, 2014, Simi Elementary School was notified of possible relocation of the school due to the overall condition and safety of the campus. The school was built in 1926 as the first in Simi Valley; Ventura County has named it a Historical Landmark.Simi Elementary School & Bungalows was designed by architect Arthur G. Lindley and was designated County Landmark # 139 in August 1990. The school was built in 1926 by Lutz Construction Company as a part of Community Center and has been in continuous use. The bungalows were built from lumber from the original Simi School (1890). The issues at hand regarding the facility and infrastructure are:

Broken water mains
Possible broken sewer line under a classroom which has caused the floor to sink
Gas lines underground which are old and brittle causing periodic gas leaks
Deteriorating roofs
A septic tank which is in danger of collapsing
Potential asbestos
Potential rust in water lines
Potential mold
Potential lead

The Inspection was contracted through LI & Associates, Inc. who has been monitoring the infrastructure and safety of the school since November 12, 2012. In the latest report dated January 7, 2014, the company, regarding the administrative building, stated, "During process of our seismic retrofit design on this building, we learned that this building does not have a valid DSA permit. Therefore, this building cannot be used by student per California State regulations."

Due to the cost of needed repairs to the Simi Elementary campus, SVUSD decided to close Simi Elementary. On February 4, 2014, the board voted 4–1 to relocate Simi Elementary to the Mountain View Elementary campus as of February 18, 2014; the school continued to function as a separate school until the end of the 2013–14 school year.

In the fall of the 2014-15 school year, SVUSD made a recommendation to close Abraham Lincoln and Justin elementary schools due to a decline in enrollment and approved the closure in January 2015. Monte Vista School is using the Lincoln campus and Justin Early Learners Academy is using the Justin campus.

Random drug testing

The SVUSD board voted in 2014 to offer random drug testing of high school students whose parents or legal guardians voluntarily sign them up. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of mandatory drug testing by public schools of students participating in extracurricular activities.

Schools

Elementary schools

Arroyo Elementary School
Atherwood Elementary School
Berylwood Elementary School
Crestview Elementary School
Big Springs Elementary School
Garden Grove Elementary School
Hollow Hills Fundamental School
Katherine Elementary School
Knolls Elementary School
Madera Elementary School
Mountain View Elementary School
Park View Elementary School
Santa Susana Elementary School
Sycamore Elementary School
Township Elementary School
Vista Fundamental School
White Oak Elementary School
Wood Ranch Elementary School

Former elementary schools

Abraham Lincoln Elementary School (1959–2015)
Simi Elementary School (1927–2015)
Walnut Grove Elementary School (1963-1983)
Justin Elementary School
Belwood Elementary School
Arcane Elementary School

Middle schools

Hillside Middle School
Sinaloa Middle School
Valley View Middle School

Former middle schools

Sequoia Junior High School (1970–1996, now Santa Susana High School)

High schools

Royal High School
Santa Susana High School
Simi Valley High School

Adult schools

Simi Institute for Careers and Education

Alternative/independent schools

Apollo Continuation School
Monte Vista School (K—12 Independent Study-Homeschool)
Justin Early Learners Academy (Preschool)

Notes

References

"2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Ventura County, CA". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
LePAGE, ANDREW [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-01-27-me-1789-story.html "Another Area Schools Chief to Quit Post : Education: Simi Valley's Robert W. Purvis joins four others who plan to leave."] ''Los Angeles Times'' January 26, 1993
Stoll, Ira E.. (May 25, 1995). "Families, Teachers Angry After Simi Panel Votes to Convert a Junior High". [[Los Angeles Times]].
Wilson, Tracy. (February 15, 1995). "Proposal to Shut 1 Simi Elementary School Advances : Education: Board votes to pursue closing one of three possible campuses to reduce costs despite loud protests.". [[Los Angeles Times]].
Moore, Jean Cowden [https://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/dec/10/at-simi-valley-meeting-speakers-fight-to-keep/ "At Simi Valley meeting, speakers fight to keep schools open"] ''Ventura County Star'' December 10, 2013{{dead link. (August 2016{{cbignore)
Cultural Heritage Board. [http://www.ventura.org/rma/planning/programs/cultural-heritage/landmark-map.html "Ventura County Landmark Map"] {{webarchive. link. (October 16, 2015 ''County of Ventura Planning Division'' Accessed February 5, 2014)
[http://www.li-associates.com/display2.php?sub=us LI & Associates, Inc. Structural and Consulting Engineers] Official Website
link. (February 22, 2014 ''State of California, Department of General Services, Division of the State Architect.'' Accessed February 5, 2014)
Himes, Thomas. (June 25, 2014). "Simi Valley's oldest school to close". [[Los Angeles Daily News]].
Moore, Jean Cowden. (February 4, 2014). "Board decides to close Simi Elementary, at least for rest of school year". [[Ventura County Star]].
Moore, Jean Cowden. (January 15, 2015). "Simi Valley school board votes to close Justin and Lincoln elementary schools". [[Ventura County Star]].
McGrath, Rachel. (March 14, 2014). "Drug testing program starts in Simi Valley high schools". [[Ventura County Star]].

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

education-in-simi-valley,-california school-districts-in-ventura-county,-california

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Simi Valley Unified School District — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report