School Consolidation & Transitions

UDPATED Nov. 19: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) documents linked at the bottom of this page have each been updated. Please note, these documents will be modified as additional questions and concerns arise.

San Juan Unified's declining enrollment has continued in 2009/10 with more than 500 fewer students starting the school year versus last year. The District’s enrollment has declined by nearly 1,000 students since last consolidating schools.

The drop in enrollment has left San Juan Unified with extra facility capacity. Three proposals are being explored that would help address this over capacity and better ensure that fiscal and other resources are used in the most efficient manner possible in the support of teaching and learning.

Consolidate Garfield Elementary with surrounding schools:

The District's 3280 committee previously recommended that Garfield Elementary be combined with other nearby campuses when looking at the topic of school consolidations. District staff are exploring implementation of that recommendation. One option would see Garfield students moved to Pasadena, Cameron Ranch, Carmichael, and Deterding elementary schools.

While Garfield's enrollment is higher than other District elementary schools, it has continued to shrink in recent years along with other schools in the area. The result is excess capacity that will allow for the schools in the area to be combined.

Transition the Sierra Nueva program:

The Sierra Nueva program is housed as a separate school on the Encina Preparatory High School campus. District staff are exploring how the program could be transitioned to functioning as part of the Encina campus community to make the most efficient use of staff and other resources.

Create a dual-language immersion program at Edison Elementary:
Enrollment at Edison Elementary school has fallen below 300 students. For some time, District staff have been exploring the creation of a dual-language immersion program and are now examining Edison as a potential location. It is hoped that a dual-language immersion program would provide a unique educational option for District families while helping to attract additional students and boost Edison's enrollment.

The District will host a series of presentations and input gathering sessions throughout October to allow for student, parent, and community input. For more information including dates, times, and locations of the sessions use the link to the left for Community Meetings.

Recommendations along with all input collected will be presented to the District's Finance, Transportation, and Facilities committee in November and will also be shared with the Board of Education before it begins discussion and any action in December.

This page will be updated with information as it becomes available.

Presentation for Community Meetings (pdf file - 844kb)
Updated presentation that will be used at community meetings.

Russian translation - School Consolidation (ppt file - 2,065kb)
Russian translation - School consolidation

Ukrainian translation - School Consolidation (ppt file - 2,072kb)
Ukrainian translation - School Consolidation

Feedback form for Written Comments (pdf file - 11kb)
Print this form to submit written comments. All forms will be shared with the Facilities, Transportation & Finance Committee and the Board of Education.

Edison Dual Language FAQ (pdf file - 79kb)
Updated 10-30-09

Garfield Consolidation FAQ (pdf file - 248kb)
Updated 11-19-09

Sierra Nueva Transition FAQ (pdf file - 126kb)
Updated 10-30-09