The Elk Grove Unified School District is the fifth largest school district in California and the largest in northern California.[3]
Located in southern Sacramento County, the district covers 320 square miles (830km2). For the 2007–08 school year, the district served more than 61,000 students. More than 80 languages and dialects are spoken by over 63,000 Elk Grove Unified students.
The district has 69 schools: 44 elementary schools, 9 middle schools, 9 high schools, seven alternative education schools: three continuation schools, an adult school, a special education school, a charter school, and an online academy.[4]
The district is governed by a publicly elected seven-member Board of Education.[5]
Today the Elk Grove Unified School District's boundaries cover 320 square miles (830km2), stretching almost from the Sacramento River to the foothills of Amador County.
The district is the result of the unification of smaller districts that date back to the 19th century.[6]
The elementary school district known as "Elk Grove" was formed in 1866 and is one of the oldest in the state of California. The Elk Grove Union High School District followed almost 30 years later opening in 1892.[7]
The unification of the Elk Grove district took place in 1959 under the leadership of County Superintendent T.R. Smedberg, a former superintendent of Elk Grove Union High School District. The elementary districts that unified with the high school district included: Elk Grove, Sierra-Enterprise, Franklin, Cosumnes, Dillard, Florin, and Pleasant Grove.[8]
Elk Grove Unified has only had six superintendents in its 62-year history.[9]