Looking Toward the Future: San José Unified’s Employee Housing Initiative
TopAdvisory Committees & Groups
San José Unified’s advisory committees and groups offer opportunities for parents, teachers, students, and community members to make a significant impact on the district and our schools. We value input from all of our stakeholders on key issues and initiatives, and we encourage you to get involved.
Learn more about these opportunities below, and .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) if you’re interested in participating.
Meeting Times & Locations
Advisory committee meetings are generally held on Monday evenings at 6:00PM at the District Office, 855 Lenzen Ave., San José, CA 95126. Please check the District Calendar for updated times and locations.
Meetings are open to the public.
Parcel Tax
Measure Y was approved by more than 67% of voters in the General Election of November 8, 2016. It assesses a $72 per parcel annual tax on properties within San José Unified School District, beginning in 2017-18 and effective through 2024-25 (8 years).
The parcel tax is projected to raise $5 million in annual local funding to support San José Unified’s efforts to:
- Maintain and improve core academic programming in reading, writing, math, the arts and science;
- Improve programs to prepare students for college and 21st century careers; and
- Attract and retain high performing teachers and educational staff.
Click here to read the full text of Measure Y
Click here to view a presentation to the Board of Education from January 26, 2017
Our story
San José Unified is an innovative urban school district that is reinventing the education system by bringing together teachers and staff with parents and students, inspiring each to discover their own greatness.
Serving over 30,000 students from transitional kindergarten through high school in 41 schools from Downtown San José in the north to the Almaden Valley in the south, San José Unified is Silicon Valley’s largest and most diverse school system.
To see our boundaries and find a school, visit our School Locator.
Our vision
Preparing today’s students to be the thinkers, leaders, and creators of tomorrow.
Our mission
Uniting as one community, we elevate opportunities for all.
Our plan
Read our road map for 2017-2020.
Want to learn more? Visit one of our schools. Join a school site council or parent-teacher association. Attend a board meeting or volunteer for a community advisory group. You are always welcome!
District Information
San José Unified is an innovative urban school district that prepares today’s students to be the thinkers, leaders, and creators of tomorrow. We are reinventing the education system by bringing together teachers and staff with parents and students, inspiring each to discover their own greatness.
Serving over 30,000 students from transitional kindergarten through high school in 41 schools from Downtown San José to the Almaden Valley, San José Unified is Silicon Valley’s largest and most diverse school system.
To see our boundaries and find a school, visit our School Locator.
Board of Education
The San José Unified Board of Education traditionally meets on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month in the Board Room at the District Office, 855 Lenzen Ave., San José, CA 95126. Regular Meetings begin at 6:00pm, except as noted or when a Closed Session is scheduled.
The Board will enter Closed Session at 5:00pm to consider items that are not subject to the requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act – primarily discipline, personnel, and other legal matters. Closed Sessions are not open to the general public. The Superintendent will report all actions taken by the Board in Closed Session during the Regular Meeting.
Please note that dates, times, and locations of Board meetings are subject to change. Any changes will be noticed in a timely fashion. You should always check the district calendar for the most current information.
Click here to submit any questions regarding Board agendas, minutes, and meetings.
Policies & Regulations
San José Unified is governed by policies and regulations established by the Board of Education and the California Education Code. Some of these policies can be found below.
To review our complete policies and regulations, please visit this online portal and enter the following public username and password.
Username: public
Password: sanjose
Click here to access the main index and use the search tool in the right sidebar to find policies by keyword(s).
Wendi Mahaney-Gurahoo
Board Member
Trustee Area #5: (See map)
Term Expires: December 2024
Phone: (408) 535-6078
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Biography:
Wendi Mahaney-Gurahoo has dedicated her nearly 30-year career to helping children succeed in school and thrive in life. She has a B.A. in Child Development from California State University, Chico and an M.S. in Management, Organizational Leadership, and Change from Colorado Technical University. Wendi began her career as a special education preschool teacher and is currently the Interim Chief of Early Learning at FIRST 5 Santa Clara County. She believes that high-quality education is the pathway to success for our children and our communities. Wendi and her husband, Jason, are rooted in the Almaden community and enjoy walking the Los Alamitos Creek Trail. Wendi has a son currently enrolled in a San José Unified high school, an older son who graduated from San José Unified schools, and a daughter-in-law who teaches in San José Unified. In addition, Wendi is involved in a variety of education-related leadership positions, including: Chairperson of the City of San José Library and Education Commission, Local Early Education Planning Council of Santa Clara County, Parents Helping Parents Advisory Board, and the Warmhoven Institute for Inclusion Advisory Board.
Schools Represented:
- Allen at Steinbeck
- Graystone Elementary
- Los Alamitos Elementary
- Simonds Elementary
- Williams Elementary
- Bret Harte Middle School
- Castillero Middle School
- Leland High School
Committee Involvement:
- SJU Council of PTAs, Representative
- Budget Advisory Committee, Representative
- Bond Oversight Committee – Measure H, Representative
2021 Construction Bidders List
Board Members
The Board of Education is comprised of five members elected by trustee area and one student board member appointed each year by the Board of Education. Trustees for odd-numbered areas are chosen by voters during presidential elections. Trustees for even-numbered areas are voted on during gubernatorial elections.
San José Unified Resources and Information
Board Members
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Amber LaFranboise
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Board Members Table
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Strategic Plan 2017-2020
Through more than 30 community meetings and a series of online surveys and focus groups over the 2016-2017 school year, San José Unified collected input from students, staff, families, and community members to shape an updated Strategic Plan to guide our work over the next three years. The Board of Education adopted the following key objectives and metrics on June 22, 2017.
If you’re familiar with our previous strategic plan, Opportunity21, you’ll find these objectives familiar. That’s because we heard loud and clear from our community that we’re headed in the right direction. We’ve used this update to focus on key benchmarks and indicators of success.
If you have any questions or comments, please send them our way.
At San José Unified, we are preparing today’s students to be the thinkers, leaders, and creators of tomorrow with…
- A rigorous curriculum that inspires all students to discover their own greatness
- Our students excel – All schools and student groups will score in the two highest performance levels on the California School Dashboard for English language arts, mathematics, English Learner progress, graduation rate, and college and career readiness.
- An innovative workforce that knows the lessons we learn are just as important as the lessons we teach
- We hire the best – All new employees will pass rigorous screening assessments.
- We succeed in a competitive talent market – All roles will be filled on the first day of school.
- We are a strong team – At least 95% of staff meeting performance standards will be retained.
- A unified community that elevates opportunities for all
- Our students feel safe – At least 80% of students will feel supported and have positive school connections.
- Our families feel engaged – At least 80% of families will feel involved in their student’s education.
- Enhanced resources that make the extraordinary ordinary
- Our students spend more time learning – All schools and student groups, as measured both locally and by the state, will score in the two highest performance levels on the California School Dashboard for suspension rate and student attendance.
- We allocate resources based on need – 100% of supplemental funds will directly support our highest-need students.
- An efficient system that asks and answers the questions, “Why?” and “What if?”
- We cover the basics – All schools and the district will meet standards as measured by the California School Dashboard for basic services, implementation of academic standards, parent engagement, and feedback through a local climate survey.
- We budget responsibly – Annual expenses will be within 15% of projections, or we will be able to explain why.
- We follow through – Initiatives will redefine what is possible and achieve stated goals.