EDUCATION

MADERA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 
MADERA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT WELCOMES YOU... THE JOURNEY BEGINS HERE
Madera Unified School District (MUSD) is home to over 18,500 of the Central Valley’s brightest young people and offers a wide range of programs to fit the needs of our students. The district encompasses 27 sites.  Take a look at what we offer.

QUICK FACTS

MUSD IS BUILDING NEW SCHOOLS
Madera Unified has experienced a construction boom in recent years, and students are reaping the benefits. Since 2005, MUSD has opened four new elementary schools (Nishimoto, Chavez, Pershing, Parkwood), a new middle school (Desmond) and a new high school (Madera South High). Each new site boasts modern design and state-of-the-art technology, making Madera Unified’s new schools the envy of surrounding districts. The construction has also helped reduce overcrowding at schools and allowed all district sites to transition to a traditional calendar and away from a year-round schedule. And MUSD has a master plan in place for further school construction should the city’s population continue to grow.

MODERN FACILITIES
Since 2005, the district has opened six new schools and modernized many others. Now, our schools are fitted for the latest in technological needs and are well maintained with fresh paint, spacious playgrounds and well-kept classrooms. We take great pride in our commitment to updating existing facilities to provide all students with an atmosphere perfect for learning.

A CHALLENGING CURRICULUM
The core curriculum is aligned to state content standards. Core curriculum is outlined in standards documents, which are available to all teachers. All textbooks are state approved and/or aligned to state content standards and several supplemental programs are available in MUSD. Students are administered benchmark examinations to ensure they are proficient in state standards.

HEALTH AND FITNESS
Research links physical fitness to high academic achievement and overall wellness among young people in the United States. Trained physical education specialists are on staff to provide nutrition and fitness lessons for students in many grade levels. We believe that healthy minds and healthy bodies go hand in hand.

SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS
The neighborhood schools model serves the majority of students with special needs. Our students with mild handicaps attend their neighborhood schools, along with siblings and friends. Children with more intense needs are often served through the Madera County Office of Education-operated special classes, located at selected MUSD sites.

TECHNOLOGY
Madera Unified works hard to seamlessly integrate technology into the daily curriculum, helping teachers deliver California academic content standards through the use of educational software tools from core curriculum publishers as well as other educational software leaders. Assessment tools are available that help teachers make wise curriculum planning decisions based on data-driven information. Technology coaches are available at each school site to help integrate technology into daily lessons. Our District technology plan has brought the average student to computer ratio to 5:1 at all Madera Unified school sites, while the California statewide average is 7:1.

CAREER SCHOOLS
Madera Unified employs the career school model at Madera High and Madera South High. Career schools offer a unique approach to the high school experience. There are five career schools in total. Both sites feature the following career schools: Humanities, health sciences, business/human services. Madera High also offers a career school in engineering and technology, while Madera South High offers a career school in agriculture. Career Schools give students a chance to connect with faculty one to one- and the chance to leave high school with the skills future employers and universities are looking for. Each school offers a series of career paths based on employment needs for the future. Curriculum is developed with the guidance of community business advisors who help staff stay current in their knowledge of the world of work.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

MIDDLE SCHOOLS (7-8)

HIGH SCHOOLS (9-12)

ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION

AWARDS
The California School Recognition Program was created in 1985 to identify and honor the state's most exemplary public schools. MUSD’s California Distinguished School Winners include:

The Golden Bell Award, a program of the California School Boards Association, promotes excellence in education by recognizing outstanding programs in school districts and county offices of education throughout California. Our Golden Bell winners include:

The Title I Award, presented by the California Department of Education, is presented to schools that demonstrate an achievement level of twice the school wide Academic Performance Index (API) growth target, meet all significant subgroup targets and achieve twice the API growth target for socio-economically disadvantaged subgroup for two consecutive years. MUSD’s Title I Award winners include:

MADERA UNIFIED SUPERINTENDENTS SINCE MUSD FORMED IN 1966

MADERA COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION
The vision of the Madera County Office of Education (MCOE) is to enhance the quality of life through education. To achieve this vision, the mission of the Madera County Office of Education is to identify and provide programs, services and resources for the benefit of students, families, school districts, agencies and the community.

The Madera County Office of Education provides direct services to students including: instruction for special needs students; court and community school, boot camp, juvenile hall, Cal-Safe (pregnant and parenting teens) instruction; a variety of services including psychological, school nursing, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and other specialized instruction. Services are delivered in the home, preschools, and classroom settings as appropriate to the needs of the students.

Pioneer Technical Center, a charter school, opened in September 2002, for students who wanted to emphasize a vocational-technical program in their quest to meet California State Standards.

The Madera County Office of Education provides a variety of opportunities for students to demonstrate their academic abilities in a competitive format. The Academic Decathlon is a high school competition challenging students in 10 areas. The Mock Trial competition uses the courtroom for students to study, prepare, and present legal cases before local judges and attorneys. The Academic Pentathlon is a junior high school venue for performance in five separate competitions.

The Madera County Office of Education assists teachers with technology integration, professional development activities, and coordinating county technology services. Providing professional development training for teachers and assisting in the classroom designs for teaching students to produce multi-media presentations and guiding their use of the Internet are important support services.

The Madera County Office of Education provides an important role in monitoring the fiscal stability of our school districts. Fingerprinting of all new school employees is another valued service offered by MCOE. Additionally, all teachers in Madera County are required to register their teaching credentials with the Madera County Office of Education.

The Madera County Office of Education actively participates in the regional service delivery system established by the California County Superintendents of Schools Educational Services Association. The following educational services are offered to all school districts and county offices throughout the Central Valley Service Region of Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties: Medi-Cal Administrative Activities, Regional System of District and School Support, School Assistance and Intervention Teams (SAIT) and School Leadership Services.

SCHOOL DISTRICTS OF MADERA COUNTY

This information provided courtesy of Madera County Office of Education

STATE CENTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT (SCCCD) – MADERA CENTER
The Madera Center has been in existence for over 20 years, initially operating at Madera High School. In August 1996 the State Center Community College District (SCCCD) opened a dedicated site for the Madera Community College Center situated on 114 acres. The original development comprises approximately 25 of the 114 acres. The Madera campus is located on Avenue 12 just east of Highway 99 at the edge of the City of Madera. The initial campus consisted of 24 relocatable classrooms and a permanent student services building, along with a relocatable classroom to house the Child Development Learning Center and child care-related programs.

A permanent 26,000-square-foot education and administrative building and utility/maintenance facility were completed for the 2000-01 school year. Funding from the 2001-02 State Budget Act funded the Academic Village Complex completed in January 2004. The 50,000 square feet of classroom, laboratory, and office space includes academic classrooms and offices, as well as components and laboratory space for biology, physical science, chemistry, computer studies, business, art, and a Licensed Vocational Nursing Program. The project also provided funding to retrofit the educational/administrative building to house the library, student services and administrative offices.

As a result of funding from the local bond and business donations, a full-service physical education program and facilities have been completed, including a fitness center, aerobic center, and softball field complex. Final plans have also been developed for the construction of a Center for Advanced Manufacturing facility scheduled to open in 2009.

The Madera Center serves 2,600 students, generating a full-time equivalency of approximately 1,300 students per year. The Center offers a wide variety of academic and occupational programs and opportunities for students. Utilizing services and course catalogs from its sister institution, Reedley College, the Madera Center offers over 360 courses each year in 38 areas of study and gives students a choice of transfer, Associate Degree, Certificates of Achievement, and Certificates of Completion. The first cohort of the Licensed Vocational Nursing Program completed the 18-month Certificate program in May 2004, with a 12 month LVN-RN program in the final stages of development.

It is anticipated that the Madera area will continue to be one of the fastest growing population centers in the Central Valley and will, therefore, continue with its facilities expansion and student growth.

This information provided courtesy of State Center Community College District

PRIVATE & CHARTER SCHOOLS IN MADERA