San Diego Unified School District

San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) is a public school district based in San Diego, California. Founded in 1854 as San Diego City Schools, SDUSD is the second largest school district in California. The district includes 121 elementary schools, 24 middle schools, 21 high schools, and 2 atypical schools.

School board
The district is governed by a seven-member elected board of education; 5 adults and 2 preferential-voting Student Board Members. Adult board members are elected by district for four-year terms. Student Board Members are elected annually by high school students.

Superintendent
The superintendent is appointed by the school board. From 2010 through 2013 the superintendent was Bill Kowba, a retired Navy rear admiral. On February 26, 2013, Kowba announced his retirement, effective June 30. The next day, February 27, the school board unanimously appointed elementary school principal Cindy Marten as the new superintendent. The quick appointment, without a search process or community input, was described as "highly unusual - virtually unheard of" by the San Diego Union Tribune. On May 18, 2021, Marten left her job as superintendent to become the United States deputy secretary of education, with Lamont Jackson replacing her as the interim superintendent.

Schools
List of primary and secondary schools in San Diego organized by district

Partnership with Ocean Discovery Institute
In 2017, the district partnered with the Ocean Discovery Institute, a nonprofit that works to teach kids about science and conservation, to bring a $15 million tuition-free learning and research center to the City Heights neighborhood. The building will be a permanent campus for the nonprofit and will include two laboratories, a garden, a community kitchen and a residence for a live-in staff member. The Living Lab allows the nonprofit to reach all 10,000 students that attend and feed into Hoover High School.

Farm to School Program
In 2010, the district launched a farm to school program in an effort to bring locally grown produce to schools. The program seeks to provide students access to as much local, regional, and California grown produce as possible. In addition to produce grown at farms, the district has a Garden to Café program which allows schools to be certified by the San Diego Department of Environmental Health allowing the school to grow and serve their own produce.