Organization Description Sacramento City Unified School District is one of the oldest K-12 districts in the western United States (established in 1854). SCUSD serves 43,175 students on 75 campuses spanning 76 square miles.
SCUSD is home to a 2013 California Distinguished School (West Campus High School), the only public Waldorf-inspired high school in the nation (George Washington Carver) and the only Hmong language immersion program in the state (Susan B. Anthony Elementary School).
Alumni from SCUSD’s schools include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, nationally renowned political scholar Dr. Cornel West and author Joan Didion. Recent graduates from SCUSD are currently attending Harvard, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UC Davis and host of other prestigious universities.
Our Board-adopted mission statement promises the community that our students will “graduate as globally competitive life-long learners, prepared to succeed in a career and higher education institution of their choice to secure gainful employment and contribute to society.”
SCUSD’s students reflect the rich diversity that is the hallmark of Sacramento’s central city. Our student population is 37.1 percent Hispanic or Latino; 17.4 percent Asian; 17.7 percent African American; and 18.8 percent white. About 5.3 percent of students are of two or more races or ethnicities.
Residents within SCUSD speak more than 40 languages; 38 percent of students do not speak English at home.
SCUSD employs 4,213 people and operates with a budget of $383 million.
Program Information Harkness Elementary is located in the heart of Golf Terrace Estates Neighborhood. We believe a strong partnership between students, staff and parents keep us achieving at high levels. Working in conjunction with our community partners including the Golf Terrace Estates Neighborhood Association, we develop opportunities for families and school to unite. Family empowerment and engagement is an active part of our school community. We host many community activities in which community members actively participate.
Mission Statement
Through a balanced, holistic, culturally responsive and standards-based educational foundation, students will become lifelong learners, prepared to be competitive and successful at all levels of their academic career.
An effectively prepared staff will build effective relationships with students and parents; develop a standards-based and balanced curriculum that captures interest, motivates, encourages and challenges each student regardless of ability level to higher academic achievement; develop within
their students inventive thinking, adaptability and self-direction; explicitly teach interactive communication, social and personal skills; require students to develop quality state of the art results; develop relevancy of the state content standards through Project Based Learning and Service Learning; remain current on instructional best practices through professional development centric to the site’s critical pedagogy; promote English Language Acquisition and Development through vocabulary instruction and authentic exhibitions/presentations; provide targeted intervention; eliminate the academic achievement gap and engage students through the use of Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching.