The Sierra Sands Unified School District is located in the Indian Wells Valley

Indian Wells Valley

Indian Wells Valley is an arid north-south basin in east-central California. In the geologic sense, it is a southern extension of Owens Valley to the north, with the recent volcanics of the Coso Range being the separator...

 of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It was established in 1860. It serves all of Indian Wells Valley, including the cities of Ridgecrest

Ridgecrest, California

Ridgecrest, formerly known as Crumville, was incorporated as a city in 1913. It is located in the Indian Wells Valley in northeastern Kern County, California, adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake . Ridgecrest is the only incorporated city along US 395 in Kern County...

, Inyokern, China Lake

China Lake, Kern County, California

China Lake is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California. It is located north-northeast of Ridgecrest, at an elevation of 2264 feet...

. plus, Johannesburg

Johannesburg, California

Johannesburg is a census-designated place in Kern County, California, in a mining district of the Rand Mountains. Johannesburg is located east-northeast of Randsburg, at an elevation of 3517 feet . The terminus of the Randsburg Railway was here from 1897 to 1933. The population was 172 at the...

 and Kernville

Kernville, California

Kernville is a census-designated place in the southern Sierra Nevadas, in Kern County, California, United States. Kernville is located northeast of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 2667 feet...

. The District

District

Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...

 serves an estimated 50,000 residents and is committed to providing the highest quality education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

 in a safe environment to all K-12 students. Sierra Sands has seven elementary schools, three middle schools and two high schools. The District has achieved fiscal solvency through excellent management

Management

Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...

and is a leader in state and national efforts for support of public schools.

List of schools

Accomplishments

Sierra Sands Unified presents a wide range of strong academic programs and highly successful co-curricular programs.
Accomplishments

• California Distinguished School Awards - Burroughs High School (2005),
  • Faller (2004 & 1998), Inyokern (2004), Richmond (2004), Murray Middle (2003),
  • Las Flores (Honorable Mention 2004), and Monroe Middle (Honorable Mention 2003)

• Blue Ribbon Title 1 Nominated Achieving schools - Inyokern and Richmond
  • (the only 2 in Kern County)

• Charles Schwab Foundation for Learning Collaborative Challenge Award –
  • Leadership site - Richmond (1999-2005)
• Up- to-date standards based instructional materials in all classrooms
• Burroughs High School consistently scores 30+ points above state and national averages on the SAT
• Over 80% of Tenth grade students pass the CAHSEE on their first attempt.
• Extensive inservice opportunities offered during buy back days, throughout the
  • schoolyear and in the summer.
• A strong comprehensive K-12 substance abuse prevention and education program
• Officer in the Classroom and Officer on Campus programs
• State Middle School Partnership Network (only Kern County school selected)
• Sand Canyon Environmental Education Program for fourth grade
• District-wide Student Assistance Program
• Consistently ranked in top 20% of California districts in student achievement on
  • AdvancedPlacement exams
• Extensive ROP vocational classes offerings with 70% completer rate

• Local, regional, state, and national winners in a variety of programs including:
  • County and State Science Fair
  • Knowledge Master
  • Speech and Essay Contests
  • Musical Festival Winners
  • Spelling Bees/ History Days/ Oral Language Festival
  • Math Counts
  • ROP Skills Olympics

• Several secondary students selected annually to participate in State Honor Band, Orchestra, and Choir
• Orchestra and Band are regularly invited to attend Music Festivals
• Over $900,000 annually awarded for scholarships with an additional $700,000 in
  • military scholarships and college funds

• Athletic Achievement-
  • League Championships- Football (2002,2003), Girls Basketball (2003),
  • Boys Soccer (2003), Golf (2003, 2004), Girls Swimming (2003, 2004, 2005),
  • Boys Swimming (2003, 2004, 2005), Boys Tennis (2004)
  • CIF championship- Girls swimming (2003)
  • Desert Sky League Awards- All Sports Championship (2000-2001, 2002-2003)
  • and Sportsmanship Award (2002-2003, 2003-2004)

• Staff members selected for Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program (Wales and Spain)
  • and Rotary Visiting Educator Program (Africa)
• Recipients of various grants such as Enhancing Education through Technology,
  • Digital High School, English Language Acquisition Program,
  • School Renovation Grant, Community Based English Tutoring

External links

• Sierra Sands Unified School District
• Burroughs High School
• List of schools