| Folsom Cordova Unified School | |
| Type: | Public |
| Grades: | Kâ12 |
| Established: | 1949 |
| City: | Rancho Cordova |
| Zipcode: | 95742 |
| Address: | 1965 Birkmont Drive |
| Superintendent: | Erik Swanson |
| Schools: | 36 |
| Students: | 20,096 (2020â2021) |
| Teachers: | 911.19 (FTE) |
| Staff: | 1,000.47 (FTE) |
| Ratio: | 22.05:1 |
Folsom Cordova Unified School District (FCUSD) is a school district headquartered in Rancho Cordova, California. It covers the cities of Folsom, Rancho Cordova, and most of Mather. There are 36 separate schools, including adult education and independent study programs. There are four high schools, four middle schools, twenty-one elementary schools, and five alternative schools.[1]
The Folsom Cordova Unified School District was created in 1949 when the Folsom Union High School District joined with the Granite Grammar School District. The new School District was called the Folsom Cordova Joint School District and there were a total of 767 students enrolled at only two school sites which were Granite Elementary School at 909 Mormon Street and Folsom High School at 715 Riley Street in Folsom. In June 1967 the school district was renamed the Folsom Cordova Unified School District. Kitty Hawk and Mather Heights School were located on Mather Air Force Base until that facility closed down in 1993. The after-school Student Care Program started in 1986. The Adolescent Parent Program began in 1985. The school district office was located at 125 East Bidwell Street from 1963 to 2012. (Today that property is the location of an apartment complex.)
The Folsom Cordova Unified School District tried year-round education beginning with the opening of Folsom Hills Elementary School in 1991. Folsom Hills was placed on a single track 60/20 schedule for the 1991â92 school year. All the students and staff were at school for sixty days and then off track for twenty days. Starting in the 1992â93 school year, Carl Sundahl, Folsom Hills and Oak Chan Elementary Schools went on a three-track year-round schedule. Folsom Middle School also began a year-round schedule that same school year however it was a four-track schedule meaning there were students and staff present nearly every day of the year at the middle school. Folsom High never utilized the year-round schedule nor did any schools in Rancho Cordova. By 1998, all schools in the Folsom Cordova Unified School District had reverted to the traditional school schedule and year-round education came to an end.
From 1939 to 1984 the Folsom Union High School District and then the Folsom Cordova Unified School District operated a school at Represa inside Folsom State Prison. The school taught academic and vocational subjects to the prisoners. Numerous high school diplomas were awarded at the prison school. The Federal Government took over control of that school in 1984.
| Service | Name | Years (approx.) | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1949 - 1965 | W.E. Mitchell | 16 | ||
| 2 | 1965 - 1978 | Howard C. Wood | 13 | ||
| 3 | 1978 - 1987 | Dr. James Loughridge | 9 | ||
| 4 | 1987 - 1990 | David Benson | 3 | ||
| 5 | 1990 - 1993 | Virgil Jenson | 3 | ||
| 6 | 1993 - 1996 | Dr. Caroline Gonzales | 3 | ||
| 7 | 1997 - 1999 | Dr. Joe Spaulding | 2 | ||
| 8 | 1999 - June 30, 2005 | Norman Siefkin | 6 | [2] | |
| 9 | July 1, 2005 - June 30, 2010 | Patrick Godwin | 5 | [3] [4] | |
| 10 | July 1, 2010 - June 30, 2017 | Deborah Bettencourt | 7 | [5] [6] | |
| 11 | July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2024 | Dr. Sarah Koligian | 7 | [7] | |
| 12 | July 1, 2024 - Present | Erik Swanson | <1 | [8] |
| 1949 | 767 | |
| 1958 | 3,732 | |
| 1968 | 11,822 | |
| 1978 | 10,549 | |
| 1982 | 9,915 | |
| 1994 | 12,500 | |
| 2000 | 16,357 | |
| 2020 | 20,096 |
The School Board went from "at-large" elections to "by district" elections in 2020.
| District | Years | Name | Terms | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2022 - | Kara Lofthouse | 1 | |
| 5 | 2022 - | Jennifer Laret | 1 | |
| 2 | 2020 - | Tim Hooey | 1 | |
| 1 | 2018 - 2022 | Joshua Hoover | 1 | |
| 3 | 2018 - | David Reid | 2 | |
| 4 | 2016 - | Chris Clark | 2 | |
| N/A | 2014 - 2018 | Sarah Aquino | 1 | |
| N/A | 2010 - 2018 | Zak Ford | 2 | |
| 2 | 2008 - 2020 | Joanne Reinking | 3 | |
| N/A | 2004 - 2008 | Mary McCormick | 1 | |
| N/A | 2002 - 2014 | Richard Shaw | 3 | |
| 5 | 2002 - 2022 | Ed Short | 5 | |
| N/A | 1998 - 2002 | Jim McGowan | 1 | |
| N/A | 1998 - 2006 | Sara Myers | 2 | |
| N/A | 1996 - 2004; 2006 - 2010 | Roger Benton | 3 | |
| N/A | 1996 - 2016 | Teresa Stanley | 5 |
4. "The History Of The Folsom Cordova Unified School District" by David Mitchell 2020