School district

A school district is a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate local public primary and secondary schools.

United States

In the United States, public schools belong to school districts, which are governed by school boards. Each district is an independent special-purpose government, or dependent school systems, under the guidelines of state government and local school boards. A school district is a legally separate body corporate and politic. School districts are local governments with powers similar to that of a town or a county including taxation and eminent domain, except in Virginia, whose school divisions have no taxing authority and must depend on another local government (county, city, or town) for funding. Its governing body, which is typically elected by direct popular vote but may be appointed by other governmental officials, is called a school board, board of trustees, board of education, school committee, or the like. This body appoints a superintendent, usually an experienced public school administrator, to function as the district's chief executive for carrying out day-to-day decisions and policy implementations. The school board may also exercise a quasi-judicial function in serious employee or student discipline matters.

Unified school district

A unified school district (in Arizona, California, Oregon, Kansas) or unit school district (in Illinois) is a school district which generally includes and operates both primary schools (kindergarten through middle school or junior high) and high schools (grades 9–12) under the same district control.

This distinction is predominant in Illinois and the western states, where elementary school districts and high school districts are, or were, generally separate. The Los Angeles Unified School District is a major example of a unified school district in California. In Illinois, unit school districts must not be confused with consolidated or union school districts, which are generally formed by the consolidation of multiple school districts of the same type.

In Kansas, the unified school districts emerged from legislation passed in 1962. This legislation intended to reduce the number of rural school districts. After the law's passage the number of districts in Kansas dropped dramatically. In 1947, there were over 3,000 districts. After the unification law, the number dropped to under 400.

Capistrano Unified School District

Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD) is the second largest school district in Orange County, California, the 8th largest in California and the 78th largest in the United States. The District currently has 54,036 students and administers 33 elementary schools, 2 K-8 schools, 10 middle schools, 6 comprehensive high schools, 5 charter schools, and multiple alternative education programs.

CUSD has 40 California Distinguished Schools, 11 National Blue Ribbon Schools, 19 Golden Bell winning programs, 36 California Business Honor Roll Schools, among many other award-winning schools and school programs. The District has a graduation rate of 97.2%, much higher than California's average of 85.1%. Every CUSD high school is ranked in the top 1000 US high schools by U.S. News & World Report.

Formed in 1965, Capistrano Unified School District encompasses 195 square miles (510 km²) and employs 3,992, making it the largest employer in South Orange County. With Laguna Beach Unified School District, it is part of the South Coast Regional Occupational Program (ROP).

John of Capistrano

Saint John of Capistrano (Italian: San Giovanni da Capestrano, Hungarian: Kapisztrán János, Polish: Jan Kapistran, Serbian: Јован Капистран, Jovan Kapistran) (24 June 1386 – 23 October 1456) was a Franciscan friar and Catholic priest from the Italian town of Capestrano, Abruzzo. Famous as a preacher, theologian, and inquisitor, he earned himself the nickname 'the Soldier Saint' when in 1456 at age 70 he led a crusade against the invading Ottoman Empire at the siege of Belgrade with the Hungarian military commander John Hunyadi.

Elevated to sainthood, he is the patron saint of Hungary, jurists and military chaplains, as well as the namesake of the Franciscan missions San Juan Capistrano in Southern California and San Juan Capistrano in San Antonio, Texas.

Early life

As was the custom of this time, John is denoted by the village of Capestrano, in the Diocese of Sulmona, in the Abruzzi region, Kingdom of Naples. His father had come to Italy with the Angevin court of Louis I of Anjou, titular King of Naples. He studied law at the University of Perugia.

School

A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students (or "pupils") under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools. The names for these schools vary by country (discussed in the Regional section below) but generally include primary school for young children and secondary school for teenagers who have completed primary education. An institution where higher education is taught, is commonly called a university college or university.

In addition to these core schools, students in a given country may also attend schools before and after primary and secondary education. Kindergarten or pre-school provide some schooling to very young children (typically ages 3–5). University, vocational school, college or seminary may be available after secondary school. A school may also be dedicated to one particular field, such as a school of economics or a school of dance. Alternative schools may provide nontraditional curriculum and methods.