In the 1800s, Columbus Tustin bought 839 acres (3.40 km2) of land to found the city of Tustin. In 1872, he built a schoolhouse and donated to the community, founding what was then called the Sycamore School District. In 1889, the district was renamed the Tustin School District. In 1922, Tustin Union High School opened separately, finally merging with the Tustin School district in 1972 to create the Tustin Unified School District.
There are currently 14 elementary schools in the Tustin Unified School District:
Arroyo Elementary School, Barbara Benson Elementary School, Benjamin Beswick Elementary School, Helen Estock Elementary School, Guin Foss Elementary School, Robert Heideman Elementary School, Heritage Elementary School, Hicks Canyon Elementary School, Ladera Elementary School, Loma Vista Elementary School, Myford Elementary School, W.R. Nelson Elementary School, Peters Canyon Elementary School, Red Hill Elementary School (Tustin), Tustin Memorial Academy, Tustin Ranch Elementary School.
There are 3 current K-8 schools:
Orchard Hills School, Sycamore Magnet School (TK-8)
The District has 4 Middle Schools:
Columbus Tustin Middle School, Hewes Middle School, Pioneer Middle School, and C.E. Utt Middle School
The District has 4 high schools which serves a variety of local cities:[3]
There is one school that serves grades 6-12: Legacy Magnet Academy. This school has 4 main focuses, simplified through the acronym TIDE: Technology, Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship.
Defunct Schools
Marjorie Veeh Elementary School
Lambert Elementary School
Currie Middle School
Thorman Elementary School
Adult school
In addition to serving children, the Tustin Unified School District serves education to adults (18 years of age or older) and offers services such as:
ESL - English as a Second Language
CTE - Career Technical Education Pathways at its Tustin Adult School.[4]
Technology
In 2013, the Tustin Unified School District, under the Measure S taxation of local residents, adopted a technology program for all of its schools. Elementary and middle schools received Apple iPads and Chromebooks. In their high schools, a Lenovo laptop and Chromebook system were introduced to the students. In 2019, the district opted to update their technology program by signing with Apple for its Elementary and middle schools, and switched to Microsoft's Surface Pro for their high schools. Additionally, the school also signed with Adobe to allow students to receive Adobe Cloud programs such as: Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and After Effects. These programs are free to all students in the district.[5]
