Pasadena Unified School District - History

History

In its early history, Pasadena had some of the highest performing schools in the state, largely due to a strong affiliation with the California Institute of Technology. Two schools in the area, Noyes Elementary (now closed) and Hale Elementary (now Norma Coombs Alternative School) were named after Caltech professors.

In March 1970, busing was ordered in the district after the federal court ordered desegregation of the public schools in Pasadena. This was a result of the city demographics of the time, which resulted in a "de facto" segregation, with a large proportion of the African American population attending schools in the northwest area of the city (which was largely African American), and the white students attending schools in the east and southern parts.

Before the busing plan was implemented in September 1970, the proportion of white students in public schools reflected the proportion of whites in the community (54 percent and 53 percent, respectively). Shortly after busing began, a significant segment of upper- and middle-class families who could afford private schooling, pulled their children out of the public school system to avoid sending their children to schools on the opposite end of the city from their homes. The result was a boom of private schooling available in the city, and the reduction of state funding for Pasadena public schools as enrollment was reduced.

In 2002, Superintendent Percy Clark reduced the number of students bused in the district and expanded a policy of neighborhood schools.

By 2004 Pasadena was home to sixty-three private schools, which educated one-third of all school-aged children in the city, and the proportion of white students in the public schools had fallen to 16 percent.

For the 2009-2010 school year, Pasadena Unified mounted a drive to stop interdistrict transfers out of the district. This was mainly directed at children entering kindergarten, first, seventh, and ninth grades, citing these as "transition" years. They included first grade as a transition year because kindergarten is not required by the State of California.