Linden Unified School District

Linden is an unincorporated community located on Highway 26 about 10 miles east of Stockton. The first building in the area was built in 1850. A year earlier a teamster hauling freight to the gold mines determined that high ground in the area would be a good place for a freight station. The station was built, along with a public house for travelers. That establishment was given the name of Fifteen Mile House. In 1861 the county surveyor laid out a small town around the station and it was given the name of Linden, which remains today.

The Linden Unified School District was established in 1964. Prior to that, the area’s children were served by Linden High School and 8 elementary school districts (Bellota, Chartville, Everett, Glenwood, Grant, Linden, Waterloo, and Waverly) that sent their children to Linden High School. In 1962 the State initiated a campaign to unify the many small districts in California into larger unified school district. The thought was that there would be economies of scale. Under that plan, the elementary and high school districts serving Linden, Escalon, Ripon and Manteca were to be folded into one large school district. Opponents to this plan found a section of the Education Code that said that if the elementary district served by a high school agreed to unify with that high school district, the new unified district would have to be recognized. Using that information, residents of the elementary districts served by Linden High School agreed to become part of a unified district that used the boundaries of the high school district to define itself. In 1964 the Linden Unified School District was formed.

The newly-formed unified school district encompassed 160 square miles. There were 8 elementary schools serving 1370 students and one high school serving 477 students. Over the years Everett, Grant, Bellota and Chartville schools were closed. The others, along with the high school, have been modernized and expanded.

Today the district has four elementary school serving 1610 students, one high school serving 670 students and a continuation high school serving 45 students. Glenwood Elementary School and Waverly School are K-8 schools with enrollments between 350 and 410. Linden Elementary School is a K-4 school with an enrollment slightly over 440. Waterloo School is a 5-8 middle school with an enrollment of about 410. Linden High School is a comprehensive 9-12 high school and PRIDE is the continuation high school.
 
 Mission, Vision & Values

MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the Linden Unified School District is to ensure the educational success of all students through high expectations and commitment to excellence and to empower students to reach their full potential as responsible, ethical, and productive citizens in a diverse and changing world.

CORE BELIEFS, VALUES AND COMMITMENTS

• We will ensure excellence by providing a high quality, rigorous curriculum which allows for a multitude of post-graduate opportunities and career choices. We will provide a well-balanced vocational and college preparatory program that includes fine arts, advances placement and career technical courses.
• We believe in providing equal opportunity for students to participate in all academic programs and extracurricular activities.
• We will promote a culture of mutual trust in an environment of tolerance, respect and compassion.
• We will build a collaborative and respectful environment which promotes a culture of mutual trust and respect and taking responsibility for one’s own actions where parents, staff, community and students are engaged together as partners.
• We believe in sound governance that provides efficient and effective policies that align with the District goals.
• We value our high quality staff through the process of recruitment, professional development and other means of employee retainment.
• We will provide a safe, healthy, clean and supportive environment which promotes student learning and fosters student, staff and community pride.