Santa Maria Education
The High School District of Santa Maria is the district that is oldest in the California State, with three high schools part of it, which includes Pioneer Valley, Santa Maria and the high school of Ernest Righetti.
Besides the three public high schools already mentioned, the valley also has two private high schools which are worth mentioning, called Valley Christian Academy and St Joseph. The Santa Maria district has a total of 13700 students, in four high schools for juniors (grades 7 and 8th) and fifteen elementary schools (between K and 6th grade).
The schools from this district serve the students which live in the Santa Maria city limits and in the Tanglewood county area. The calendar schedule of these schools is traditional and they offer a comprehensive and quality education.
The School District of the Orcutt Union is the one that takes care of the students coming from the Orcutt unincorporated community. Orcutt Academy began courses in 2008 and it can be found in the campus of the Junior High School of Orcutt.
In the same city you will also find the Allan Hancock College, which is a community college which takes two years to finish. This college is well known for the athletic programs and in the past these have included ex football coaches like Ernie Zampese, Gunther Cunningham or John Madden. One of the best theatre programs in the state of California is the PCPA and it also can be found in this college.
The School District of Orcutt Union has two high schools for juniors and six elementary schools under its leadership. The two junior high schools are called Orcutt Junior and Lakeview Junior. In 2007, two new campuses were opened here. The first one was a K-8 school which can be found in Casmalia, while the second one is a high school found in Old Orcutt.
