This year marks the Irvine Unified School District’s 50th anniversary.
When IUSD hired its first superintendent, Stanley Corey, in 1972, it had just two conditions for him: Create a “superior” district. And do it in two years.
Corey went to work writing his vision for IUSD with 37 founding principles: “Outrageous expectations should be standard,” was one. “Students must be the focus of all efforts,” was another.
Since then, IUSD has grown from six to 43 schools, each guided by the Irvine Master Plan that placed schools in the heart of villages. And Irvine has become one of the highest-performing districts in the nation.
“While times and technologies have changed since 1972, our core objective remains the same,” Superintendent Terry Walker says. “That is, to provide the highest quality educational experience we can envision, in the spirit of continuous improvement.”
Walker also credits the “US” in the center of IUSD – the board of education and district leadership team, the teachers and support staff, the students, parents and families, and the community partners and leaders.
Throughout this year, IUSD will celebrate its 50 years of success while continuing to look forward, Walker says, “because we know excellence has no finish line.”
