The Washington Union School District is a

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...

outside Salinas,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It was established in 1869. Its middle school, San Benancio Middle School, is one of the few public schools in

to receive a GreatSchools Rating of 9 out of 10. The district consists of three schools; K–3 Toro Park Elementary School, 4–5 Washington Union Elementary School, and 6–9 San Benancio

Middle School A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

. Washington Union School has an extensive

nature trail An educational trail (or sometimes educational path), nature trail or nature walk is a specially developed hiking trail or footpath that runs through the countryside, along which there are marked stations or stops next to points of natural, techn ...

running through the hills behind the school. Trail maintenance and improvements are mostly performed by the students. Toro Park School (named for the residential development it serves, adjacent to the former

Fort Ord Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay of the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, ...

Military Base) was built in the late 1970s and was originally for children with disabilities. At that time, San Benancio School housed

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

to 3rd grades and 7th to 8th grades; and Washington Union was home to 4th to 6th grades. Now the A.B. Ingham School, adjacent to San Benancio School, educates Monterey County's students with disabilities. Toro Park School still has the Toro School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and incorporates special programs for those with mental or physical disabilities as well.

References

External links

*{{official website, https://www.washingtonusd.org School districts in Monterey County, California School districts established in 1868 Education in Salinas, California 1868 establishments in California