School History

 

    Nestled against the semi arid foothills of the Santa Clarita Valley, the Mint Canyon School site continues to be one of the smallest and most rural in the valley. Mint Canyon School first opened its doors in September of 1963 with 185 students. At that time, one permanent building contained six classrooms surrounding the cafeteria/library/multipurpose room.
Today, the Mint Canyon School site looks dramatically different. Our students, staff and community enjoy a multipurpose room, a separate Kindergarten facility with two classrooms and a large play yard, two two story buildings which include the office area, multimedia lab, library, staff room, work room, Resource, English Language Development, and classrooms. The original permanent building includes a multi use area, a mini work room, Science Lab, Music room, and classrooms. The state supported preschool, Junior Mints, and ASES/SAIL (After School Education and Safety/Supporting All in Learning), an after school program, are also housed on the Mint Canyon campus.

 
     While there are some expensive homes within our attendance area, currently, slightly more than 89% of our students come from family units well below the poverty level. Approximately 50% of our students speak a language other than English (11languages in all - 46% Spanish-speaking) and of those, 42% are limited English proficient. The vast majority of our parents have either not completed high school or have received the equivalent of a high school education. Relatively few parents have received a college degree. Compared with the other eight elementary schools in the Sulphur Springs School District, Mint Canyon School has the highest percentage of students participating in the National School Lunch Program (free/reduced lunch), the highest transiency rate, as well as the highest percentage of students who speak a language other than English. Yet, Mint Canyon School continues to be recognized for excellence in education. We have received the California Title I Achieving School award twice and the California Distinguished School award three times, most recently in 2006.

      With a student population hovering around 500, a cozy, hometown feeling continues to exist at Mint Canyon School, even as we grow larger in student population. As expressed in our vision statement, our entire school community is a close knit family which cares deeply about each others' uniqueness and success. Support from the Sulphur Springs School District, a dedicated PTA, and good old-fashioned hard work by the teachers have all contributed to the success of Mint Canyon School. An exciting spirit of cooperation exists at Mint Canyon, and as a caring school community, we support a nurturing learning atmosphere that stresses the social, educational, and emotional growth of all students so they may become productive and successful citizens. Mint Canyon Community School represents a commitment to educational excellence.