Santa Clara Co. School Superintendent Retiring Come Next Year

SANTA CLARA, CA -- Santa Clara Unified School District Superintendent Stan Rose might feel out of place by the time summer hits next year -- kinda like a first-time middle schooler or freshman entering a new school.

Rose is retiring in July 2019 from a 46-year storied career in education. He's served as the district head since 2013.

But Rose's tenure in the South Bay is longer than his professional career. He grew up in the area, attending Patrick Henry Junior High in Sunnyvale when news of the late President John F. Kennedy's assassination broke in November 1963.

"I was an eighth-grader, and 13 years old. I went to my grandmother's house on Stanford Court that day and cried with her," he recalled.

Rose is known for going out of his way to do the right thing by students. He funded exam fees for financially challenged students, ensured the passage of school bonds and advanced a more equitable Advanced Placement program.

"Our community is so much more diverse and so much more beautiful and culturally rich in its diversity than it was when I was a child here," Rose wrote to the district in his retirement letter. "I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to witness that new reality. Santa Clara was my home for a time as a child, and it will always be a part of my home in the future."

The district will conduct a search for his replacement during the school year.

Rose may do a little teaching and writing about his journey.

--Image courtesy of Santa Clara Unified School District