What Tehachapi Unified School District does

Tehachapi Unified School District (TUSD) is a public K-12 school district headquartered at 300 South Robinson Street in Tehachapi, California, organized under the California Education Code as a political subdivision of the state. Founded in 1957, it operates nine school sites spanning the Tehachapi area of Kern County: three elementary schools (Cummings Valley, Golden Hills, Tompkins) serving transitional kindergarten through 5th grade; Jacobsen Middle School for grades 6-8; Tehachapi High School for grades 9-12 with CTE pathways and athletics; Monroe Continuation School for credit recovery; Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy (TILA) for independent study; and Tehachapi Adult School for continuing education and GED preparation. Bus transportation extends service across Stallion Springs, Bear Valley, Westwood, Mariposa, Keene, Sand Canyon, and Highline communities.

The district's operational technology stack is built on commercial SaaS rather than proprietary infrastructure. Canvas LMS (accessed via Clever single sign-on) provides learning management; Aeries SIS handles student information, grades, attendance, and online enrollment; Google Workspace and Chromebooks serve as the productivity and device layer; ParentSquare enables district-wide family communication; Zonar MyView powers real-time bus tracking; PayPAMS processes meal and daycare payments; HappyFox/Zendesk runs the technology helpdesk; and Frontline Education (formerly AESOP) manages absence and substitute placement. I-Ready provides diagnostic and personalized learning content. This is an integrated procurement architecture of vendor products rather than a single platform the district has built or owns.

TUSD's revenue model is non-commercial: it is funded primarily through California's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), supplemented by local property taxes, federal categorical grants, and other program-specific allocations (USDA Community Eligibility Provision for 2025-2026 nutrition, IDEA special education, Title I/III, McKinney-Vento, and foster youth funding). Direct fee revenue is limited to the Extended Daycare Program (TK-5 before- and after-school care at three elementary sites, billed monthly per an annual fee chart) and Adult School tuition. Brian Bell serves as Superintendent; the district is governed by an elected seven-member Board of Trustees led by President Paul Kaminski.

Name

Tehachapi Unified School District

Legal name

Tehachapi Unified School District

Website

https://tehachapiusd.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1957

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Tehachapi Unified School District is a public K-12 California school district operating nine schools in the Tehachapi area of Kern County, funded primarily through LCFF and serving students, families, and adult learners via traditional, continuation, independent study, and adult education programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Public Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Child Day Care Services (8351), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Public School Districts (K–12) (EDADABAA)

Keywords

• K-12 public education
• School district services
• Child nutrition programs
• Student transportation services
• Special education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Tehachapi

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Tehachapi Unified School District is a public K-12 school district that delivers free public education to students in Tehachapi, California through nine schools (three elementary, one middle, one comprehensive high school, a continuation school, an independent learning academy, and an adult school). It supplements classroom instruction with extended daycare, special education, bus transportation, free meals under the Community Eligibility Provision, health services, and counseling/support services for foster youth, English learners, and homeless students.

Product overview

Tehachapi Unified School District operates as a public K-12 school district serving Tehachapi, California with nine distinct educational programs: three elementary schools (Cummings Valley, Golden Hills, Tompkins) for grades K-5; one middle school (Jacobsen) for grades 6-8; one comprehensive high school (Tehachapi High) for grades 9-12 with CTE and athletics; one continuation high school (Monroe); one independent learning academy (TILA) for flexible study options; and one adult school for continuing education. The district supplements core academics with support services including an Extended Daycare Program at elementary sites, comprehensive Special Education Programs (Autism SDC, RSP, Mild/Moderate, Moderate/Severe, Behaviorally Challenged, TALL transition program), Transportation Services with Zonar bus tracking, Food Services under the Community Eligibility Provision, and Health Services. Technology-enabled student and parent access is provided through the Aeries Student Portal for grades, attendance, and enrollment. This is a platform of individual school programs unified under district administration rather than a single product architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cummings Valley Elementary School Elementary school serving students in transitional kindergarten through 5th grade as part of the Tehachapi Unified School District.
• Golden Hills Elementary School Elementary school serving students in transitional kindergarten through 5th grade as part of the Tehachapi Unified School District.
• Tompkins Elementary School Elementary school serving students in transitional kindergarten through 5th grade as part of the Tehachapi Unified School District.
• Jacobsen Middle School Middle school serving students in grades 6-8 as part of the Tehachapi Unified School District.
• Tehachapi High School Comprehensive high school serving students in grades 9-12, offering graduation, college planning, career technical education, and athletics programs.
• Monroe Continuation School Alternative high school program for students who need flexible scheduling or credit recovery options.
• Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy (TILA) Independent study program offering flexible learning options for students who may not thrive in traditional classroom settings.
• Tehachapi Adult School Adult education program providing continuing education, GED preparation, and workforce development courses.
• Extended Daycare Program Before and after school childcare services available at elementary schools (Cummings Valley, Golden Hills, Tompkins) for students in TK through 5th grade, operating from 6:00 AM until school start and from dismissal until 6:00 PM on school days.
• Special Education Programs Comprehensive special education services including Autism (SDC), Resource Specialist Program (RSP), Mild/Moderate, Moderate/Severe, and Behaviorally Challenged programs across all school levels, plus the TALL (18-21 year old transition) program.
• Transportation Services School bus transportation services utilizing Zonar MyView bus tracking technology, serving students across the district's geographic area including Stallion Springs, Bear Valley, Westwood, Mariposa, Keene, and Sand Canyon.
• Food Services District food services implementing the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for 2025-2026, providing free breakfast and lunch to all enrolled students. Menus are available through PayPAMS.
• Health Services School health services providing medication administration, health family resources, diabetes management plans, and COVID-19 pandemic resources.
• Aeries Student Portal Web-based portal enabling parents and students to access grades, attendance, schedules, and enrollment information. Includes parent portal login and online enrollment capabilities.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration13 records

Feature5 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• ParentSquare: Provider of TUSD's family communication platform. Powers the district's parent engagement, announcements, and urgent notifications across K-12 California districts, making it a comparable edtech infrastructure peer.
• Instructure (Canvas): Provider of the Canvas LMS used by TUSD. While not an operating peer to a school district, Instructure is the technology vendor whose product underlies TUSD's instructional delivery, making it thematically comparable for ecosystem analysis.
• Aeries Software (Eagle Software): Provider of the Aeries Student Information System used by TUSD for grades, attendance, and enrollment. Adjacent ecosystem participant serving the same operational workflow as TUSD's student data backbone.
• EdJoin (San Diego County Office of Education): Recruitment platform used by TUSD for certificated and classified job postings. Adjacent enabling technology provider widely adopted by California K-12 districts, thematically comparable for HR/operations.

Broad incumbents

• Bakersfield City School District: Largest elementary district in Kern County, operating many K-8 schools with overlapping CEP, special education, and community eligibility characteristics. Functions as a broader-incumbent comparator for TUSD's elementary programming.
• Kern High School District: Much larger Kern County secondary district serving the Bakersfield metropolitan area. Operates many comprehensive and continuation high schools with overlapping programs (CTE, athletics, special education) but at significantly greater scale.

Direct peers

• Mojave Unified School District: Neighboring Kern County unified K-12 district serving a similar Tehachapi-area mountain-desert community. Comparable enrollment size, geographic isolation, and student demographic profile make it a near-direct operational peer.
• El Tejon Unified School District: Small unified K-12 district serving the Tehachapi mountain corridor (Frazier Park, Lebec). Similar enrollment scale, geographically isolated service area, and reliance on LCFF make it a close operational comparator.
• McFarland Unified School District: Small unified K-12 district in Kern County, California, of similar scale and rural/small-town character. Brian Bell, TUSD's current Superintendent, previously served as Assistant Superintendent at McFarland USD, confirming direct operational comparability.
• Southern Kern Unified School District: Adjacent unified school district in the southern Kern County / Antelope Valley region. Serves a comparable rural community with similar LCFF funding dynamics, transportation challenges, and small-school economics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@tehachapiunifiedschooldist5066
• Facebookfacebook.com/TehachapiUnified
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jacobsen-middle-school
• Instagraminstagram.com/tehachapiusd
• Xx.com/tehachapiusd

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tehachapi Unified School District