Granada Islamic School (GIS) is a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation (FID 31-1267559) established in 1988 by the Muslim Community Association (MCA) to meet the PK-8th grade educational needs of the Muslim community of the San Francisco Bay Area. The school is located in a light industrial area in the heart of Silicon Valley, and occupies one half of the MCA building, adjacent to the mosque and community center. The school consists of 19 classrooms, a science lab, a computer lab, a library, three teacher rooms, four offices, the Daycare, Arabic language lab, a tutoring room and a multi-purpose room. Outdoor facilities include a playground, a grass area, a basketball court and an asphalt parking lot. Access to one of the parking lots is blocked off during school hours and used as part of the chidlren's play area.
Tuition, the primary source of revenue, is projected to be $2,284,646 for the current academic year. This is an average of $5,712 per student. This is low compared to the California state average expenditure of $9,657 per student (2009-10) and the Santa Clara Unified District average expenditure of $10,014. Financial aid is granted to eligible families. GIS grants an average of $105,000 in financial aid to an average of 57 students and 40 families each year. The average financial aid awarded is $2,713 per family and $1,797 per student.
GIS has an administrative team (the Principal, the Vice Principal, the Director of Character Education, the Business Manager and the Director of Student Activities) that reports to the seven-member School Board of elected and appointed community members. The School Board reports to the MCA Board, the elected governing board of the Mosque.
In fall of 1999, Granada received its initial accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. In 2003, a self-study was conducted and resulted in a six-year term of accreditation. In 2009, a second self-study was conducted and also resulted in a six-year term of accreditation.
The school is divided into upper grades (5th-8th) and lower grades (K-4th). The program for both upper and lower grades consists of three components: academic subjects, Islamic education subjects, and enrichment classes. In our academic subjects, our students are expected to master all the standards set by the State of California for Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies. The Islamic and enrichment classes comprise about a third of the student’s day at school. Islamic education subjects include: Qur’an reading and memorization, Islamic studies and Arabic language. The third component, enrichment classes, includes art, physical education and computer education. The total instructional minutes for GIS students exceeds the California code requirement at all grade levels.
| Instructional Minutes |
| |
KG |
1-2 |
3-4 |
5-6 |
7-8 |
| CA Educational Code |
36000 |
50400 |
50400 |
54000 |
54000 |
| GIS Minutes |
55095 |
63445 |
63510 |
61175 |
60835 |
Our academic year goes from the end of August until mid-June and is divided into three trimester grading periods. Our school day runs from 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. on Monday through Friday, and from 8:00 to 2:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and is broken down into eight 45-minute periods. GIS holidays are aligned with major U.S. holidays as well as Muslim holidays.