In the 2015-2018 Strategic Plan, one of Campbell Union School District’s five strategic goals was to make each school a place where students, parents and staff thrive—that is, each school is as desirable as the next. That goal (formerly called the "schools of choice" goal) prompted a proposal to do some reorganizing in the District.

Of the options outlined in the original proposal, presented in March 2016, only the following were acted upon for the 2017-18 school year:

1. 5th grade was added to Rosemary Elementary School in August 2016.
2. Begin plans for transforming Campbell Middle School to a TK through 8^th grade school, possibly in the 2017-18 school year.

This change will be several years in the making, as there are many factors to consider. As of June 2017, under the Board-approved recommendation:

• SCHOOL YEAR 2017-18:
  Campbell Middle School (CMS) will not enroll 5^th or 6^th graders in 2017-18. Those students will be assigned to Monroe or Rolling Hills Middle School, based on whether they live north or south of Campbell Avenue.
• Additional resources will be provisioned to MMS and RHMS in to accommodate the additional students.
• 2017-18 will be the final year of the current middle school on the CMS campus.
• CMS 7^th and 8^th graders will have a robust program for their final year as CMS students. Electives, sports teams, and music will be offered.
• SCHOOL YEAR 2018-19:
  The new Campbell School of Innovation to open in August 2018 with grades TK-4.
• SCHOOL YEAR 2019-20: Add grade 5 (may also be grade 6, depending on construction phase timelines and available space)
• SCHOOL YEAR 2020-21: Grades TK-7 (depending on construction phase timelines and available space).
• Updates are posted in official Board Minutes and on the District and school web pages.
• SCHOOL YEAR 2021-22: Grades TK-8 (depending on construction phase timelines and available space).

Educators and researchers report that K-8 programs offer several advantages over middle schools, including:

• Strong academic continuity and sense of community for students.
• Optimal emotional and social outcomes because faculty know the students and their families really well
• Older kids tend to have a greater sense of accountability to be good role models and mentors to the younger students.
• The younger students gain a better understanding of the purpose and progression of education.
• In some cases, middle school students in K-8 programs have had higher achievement than their middle school counterparts.

Also, adding a K-8 option is in keeping with our belief in providing choices of educational setting for students. There is a growing demand for K-8, nationally and locally, as more families are asking to attend K-8 schools in neighboring districts.

The Center for Education Reform completed a multi-city review of the progress of urban K-8 schools in Milwaukee, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. The conclusion of the study indicated the following positive factors related to K-8 school configurations:

1. Students felt safer.
2. Fewer distractions from outside influences such as drugs.
3. Absences and discipline problems were reduced.
4. Less of a decline in academic achievement as the students transitioned to high school.

The district has established middle school attendance boundaries for placing 5th and 6th grade students at Monroe and Rolling Hills middle schools during the transition period.
Proposed attendance boundaries for the 2018-19 school year were approved by the Governing Board on November 16, 2017, through a process that included public input and that was consistent with board policy and Education Code.
Maps of the approved boundaries, as PDF files, are available here or at the Campbell Union School District administration office.

Creating the new Transitional Kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school will require a few years of transition for our middle school students and families. When complete, the school will be able to accommodate about 850 students.

In 2017-18, Campbell Middle School will enroll about 380 7^th and 8^th graders. Fifth- and sixth-grade students who would have attended CMS are assigned to one of our other two middle schools.

During the transition period, former CMS students will attend either Rolling Hills Middle School or Monroe Middle School, depending on whether they live north or south of Campbell Avenue. The table below shows projected enrollment for our middle schools through the transition.

Improvements are underway at the middle schools to accommodate the enrollment changes and to prepare the CMS site for early primary grade students.

In January 2018, the District will start enrolling students in grades TK-4^th to attend the new school, which will open in August 2018. Upper grade students will be enrolled in subsequent years, which should result in decreased enrollment at Rolling Hills and Monroe.

Construction will happen in three phases. See Estimated Construction Timelines When completed, the new school campus will be able to accommodate up to about 840 students from Transitional Kindergarten (TK) through eighth grade.

We are in communication with City of Campbell staff and neighbors about traffic into and out of the school campus, and have developed several options that are under consideration. In an effort to arrive at a suitable plan, we have held several meetings with community members, neighbors, city officials and planners to gather input.

[[please section needs updating]] At this time, there is not a final plan for the school’s instructional program, so exact costs are not finalized yet. Other improvements would be needed to accommodate early primary students—new playgrounds, equipment and fencing, and bathrooms and furniture designed for the younger children—which we estimate will cost about $2 million to $3 million.

Other campus improvements were already identified in our Facilities Master Plan. These, too, will be factored into a multi-year campus improvement plan.

Numerous meetings have and will take place to afford staff and the public opportunities to participate in the process, and the public can give input at Governing Board meetings. The agenda at each Board meeting will include updates on progress.
Governing Board agendas are posted online and at school and district offices.

Meeting Calendar

Recent Board Meeting News

The role of the Transformation Team was to craft a comprehensive plan to present to the Governing Board by June 9, 2017. The Team considered the educational needs of our diverse student population, creating a dynamic learning environment for all students in CUSD, and developed guiding principles to facilitate making decisions. The Team convened community meetings throughout the process.

The Transformation Team drove the work, the creativity, and recommended plan elements to the District Leadership Team who then made the recommendations to the Board.
The Board approved the recommended implementation plan at its June 22, 2017, meeting. A new Implementation Team will carry on the work outlined in the plan . 

As of June 2017, the next steps are:

• Selection the Implementation Team members
• Identify a theme for the school
• Determine the name for the site
• Community building process
• Boost communication efforts

Contact Us at (408) 364-4200 x6254 or   contact@campbellusd.org