|
|
from the August 27, 2019 meeting
|
|
|
|
|
|
Milpitas HS/Ayer Educational Park project presented to Board
|
Representatives from LPA Architects delivered an exciting presentation that delved into Master Plans for Milpitas High School (MHS) and Ayer Educational Park. Bond and Facilities Director Travis Kirk, Project Manager Denise Flatley, and Managing Director Walter Estay spoke of upgrades to MHS and Ayer Educational Park, along with creating a second high school campus.
Since February, LPA has been engaged in a process of reaching out to the community and collecting data to help guide and shape their plans. They held focus groups, and met with students from MHS and Cal Hills, in an effort to connect with next generation leaders and figure out their hopes and priorities for the modernization project. LPA also sat down with District staff members, interviewing them thoroughly about both sites.
In the end, they created Master Plans that were in alignment with what the community expressed during all meetings and interviews.
Across both sites, one of the main priorities will be safety and security.
And for MHS, it was determined that the major goals would be to relieve congestion, provide a public face to the performing arts building, be a community resource, create welcoming student-centric spaces, and celebrate a diverse community.
They spoke of creating a Performing Arts Center, a building that would house multiple uses that went beyond being solely a theater space. The center would have teaching spaces, along with a student center in the middle. And the amphitheater would also be renovated, along with its seating capacity being doubled. LPA also spoke of having space for a secondary practice gym.
As for Ayer Educational Park, the goals are to prepare it for 21st century students, create partnerships within the community and region, and serve 800-1,000 students by going beyond the scope of 8am-3pm programs. The process would include modernizing the buildings of Calaveras Hills High School and the Adult Education school. New classrooms and tech spaces would also be included to create a second high school campus at the front of the space.
Without the proper land space and funds to pay for programming, it won’t be a traditional high school campus. Superintendent Cheryl Jordan spoke of the "innovation” opportunities they hope to bring to the second high school campus in order “to make sure our kids have that competitive edge they need in Silicon Valley...where things change constantly.”
|
|
|
Trustees honor Machelle Kessinger for uniting classified employees
|
|
Superintendent Cheryl Jordan expresses how much Machelle Kessinger means to Milpitas Unified School District at the board meeting. Kessinger was the 2019 CSEA recipient of the Laurence Twoaxe Unity Award that honors an individual who takes the lead in uniting classified employees.
|
|
City of Milpitas recognized for
Youth Force work program
|
|
The City of Milpitas was recognized for creating and organizing the Youth Force summer work program. The program employed over 20 MUSD students, placing them in jobs throughout the community. We thank the City for providing such an incredible opportunity for our students. Thank you to Mayor Rich Tran, Councilmember Carmen Montano, Deputy City Manager Ashwini Kantak, and Milpitas Recreation and Community Services Director Renee Lorentzen for your support and partnership.
|
|
Andrea Hutchison saluted for her work supporting the Youth Force program
|
|
Milpitas High School teacher Andrea Hutchison was also honored for her work in coordinating the City's Youth Force work program.
|
|
Students Enif Vazquez and Maggie Or appreciated for participation in Youth Force
|
|
MUSD students Enif Vazquez and Maggie Or were recognized for their participation in the City's Youth Force summer internship program. Vazquez interned with Student Nutrition Services, while Or interned at the Superintendent's Office.
|
|
Badminton champ Katelin Ngo honored
for achievements on court
|
|
Superintendent Cheryl Jordan listens in as badminton star Katelin Ngo, a student at Milpitas High School, talks about her future plans in the sport during the Aug. 27 meeting. She was recently selected to represent the U.S. in an international tournament in Russia.
|
|
Kiwanis Club of Milpitas recognized for hosting Kohl's Cares for Kids event
|
|
The Kiwanis Club of Milpitas was honored Aug. 27 for their fundraising effort to support MUSD students in need. They raised enough funds to send 140 MUSD elementary school students shopping for school clothes with volunteers at Kohl's.
|
|
Randall Modernization Project moving forward with revamped design plans
|
|
Excitement and anticipation continues to build amongst stakeholders within Milpitas Unified School District as the bond-funded Randall Elementary School Modernization Project advances through the design development phase of the construction process.
HMC Architects followed up their May 14, 2019 preliminary design rollout to the Board with an Aug. 27 presentation on Randall. Changes were made based on feedback from Board Members as well as from parents, staff and the community.
In the coming months, construction documents for the site work, modular relocation and Kindergarten modules, as well as for the new Multi-Purpose and Administration buildings, will be finalized and sent off to the Department of State Architect for approval.
Once DSA gives the go-ahead to the District plans, the bid process will begin in January 2020 with ground-breaking and construction start-up scheduled for June 2020. The site work, modular relocation and Kindergarten mods will be completed first, slated by September 2020 with an October move-in. The Multi-Purpose and Admin buildings will follow with a May 2021 completion date and a July move-in.
The $21 million Randall Modernization Project is being funded through the $284 million Measure AA general obligation bond approved by local voters (71.41 percent) in November 2018.
The new modern digs at Randall include a Kindergarten building with adjoining playground at corner of Edsel Drive at S. Park Victoria Drive; a carefully-placed Administration building at the main entrance way with full view of everyone approaching the redesigned campus; and a Multi-purpose building.Additionally, five portables will be relocated to the backside of campus along S. Park Victoria.
At the Aug. 27 meeting, Board Members stressed the importance of security and safety on the Randall campus. Those measures include perimeter fencing with a single-entry point onto campus as well as separate drop-off lanes for parents and buses divided by a 3-foot fence to prevent students from running across.
|
|
MUSD to seek out State-matching funds for new construction projects
|
|
A new contract with School Facility Consultants will allow Milpitas Unified School District to leverage its bond dollars for the purpose of acquiring matching State funds for future school construction/modernization/upgrade projects.
At the August 27, 2019 meeting, the MUSD Board of Education unanimously approved the agreement with the consultancy firm, which will
provide the District with assistance in applying for school facility funding, establishing timelines, completing applications for eligibility funding from the State School Facility Program.
The State matching funds, when acquired, will allow MUSD to even further enhance the scope of work already being planned throughout the district thanks to the passing of the $284 million Measure AA capital improvements bond in November 2018. Measure AA bond monies can go toward: Safety and security, modernization, overcrowding, and a second high school campus at Ayer Educational Park.
MUSD has not applied for available matching State funds in about 20 years, according to District staff.
School Facility Consultants has helped school districts realize billions of dollars in school facility funding for new construction, modernization, and renovation projects since 1986. Specifically, its consultants helped acquire $12 million in funds for Cupertino schools and $50 million for Merced schools, according to Bond Consultant Travis Kirk.
|
|
Meet Student Board Rep Kush Brahmbhatt
|
|
Meet Kush Brahmbhatt. He’s the new Student Board Member serving on MUSD’s Board of Education.
A sophomore at Milpitas High School (MHS), Brahmbhatt is looking forward to serving on the Board during the 2019-2020 school year.
On August 13, 2019, he was up on the dais for his first official board meeting. "It was a long night, but it was enjoyable,” said Brahmbhatt.
Along with being a member of the National Honor Society (NHS), Brahmbhatt also hopes to play for the Boys’ Tennis team at MHS, just as he did during his freshman year. He also enjoys basketball and football, and his favorite subject is biology.
When asked why he decided to serve on the Board, Brahmbhatt said, "I’m here to represent my school and get some ideas from our school into the board to implement. I also want to get some ideas from the board to implement in my school. And I want to make an impact on the student body as a whole — not just in my high school, but throughout the entire district.”
|
|
A warm welcome to Trustee Hai Minh Ngo and Rose Elementary's new Assistant Principal Liqa Moin
|
|
Hai Minh Ngo attended his first official meeting as the MUSD Board of Education’s newest trustee. After an extensive interview process and discussion, Ngo was selected to fill former Trustee Daniel Bobay’s seat at the August 13 meeting.
"The reason I’m here today is really because I want to do as much as I can for not just my kids, but all kids in the community,” said Ngo. "The reason for that is very simply, as we talked about…a community really helps to raise our children and give them the opportunity…”
Ngo has been a part of Rose Elementary School’s Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) and Rose School Site Council; his oldest child is a first grader at Rose. He has also been serving as a volunteer on the Community Board Advisory Council (CBAC).
|
|
|
|
Liqa Moin, the new Assistant Principal at Rose Elementary School, was also welcomed.
Moin spoke of how she emigrated to California from Iraq at the age of 4, and started kindergarten, without knowing any English. By the time she was in 6th grade, she was in Honors Reading, which she attributed to the support she received from her teachers and the school community. "So that experience had led me to be really passionate about educating the kids who need us the most. And I really look forward to working on the Strategic Goals, especially the ones that line up with supports and services for our kids that need it most.”
Before coming to Rose, Moin was a teacher with the Palo Alto Unified School District.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
