Parents, staff working to spruce up the former Encinal School in
Coyote
When Encinal Elementary School closed last June, the Charter School of Morgan Hill began to move in.
“It’s great,” said Dan Kuwatani, father of three children going into kindergarten, third and seventh grades. “It will be a better educational experience.”
Encinal is located along Monterey Highway near the Bailey Avenue, north of Morgan Hill in the Coyote Valley. The school housed grades four, five and six for the Morgan Hill School District. Due to budget constraints, the school was closed at the end of the school year, and the students will be moved to previously K-3 Los Paseos Elementary School in south San Jose, near Murphy Middle School.
For nearly two weeks, parents and staff have been cleaning up the Encinal campus, preparing for the opening of school next Tuesday. Much of the work included pulling weeds, clearing brush and other gardening chores to improve its appearance.
The old Charter School site, in the Albertson’s Shopping center at Dunne Avenue and Monterey Road, was small and had no interior doors, walls or windows. The playground was a fenced off area of blacktop, and until a Boy Scout built benches for the children, lunch was eaten on the ground.
Encinal will offer the students a typical classroom, a playground, places to eat and more.
The school is adding an eighth grade and will feature a new agricultural program.
“To go from a site with no doors, walls or windows to a place that does, it is great,” said Mary Smathers, Charter School director. “Its a big improvement. The staff, parents and kids are real excited.”
With the new facility, the school is able to expand the number of children enrolled. When first opened in 2001, the school had less than 200 students. That grew to 260 by the second year. Now, 370 are expected on the first day of classes.
“The faculty and the school teachers are looking forward to classes with walls,” said Susan Burcat, a mother with children going into the second and fourth grades. “They’re looking forward to the quiet.”
The new facility will also allow a better physical education program. The school has always offered P.E., but according to Smathers, the new campus will offer a better opportunity for students.
“We have playing fields, a volleyball court, basketball and room for the picnic tables,” said Smathers. “Students used to leave to practice (for after school sports). Now we can do some sports games. We have grown so much.”
While space is full for most of the grade levels, there are four that still have space open. Grades four, five, six and eight also have room for further enrollment.
“Its great that we have an actual facility and the kids love it,” said Burcat. “The only draw back is the distance. Kids looking forward to having an actual play ground.”
Encinal also offers a garden that will be used by the Charter School. There will be a new agricultural science class that will be available to all students over the course of the year. Charter is a Morgan Hill School District school.
Details: Call 463-0618 or visit www.mhcharter.org
