Paradise Valley Elementary School may soon become the district’s fourth magnet school, following in the footsteps of Jackson, P.A. Walsh and San Martin/Gwinn.
According to the Sept. 15 school board agenda, Morgan Hill Unified School District staff is asking for authorization from the board “to engage the school community of Paradise Valley Elementary School to design and plan an engineering focus academy for the 2016-17 school year.”
Jackson Academy of Math & Music was the district’s first magnet school three years ago and is a kindergarten through eighth grade site, while San Martin Gwinn Environmental Science Academy was crowned last year and was approved to be a K-8 site as well.
P.A. Walsh changed to a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) Academy last year, but remains a K-6 site. Like the other K-6 sites, P.A. Walsh will be K-5 next school year after the board approved a grade level reconfiguration last month that has moved the sixth grade into the two middle school sites.
Superintendent Steve Betando said the district sees a key difference between magnet schools and focus academies. The latter of which he said are “designed to develop comprehensive programs around instructional and curriculum domains in the interest of engaging the community that resides within the attendance boundaries.” The concept also involves business partners, parents, and community agencies in partnership with the teachers and district program staff, Betando added.
Whereas magnet schools, he says “are designed to draw students from other schools.”
“Staff is requesting approval to allow the school community of the administrator, teachers, parents and support staff to develop a proposed plan by working with potential business partners, other educational agencies and educators and researchers specific to the instructional design for a comprehensive engineering-themed focus academy,” the Sept. 15 agenda item states.
The planning and development process comes with a $10,000 price tag.
If approved, district staff will return with a plan for final approval “no later than Dec. 2015,” the agenda continues.
Trustee boundary map to be decided
Two public hearings are also on the Sept. 15 agenda regarding separate aspects of the board’s switch from an at-large to a by-district election system.
The board voted last month to approve the election change, but now must take the necessary steps to finalize it.
The first hearing allows for discussion on the district’s request for a “Waiver of Election for Trustee Boundary Areas,” and the second is the actual selection from the nine trustee map proposals under consideration.
Six of the maps split up the MHUSD boundaries into seven trustee areas, while three others call for a reduction from seven to five trustee areas.
“Staff recommends that the board take action to adopt a trustee area map, and to authorize the Superintendent/designee to send a copy of the Board’s resolution to the County Committee and to work with the County Committee and the Santa Clara County Elections Office to conduct all legally required hearings and other acts necessary so that a change to by-trustee area elections can be implemented in the election cycles scheduled in 2016 and 2018,” according to the agenda item.
