Morgan Hill – For Machado School on Sycamore Avenue, 2006 has been a year of rebirth, as the former one-room school house has taken on new life, playing a huge role in teaching Morgan Hill School District students about history and about science.
“This is truly an example of making lemonade out of lemons,” said Pat Blanar, director of curriculum and assessment who has spearheaded the rejuvenation of the school.
When the school was forced to close several years ago, a small group of district employees and concerned parents and neighbors of Machado School met to discuss what they could do to save the school from stagnation.
The idea was born to use the historic school as a part of the elementary curriculum.
With the help of the Machado Heritage Society, Leadership Morgan Hill and the Morgan Hill Unified School District, the facility was reborn this year. More than 200 fifth-grade students participated in the Colonial Days program, 320 fourth-grade students learned about history through Pioneer Days, 260 third-grade students enjoyed the School Days program and 175 fourth graders were involved in hands-on learning with the Science Exploration program, Blanar said.
“We had a truly difficult decision to make about closing this school years ago,” she said. “Now, we see, with the assistance of groups like the Machado Heritage Society and our volunteers, what a great thing we have to offer our students, possibly even to students from other districts, as we consider expanding our programs.”
The school, located at 15130 Sycamore Ave., is the oldest in the Morgan Hill School District, founded in 1895. Classes were held in the original building until 1967, when a portable classroom building was put on the site so classes could continue. The portable was later deemed unsafe due to mold and other structural problems.
The original building was used for storage until the Machado School Heritage Society was formed. The building was restored for use as a community center, and classes continued in the portable building.
Trustees in January 2003 closed the school on a temporary basis after a water pump failed, and in the course of repairing it, district officials took a closer look at the modular classroom building and found it was not safe.
In June 2004, trustees voted unanimously to approve the purchase and delivery of a modular classroom for about $130,000 and the installation of “all related systems and utility infrastructure” by the Machado Heritage Society.
This fall, students returned to the school, not in a typical classroom setting but as an off-site learning center.
The 2004 Leadership Morgan Hill class chose to spruce up the original building. They repainted the interior and exterior doors and stairs, completed landscaping improvements and repaired the basketball court and built new benches.
They also created display cases for historic photographs and other historic items.
The Machado School Heritage Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of Machado School. Leadership Morgan Hill is a training and development program created to inspire future leaders to community service.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@mo*************.com.
