District News

“The Innovation Grant program encourages students to take ownership of their education and school experience,” said Campbell Union School District Superintendent Shelly Viramontez.

Through the grant program, 10 student teams are using the design-thinking process to generate, test and implement ideas for two areas identified in our student survey data as needs: campus cleanliness and building a sense of belonging at their schools. 

“When we provide students with real-world challenges, they see the connections to what they learn in school and recognize they have the ability to make a difference in their everyday lives,” Viramontez added. 

Here are stories of progress at two schools.

Rosemary School:

The two Innovation Grant teams want to create a better school experience for their classmates.

The Refreshing Remix team, 23 students in grades 3 through 5, are creating activities that encourage all students to take responsibility for keeping their school clean and behaviors positive. Working with Teacher Jonathan Natividad, they created a schedule for students to support cleaning target areas for trash, they introduced motion sensor messages by restrooms to remind students to keep them clean, and delivered SEL supports to help students stay calm and in their classroom.

The Arcade team, 24 fourth-grade students at Rosemary and Blackford schools, are using their survey data to learn computer science, design videogames and create 3-D models of other activities for students to enjoy. Their aim is to create an arcade and student clubs at lunch and afterschool for having fun while learning computer programming. Students participate in the Arcade Club during the school day at lunchtime and after school as part of the Campbell Care program. Students share ideas and resources as they design independent solutions to create engaging spaces for Computer Science.

“Computer science dominates the careers of tomorrow, while opportunities to learn computer programming are only still emerging nationwide,” said Teacher Jason Pittman. “By making a place for computer science where fun and engagement leads, we hope to expand the ways to make learning computer science fun.”

Castlemont School:

The Castlemont team, led by teachers Kelli Sorich and Coriann Snyder, is reimagining the school’s 5th grade science experience so it is affordable, meaningful, and able to be replicated by other schools that choose to do so. 

Their design envisions a full-day science camp experience, that costs less than $78 per student, filled with fun, outdoor and team-building activities connected to their science lessons. 

Together, they planned and created activities, prepared a presentation to inform and promote the science camp day to classmates, and enjoyed sharing science and nature activities with students at Sanborn Park.

“Our students are working to find a way for every student to have access to this kind of enriching educational experience,” said Castlemont Principal Kristen Prindle. 

To learn more about this year’s 10 Innovation Grant projects, click here, or listen to the students talk about their projects on the Our Design Journey podcast.

“We believe in empowering students to take ownership of their education and school experience,” said Campbell Union School District Superintendent Shelly Viramontez. 

Through the district’s Innovation Grant program, 10 student teams are using the design-thinking process to generate, test and implement ideas for two areas identified in our student survey data as needs: campus cleanliness and building a sense of belonging at their schools. 

“When we provide them with real-world challenges, our students see the connections to what they learn in school and recognize they have the ability to make a difference in their everyday lives,” Viramontez added.

Here are stories of progress at two schools.

Sherman Oaks Dual Immersion School

Two teams at this dual immersion, TK-8 school are working on ways to improve outdoor spaces for students to gather on campus. “We talked to a lot of students and staff and had a lot of ideas to start with,” said Yatzil, one of the 6th graders on the Innovation Grant team. More seating and shade—especially in the courtyard—topped the list, she added.

As they work with teachers Efrain Hernandez and Jamie Strand, and District Construction Manager Doug Williams (photo, center), the students are finding that state and local school safety requirements, maintenance, and costs mean reevaluating and generating different ideas to test. The solutions are becoming more clear. “We’re going to look at how to add seating to areas that already have shade, and what priority to give the other ideas,” said team member Alitzel.

Campbell School of Innovation

CSI’s student team has been working with Library Technician Sunny Huong to enhance the library experience for all students and making the “Think Tank” a welcoming space for students in the upper grades. The grant is making it possible to keep the library open during lunch for the upper grade students, holding book club meetings and community events, and eventually offering it as a study hall space after school on Wednesdays. 

At a recent meeting of the book club, pictured here, student leaders, Lyla B. (gr 6) and Miles V. (gr 8), explained why they chose to pursue the Innovation Grant. “I wanted CSI to offer more clubs and more books,” Lyla said. “I just want more people using the library, and more Uptown students using it,” Miles added. All of the students at the club meeting agreed that they enjoy reading, in general, and like having a physical book to read.

Library Tech Sunny Hong noticed that many students were not familiar with how to use the library When students returned to learning on campus. “They were good at computer searches and scrolling, but didn’t know how to select books in the library,” she said. She created book showcases and shared book recommendations by students’ peers, and sought ways to give students more experiences in the library. “It has made a difference,” she added.  “A lot more upper grade students are coming into the library.”

Next Week: Rosemary and Castlemont schools

Under the most recent changes to the state’s COVID-19 guidelines, students and staff will be able to return to school sooner, as long as their symptoms are improving. That is one of several changes announced by the California Department of Public Health this month. 

In response, Campbell Union School District has made the appropriate updates to the COVID-19 response plan. Following is a summary of the updates.

Effective March 13, 2023:

• A COVID-19 positive person may end isolation after five days and return on day six if they feel well, have improving symptoms, and are fever-free for 24 hours, with less emphasis on testing negative. They must continue to wear a mask until after Day 10. This change aligns with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations.
• After ending isolation, individuals may remove their mask sooner than Day 10 with two sequential negative tests one day apart.​
• Updates to the definition of infectious period.

Effective effective April 3, 2023:

• Masks will no longer be required in indoor high-risk and health care settings. They are optional.
• Schools will no longer send exposure notices home when a positive COVID-19 case is reported

The full CUSD plan is available online in English and Spanish here.

“Learning to read, for some students, is much more complex than it may seem,” said District Superintendent Shelly Viramontez. “And it is a fundamental skill for success in life.”

Campbell Union School District intensified literacy training and resources for teachers under its “Every Child a Reader by Third Grade” initiative. The efforts are making a difference!

Through classwork, i-Ready and DIEBELS assessments, teachers are seeing positive results from their training and focus on strengthening literacy skills for every student, especially in the early primary grades. 

A long-term study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that students who were not proficient in reading by the end of third grade were four times more likely to drop out of high school than proficient readers. Reaching literacy by third grade is a goal of California schools and a key benchmark in measuring and predicting student success. 

Ideas on how to help your child become a proficient—even an enthusiastic—reader are available from your child’s teacher, school and community libraries, and online.

Online Resources for Parents and Students

• The Campbell Library has given all CUSD students access to online library accounts. If your student has not used it yet, please ask your child’s teacher or the school library staff for information. 
• Million Book March, is part of the Reading is Fundamental celebration of National Reading Month, a campaign to encourage kids nationwide to collectively read one million books in the month of March.
• National PTA’s “Raising Ready Readers” offers tips for parents to start early and practice often.