District News

Updated Wed, May 31st

The district’s Preschool Department is offering Kinder Readiness Summer Care for children who will be Transitional Kindergarten/Kindergarten students in the upcoming 2023-2024 school year. 

The program begins July 3, 2023 and ends August 10, 2023. 

If you are interested in enrolling your child, please visit this link to view options and learn more about the program: 2023 Kinder Readiness Summer Care

We look forward to partnering with you in helping your children learn, grow, and thrive this summer!

Save the Date! Two TK/K Readiness Resource Fairs this summer. 

  • June 28, 2023, 4-7pm, at Castlemont School, 3040 E Payne Ave, Campbell
  • August 3, location and time TBA

Check our district calendar for updates.

Updated Wed, May 31st

In partnership with the First Partner’s Office and the Natural Resources Agency, the California State Park Adventure Pass provides free entry for fourth graders and their families at 19 amazing state parks throughout the state. Mountains, deserts, forests, rivers… the choice of where to visit is yours.  

Enjoy all sorts of adventures at 19 state parks this summer. This Pass is valid during the child's a 4th grader or 4th grade equivalent, and expires August 31. For full terms and conditions, click here.

To sign up, go to ReserveCalifornia.com or call (800) 444-7275. 

Updated Wed, May 31st

Sometimes, a change in one part of a system leads to changes in other parts. As two of our current school principals retire in June, the vacancies opened opportunities for others. Because of this, several of our schools will experience a change in leadership. 

Also, as school principals’ responsibilities have expanded over the years, we have added part-time assistant principals to two of our elementary schools. They will spend the other half of their time supporting programs for students with additional learning needs.

Blackford: Current Principal Anne Ajlouni is retiring. Blackford’s new principal in 2023-24 will be Veronica Valencia. She has worked in our district for 16 years as a teacher and site administrator, most recently as Assistant Principal at Monroe Middle School.

Campbell School of Innovation: Principal Kami Thordarson is retiring. Xyzzy Godfrey, currently the principal of Village School. An employee of CUSD for 16 years, she has been a teacher and site administrator, and will join Assistant Principal Stephanie Day in furthering the CSI mission. 

Capri: The new school year will bring a new part-time Assistant Principal: Lisa Wiseman. She has worked in our district for 15 years as a teacher and district-level Teacher on Special Assignment.

Village: The new principal for our parent participation school will be Alicia Mommer. Principal Mommer brings a unique combination of administrative experience in both public schools and the nonprofit sector, as well as extensive experience as a classroom teacher at a parent participation school.

Monroe Middle: Current Marshall Lane Principal Patrick Sieler, who has extensive experience as a middle school teacher and administrator, will be moving to Monroe Middle School, working as co-administrator with Principal Ruth Stephens Radle.

Marshall Lane: Marshall Lane’s new Principal for 2023-24 will be Amy Vanderbosch, current assistant principal at Rolling Hills. She will be joined by new Assistant Principal Michelle Beddo for 50% of her time.  She has worked in our district for 19 years, first as a teacher, and currently as Administrator of Accountability & Learning

Rolling Hills Middle: The district has begun the hiring process for a new assistant principal for Rolling Hills. When the new administrator has been hired, we will notify Rolling Hills staff and families.

In the words of Socrates, "the secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new."  We are confident in these new leadership teams and hope you will join us in welcoming them.

Updated Fri, May 26th

The Campbell Union School District Governing Board will hold a public hearing on Thu., June 1, 2023, at 6:30pm, at 155 N. 3rd Street, in Campbell CA.

PUBLIC HEARING TOPIC: 

Proposed Budget and Local Control and Accountability Plan for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 

Budget Overview for Parents and Proposed 2023-2024 Budget for Campbell Union School District 

Public Hearing 

Public comments are invited. A copy of the Proposed Budget and Local Control and Accountability Plan for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 will be available for public review at https://www.campbellusd.org/lcap, https://www.campbellusd.org/budget and at the Campbell Union School District Office 155 N. Third Street, Campbell during the hours of 8:00am – 4:30pm from May 23 – June 1, 2023. 

Si le gustaría ver nuestro Plan de LCAP en español, por favor contacte a Nairovy Aguilar - naguilar [at] campbellusd.org. 

Updated Tue, May 23rd

“The Innovation Grant program encourages students to take ownership of their education and school experience,” said 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.

Capri School: Using the idea of prevention, not punishment, the Capri Innovation Team set about promoting positive behavior focused on three challenges: campus cleanliness, maintaining play equipment, and reducing conflicts at recess..  

“Our student leadership team has taken the initiative to build community across grade levels through PE Buddies, Recess Buddies, Leadership Club, Design Challenges, and Teacher Green Team (campus clean-up),” said Gloria McGriff. “The students create, collaborate, communicate, and are empathetic.”

The Green Team is a group of students who choose to check out buckets, gloves and “garbage grabbers” to collect litter. “Before, the Green Team was being used for consequences instead of a fun activity to do,” said student Saveh. “We changed it so students and classes that participate earn rewards like a popsicle party, or extra STEAM Lab time.”

The PE Leaders are trained 4th and 5th grade students who join the students in grades K-2 at recess to lead games, resolve conflicts, and reinforce positive behavior among the younger students. The Innovation Grant helped to pay for training student leaders in conflict resolution with Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), and in the use and care of STEAM Lab and playground equipment.

The students and staff are noticing the difference. The office is seeing fewer students being sent there for making poor choices, and students are more aware of how individual behaviors, like not playing fair or not returning equipment, impact others at the school. 

Monroe Middle School: “The challenge was to try to find a way to communicate with people who don’t speak English so they can learn better and feel welcome,” said Gabriel, one of Monroe's Innovation Team members. The team’s solution: Newcomer Ambassadors. 

Schools across the U.S. have experienced increasing numbers of students arriving from other countries, such as Ukraine and Afghanistan, who have little or no English skills. The Ambassadors help the new students access translation applications on a school iPad.  

“It helps our students continue to be successful in school, by accessing content-specific material in their home language,” said Teacher Cheryl Lee. The project does more than assist students with their studies. It also builds a sense of belonging as communication between all peers increases. “It also helps students know that they can help themselves,” said student Mobasher.

We will know that this project is successful by analyzing student work production and engagement along with student surveys & interviews.

Updated Wed, May 31st

Our teachers are committed to ensuring that every student becomes a proficient reader. Parents can help by encouraging your child to read every day–even when schools close for summer. In-person or online access is easier for all CUSD students, because the Campbell public library accounts they have during the school year are good even while schools are closed for summer break. 

Following is information about Santa Clara County’s public library summer programs.

SCCLD’s Summer Reading Program Find Your Voice

Our voices have power. We use our voices to share stories, express ourselves, and spark change. Our voices include not only the sounds we make, but the words we write, the art we create, the movements we perform, and the actions we take each day to impact our world.

 Join us for an exciting array of programs for children, teens, and adults. Read a book and find your voice this summer with SCCLD!  All are invited to join June 1st through July 31stIt’s free and fun for all ages!

How to Join

  • It’s easy to get started. Beginning June 1st, sign up (or log in) online on Beanstack (link to pre-register will be available May 1st), or print a reading log.  You can also download the Beanstack app for your mobile device.
  • Earn badges by reading and completing activities. This year, SCCLD’s Summer Reading Program runs June 1st through July 31st.

Look forward to:

  • Programs for kids, teens, and adults including performers, book clubs, and more!
  • Earn badges throughout the summer in Beanstack by logging your reading and activities.

Earn a prize* for reading 5 books and completing one activity this summer!

*Completion prizes will be available starting August 1st while supplies last.

Updated Wed, May 24th

Our survey data showed that parents and students want more art and hands-on learning in schools. Teachers want more time for planning and collaboration to bring effective and engaging instruction to students.

We heard you, and launched the Arts & Innovation Collaboration pilot program this year at two schools, Blackford and Rosemary, then expanded it to some grade levels at Lynhaven. Our team of talented Innovation Specialists facilitate engaging innovation and art experiences with students, giving classroom teachers time during the school day to collaborate as professional learning communities. 

Positive Feedback

Teachers at both Blackford and Rosemary report that the ongoing collaboration time has been crucial for planning next steps for targeted instruction to support students’  learning. According to the survey provided to participating teachers, "It has given us time and a structure to really dig into our data so we can make strategic instructional choices that will move students forward.”

“We are building ongoing access to innovation and the arts for and with our community,” said Coordinator of Innovation, Teaching, and Learning Julie Goo. 

woman works with two boys creating things with tape and cardboardFamilies worked together at the Innovation Showcase.

Two Innovation Showcases in April highlighted the work at the two elementary schools. Students and parents were happily problem solving and discovering solutions to such challenges as coding mini robots to travel a path, building prototypes with raw materials,  making freehand digital art, collaborating with Minecraft, and more. Displays of student work included their reflections about what they learned in the process.

“Innovation is one of our Profile of a Graduate competencies, and we focus on tapping into students’ natural curiosity and desire to learn,” said Superintendent Shelly Viramontez. “Their future workplaces will demand our competency skills of self direction, critical thinking, collaboration, empathy and innovation, and this is part of  preparing  them for success now and in their future.”

Plans to Expand

With the overwhelmingly positive feedback from our two-school pilot this year, we are planning to expand our Innovation Specialist team to bring the program to more schools. We are building teams to provide experiences of arts, innovation and music. We are planning  to provide these experiences for K - 5 students and through lunch clubs for our 6-8 grade students.

Learn more about what students have been up to in the Innovation program this year on the Innovation Blog

Updated Wed, May 17th

Calendars list many different appreciation dates for many different people and professions. In an effort to acknowledge all of our employees, our district recognizes them together during one special week. We know that it takes all of us working together to safely educate students to their highest potential.

While we encourage you to acknowledge groups during their designated days, we invite you to join us during Employee Appreciation Week, May 22-26, 2023, to recognize and acknowledge the many people in our district who work hard every day to make your child’s school a great place to learn and a great place to work.

Updated Tue, May 16th

The COVID-19 pandemic and closure of in-person schooling impacted students across the country. In a recent report to the Campbell Union School District Governing Board, Superintendent Viramontez outlined how the district used Elementary & Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSR) Funds to address the impacts to our students and staff. 

“We were able to combine ESSR, other one-time funds, and some General Fund dollars to increase academic and social emotional support for students and staff,” she said. Over three school years, 2020-21 through 2022-23, the district expenditures per student increased by $3,401. The average spending per student will increase again in 2023-24 to almost $19,000 per student, an increase of more than $4,000 per student since 2020-21. The State’s average per student expenditure is $13,686.

“We looked closely at our data to see which programs are having the greatest positive impact on students and directed the funding there,” Viramontez said, as she presented a year-by-year list of the allocations. 

Since receiving the ESSR funds in the 2020-21 school year, CUSD has increased professional counselors and behaviorists, instructional specialists for math, reading, special education, and English language development. To attract qualified employee candidates, the district also increased employee wages and pay for substitute teachers and support staff.

While not part of the April 20 report, the district also used the funds for extensive expenditures to enhance facilities’ COVID-19 safety, such as HVAC upgrades and additional outdoor learning spaces. Click to see the April 20, 2023, report to the Board. 

Updated Wed, May 10th

The volume of work needing to be done in education can seem insurmountable. What makes the work manageable is focusing on a specific challenge, taking one or two actions aimed at improvement, assessing for effectiveness, scaling what works, and abandoning what doesn’t. This concept is at the core of Campbell Union School Districts’ continuous improvement work. 

“Continual Improvement makes system change do-able. It simplifies the process and prioritizes what matters most,” said Superintendent Shelly Viramontez. “Improving the student’s educational experience is key. It’s better this week than last week, better this month than last month, and so on.  We are getting better, not perfect.”

man points at screen as people sit and listenSince the 2021-22 school year, district leaders have trained to use improvement practices to tackle barriers to learning—language differences, socioeconomic disadvantages, and others—and close achievement gaps. Training is expanding this year to include school-level staff.

Improvement practices speeds up learning-by-doing, according to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning. It is a user-centered and problem-centered approach to improving teaching and learning. It applies small, measurable, and individualized changes to address specific issues and uncover the root cause of problems.

circle illustration of a cycle for improvementUsing surveys, assessments, and other data sources, staff can identify one or two ‘pain points’ in the system, test a solution, study the outcomes, and adjust or continue the practice based on the data. Then, they move on to the next one.

“Systems get what they’re designed to get,” said Viramontez. “To change what we get, we need to be intentional about adjusting the system.”