District News

“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.

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. 

Families 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. 

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. 

Creativity and teamwork were on display as teams of student chefs from three CUSD schools engaged in a culinary clash: the Second Annual Chef’s Choice Cooking Competition. The prize: having their dish on the grade 6-8 lunch menu and their names on a perpetual plaque..

For months, teams of sixth through eighth grade students in our Expanded Learning after-school program competed at the school level. Their efforts had real-world application. Their meals had to look and taste delicious while meeting the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Nutrition Standards for School Meals.

One team from three schools made it to the April 5th final round held in the district’s Central Kitchen. 

• Sherman Oaks: Jasmin, Leilany, Andrea, and Camila. Meal: Torta de Asada (a savory Mexican sandwich)
• Monroe: Rohin, Nerice, Hana, and Lailani. Meal: Sinigang (a tamarind soup native to the Philippines)
• Rolling Hills: Sarim (competing solo due to an ill teammate). Meal: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Sandwich with fresh Tomato Basil soup.

The excited and determined students worked together to create their signature dishes and clean up their stations before the panel of judges, community representatives, and a count-down clock.

Judging the meals were CSI Student Angela Park; Board President Danielle Cohen; Superintendent Shelly Viramontez; Child Nutrition Dept. Director Benny Calderon; Child Nutrition Dept. Assistant Director Vachan Boja. Community partners included CalFRESH, Sutter Health, 5210, Santa Clara Public Health, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.

“All the meals were delicious, so the judges had a hard time choosing one winner,” said Child Nutrition Department Director Benny Calderon. 

The result: Sherman Oaks' team (pictured above) received the winner’s trophy, but all three meals will be on the grade 6-8 lunch menu.