Throughout my career, I have been drawn to middle school. Working with students who are forever swinging back and forth between childhood and adolescence is unbelievably exhilarating, challenging, occasionally frustrating, and always rewarding.
One minute the students are debating the causes of the Civil War, showcasing their increasing intellectual sophistication and understanding of complex topics. More than once, I found myself silently in awe of a group of 8th graders carrying on a conversation you would more likely expect in a college classroom. The next minute, these sophisticated thinkers are wildly running around the playground, screaming and laughing like the 3rd graders they were not so long ago.
The mixture of enthusiasm, intellectual dexterity, and increasing independence creates a dynamic environment, one full of creativity, laughter, and, yes, a fair share of drama. Just ask their parents. Hillbrook’s middle school is no exception. It is a lively place, where students are challenged by a rigorous curriculum in an environment that is nurturing and supportive. Ask any middle schooler and they will provide you with a long list of the things they love about Hillbrook. The teachers, the athletic program, the arts classes, the trips, the special events, and iPads.
Is there anything they would change? Whenever I ask that question, I really only get one answer – add more students.
A key component of Vision 2015 was to identify the school’s optimal enrollment. During the past six months, the Master Plan Committee, a group chaired by long-time board member Dan Shaw and consisting of board members and the senior administrative team, has intensively studied the issue. Through our study, it became clear that the addition of one section of middle schoolers in grades 6-8 – growing our middle school to 54 students per grade – would have a number of tangible benefits to our educational program.
What are these benefits?
Expanding enrollment in the middle school will:
* strengthen academic departments and allow more academic flexibility, including the potential for additional tracking in math and foreign language
* provide more opportunities for co-curricular activities, such as dance, band, drama, and robotics
* increase participation in existing athletic programs, including lacrosse, softball, and track & field, as well as opening up new sports, such as swim team or golf
* create more social opportunities for our middle school students during this critical stage of growth and development
* allow the school to balance grade size and gender balance in the upper grades while simultaneously bringing in new students and new families who add an exciting new energy to our community
As I noted above, the results of the committee’s work will not surprise our middle school students or their families. While the students may not be able to articulate the benefits of growth in exactly the way I have above, I have no doubt they will agree – adding more students will make an already good middle school better.
So how do we get there? As most of our families know, we have operated with a conditional use permit (CUP) that limits us to 315 students on campus since the late 1980s. In order to add one section to grades 6-8, we need to apply to the Town of Los Gatos for a modification to our CUP.
As a school, we are preparing to make that application in the next few months. We have already taken the first step in that process, which commenced by meeting with the Planning Staff at Town Hall. is to open up a conversation with the Planning Commission at Town Hall and to pull together the materials they will need in order to make a decision.
As part of the process prior to making the formal application, the Town of Los Gatos will be conducting a traffic study during the next few weeks. This traffic study will track the flow of cars on and off our campus as well as throughout the greater Marchmont neighborhood. As always, we ask that you actively look for ways to minimize traffic on campus – carpool, use the shuttle, bike, or walk. In addition, please pay attention to your speed in the neighborhood – remember it is 15 mph on Marchmont between Hilow and the school.
Another key part of the process is to share our plans with our neighbors. This coming Monday, May 9 we will host a neighborhood meeting in the multi-purpose room at 7 p.m. During the meeting, we will share our plans for growth of our middle school.
On Wednesday, May 11, we will then host a community meeting for any interested Hillbrook parents who want to learn more about our proposal to grow the middle school. The event will be held in the multi-purpose room at 7 p.m. All Hillbrook parents are welcome.
We recognize that the main concern of our neighbors will be traffic. With that in mind, we will share with them the many steps we have already taken to mitigate the impact of traffic in the neighborhood. An active carpool program, the addition of two shuttle lines this year, and the increasing presence of Alan in the street encouraging families to slow down are some of the ways we are already working to be good neighbors.
The Town Staff will share the traffic study with us when it is completed and we will review the results and recommendations, as well as feedback from our neighbors, and then we will submit a formal application to the Town of Los Gatos. As soon as we have approval, we will start the process of implementing our growth plan. We expect the growth to occur gradually, with the ultimate goal of meeting our new enrollment targets in the next 3-5 years.
As we celebrate our 75th anniversary tonight it seems fitting that we are launching a new ambitious plan for the school’s growth and improvement. Hillbrook has always been a school with bold aspirations for its students – our vision is to inspire students to achieve their dreams and reach beyond themselves to make a difference in the world. Our middle school growth initiative represents yet another exciting chapter in our history.