The OUHSD School Board is slated to select a name at their regular meeting, Wed., June 22. Here are the committees recommendations:
Learn more about the naming process…
Attend the community forum to learn more about the new high school….
The Oxnard Union High School District is in the process of building a new high school in Camarillo and would like your help naming the school. To submit your school name suggestion go to www.ouhsd.k12.ca.us and click on the link “Suggest a name for the new Camarillo high school”. The deadline for submissions is 5pm on May 10th. Please note that Board Policy #7511 states that “school facilities shall not be given the name of a commercial development or be named after individuals.” The School Board is scheduled to make a final decision at its May 22nd meeting. For more information on the new school go to www.ouhsd.k12.ca.us/business_services/schoolbond/cam.php .
by Kamala Nahas, President, Camarillo Council of PTAs
This Wednesday, March 13, 2013, the City Council is set to vote on a preferred site for the New Camarillo High School. The discussion and suggested action is the third item of business following public comments at 7:30pm.
According to project manager, Terry Zinger…
“Based on the site analysis just concluded, if the City does not request annexation of the Bell Ranch site [site adjacent to the Camarillo Library], there really isn’t an acceptable site within or contiguous to Camarillo. That means that the project moves to Oxnard, somewhere.”
Simply put, if the city does not choose the Bell Ranch Site, we WILL NOT get a new high school anywhere in Camarillo any time soon.
It is EXTREMELY important that you voice your opinion in this matter–the City Council needs to HEAR how the young families of Camarillo feel and SEE that we care. I strongly encourage you all to bring your kids–yes I said BRING YOUR KIDS–to City Hall at 7:30 pm and stay for public comment! There is no better way to teach your children about our government–a government for the people, by the people–than for them to witness it in action for themselves. If you are uncomfortable speaking, send them an email and come stand with me when I put my “Mom” hat on and speak on behalf of my three children.
by Kelly Long, Parent & Citizen of Camarillo
UPDATE: From Dave Norman, Director,Department of Community Development,City of Camarillo. He would like you to know that City Council will not be taking any action on the annexation application the evening of March 13. That will happen later at a noticed public hearing after the OUHSD Board certifies the EIR for the proposed project.
On the 13th the Council will merely be reviewing the Alternative Site Analysis and consider whether to concur with the OUHSD’s choice of the preferred site, a choice we anticipate the Board making on their Wednesday 2/27 evening meeting.
Several of you had talked to me about your concerns with the status of the new Camarillo high school. Below is an update from the last meeting I attended on the Camarillo Academy High School Alternative Site. If you have an opinion on the Camarillo Academy High school and its site, I have attached where and who to send the emails to. Your feedback to the Oxnard Union High School District and the City of Camarillo always appreciated. Continue reading
If you read my previous post on this subject. “A New Camarillo High School: Fact of Fairytale”, you might recall a major obstacle to the timeline of getting the high school built to open in the fall of 2015: the annexation of the property into city limits. Continue reading
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”
This is the comment I usually get when I tell people I’m working on the Steering Committee for the New High School in Camarillo. I don’t blame them really. They’ve been talking about building a second high school here since before I moved to Mission Oaks in the fall of 1980–when most of east Camarillo still smelled of citrus blossoms, Adolfo Road didn’t connect Santa Rosa to Lewis and Las Colinas hadn’t been completed. It’s been seven years since the Measure H bond passed and for many parents the dream of their own children attending the beautiful new high school is as battered and faded as the sign sitting next to the library. To so many of those parents it will always be a broken promise…a myth…a fairytale.
I am going out on a limb here and telling you we will have a new high school adjacent to the library…soon. OUHSD has hired an excellent architectural firm with a track record of bringing projects in on time and on budget, all while designing functional learning facilities that are both beautiful and environmentally sustainable. They have also hired a project management firm.
There are definitely a few hoops still left to jump, though. OUHSD needs to get the school site annexed into the City of Camarillo. They are also looking for both civic and corporate partnerships so we can have a larger performing arts center and possibly a full sized gym that can be shared with the community. The good news is the ducks are lining up…if all goes as planned, today’s sixth graders will be able to open the school in 2015.
Preliminary plans discussed at the Feb. 2, 2012 Steering Committee Meeting. Architects are currently meeting with a number of stakeholders as they work and rework the facility designs.
If you haven’t been following this issue recently, you may not know what is planned for the school. Many people still expect a traditional high school that will serve 2000+ kids with a football team, etc. The truth is–there is not enough funding. There is a lot of debate out there on enrollment numbers. OUHSD just doesn’t show enough enrollment growth for the state to come in and match the Measure H bond funding. So the school is slated to be built in two phases.
Some people feel like we should just take the bond money and make ACHS a bigger and better facility. Maybe they are right, but the board chose not to do that over a year ago and as I say to my six-year old, “that is not one of our choices”.
Academic Emphasis: Phase 1 facilities are being designed with three academies in mind: Engineering, Bio-Medical Technology, and the Arts (including media, visual, & performing). AP/Honors or equivalent and college prep classes.
Enrollment: We are looking at phase 1 enrollment maxing out at 700-800 students in year three. Students will be enrolled via lottery from the Camarillo and Somis zip codes. Any remaining spots will be open to the rest of OUHSD.
Athletics: There will be no CIF athletics on this campus. However, students will be able to participate in athletics at their “home” school. For most of our kids that means Camarillo High School. Rest assured phase 1 will have at a minimum, a gym like workout room, fields, courts, and a track adequate for PE and extracurricular sporting activities.
Performing Arts Center: We know there will be a performing arts center built in phase one. It is still up in the air as to its size and capacity. OUHSD is actively seeking partnerships in the hopes of creating a 700 seat auditorium. This facility is also slated to include a black box theater, dance studio, music/band room, and TV/media recording studio.
The Whole Ball of Wax: The Final Build Out
The architects are designing Phase 2 alongside the initial build. Phase two includes a double gym, full athletic facilities (including a football field and pool), additional classrooms and labs and other common areas to accommodate approximately 2250 students. If I had a crystal ball I could tell you when this will be built, but I don’t.
My Promise
We have an amazing opportunity to create an innovative new high school, something beyond traditional, something compelling, a place that our kids will be clambering to walk through the doors of every morning. Ten years ago technology high schools were sprouting up everywhere–this school goes beyond that concept with technology woven into every discipline–much like today’s job market. Project based learning including senior “Capstone” projects and collaborative work will drive the learning processes. Community outreach and parent involvement will also be part of the culture of this school. It will truly be a school of and for the 21st Century and beyond…
Our Inspiration:
and just for kicks and giggles…
—Kamala Nahas, President La Mariposa PTA 2010-2012
PS: I’ll try not to use so many cliches in my next article.
La Mariposa Pawprint 