Main story: Rebuilt Brownell campus ready to greet students
The $72-million project replaces the old school originally built in 1949
Photo by Kaylee Arca Public Information Officer Melanie Corona gives sixth-grader Kaylee Gamble and her mom, Andrea Gamble, a tour of the new campus.
By Kaylee Arca
Brownell Middle School students will step into 21st century classrooms Aug. 18, enjoying a newly built learning environment with futuristic and sustainable technology.
The campus, located a few blocks west of downtown Gilroy, underwent two years of construction during the $72-million project. Workers demolished the majority of the old school, which was originally constructed in 1949, with an addition made in 1951. Left standing, the multi-purpose room and the gym were modernized. The new classrooms and administration offices provide a technologically advanced and environmentally friendly setting.
Funding came from Measure E, a $170-million general obligation bond passed by voters in 2016. Bond money is also being used for a new South Valley Middle School campus.
“I’m elated. I can’t wait for students to experience the new campus,” said Brownell Principal David Laboranti. “We’re happy to see it come to fruition.”
About 720 sixth- to eighth-grade students will experience the renovated campus this fall, he said.
One of them, Kaylee Gamble, a sixth-grader, took a tour of the new campus with her mother, Andrea Gamble, Friday, Aug. 6 to get a sneak-peek. The two were guided by their family-friend Melanie Corona, Gilroy Unified School District’s public information officer, and Brownell custodian David Cesena.
“I’m really excited, a small bit nervous, but really excited,” Kaylee said about stepping into the new classrooms. She expressed concern about getting lost the first day of school.
“Don’t worry, the first few weeks of school there will be grownups everywhere to help you find your classrooms,” Corona reassured her. “We have two grades of students who have never been here before, and the eighth-graders only know the old campus.”
The group walked around the school that is divided into three “pods,” one for each grade level. Each pod is color-coded (sixth grade is green, seventh is red, and eighth is blue) and has two main buildings with six classrooms in each plus one maker’s space or science classroom. There is an outdoor learning space between the buildings.
During the tour, Corona highlighted the large glass roll-up door in every classroom.
“These garage doors can be opened to utilize outdoor learning space,” she said.
In addition to the fresh air flow from the roll-up doors, the school has been outfitted with a state-of-the-art ventilation system, she said.
The Brownell campus was created to have a zero-carbon emissions footprint that includes solar panels on the roofs. Low maintenance and drought-tolerant plants including trees, bushes and flowers are sprouting throughout the school. A garden and pollination station attracts bees and butterflies.
“There are three bioswales on campus,” Corona said. “They collect excess rainwater and return it into groundwater.”
Corona brought Kaylee and Andrea to the media center, which operates as the library and study area. The media center and every classroom have an 85-inch touch screen mounted on the wall. Sections of the walls are covered with a special paint that enables teachers to use them as whiteboards, letting them write and erase lessons with special pens.
Designers modeled the classroom layout after university-style seating with multiple levels and flexibility to change configurations.
“When you’re in a beautiful place and challenged to excel academically, I think it’s much easier to transition (to higher levels of education),” Corona said.
As the tour walked by the commissary, she explained how every student has the choice to bring their own food or receive a free meal.
The federal government approved the Universal Free Meals for All program that feeds every public school child in this country breakfast and lunch for free regardless of income.
The entire project was completed in five years, faster than planners first thought. The pandemic shutdown allowed for the school to be demolished all at once and rebuilt while students were learning from home, Laboranti said. The expedited plans saved money. That allowed for the addition of more renovations than were originally in the budget, he said.
The tour group met seventh-grade math and science teacher Matt Romiti as he was setting up his classroom with the help of his wife and two children.
“I’m quite nervous. I’ve been a teacher for 15 years, but it’s a total change,” he said. He has taught 13 of those 15 years at Brownell.
“I’m overly excited for the new campus because I got to be part of the architecture committee,” he said. “I piloted the furniture before we decided to go with the flexible, tiered-seating arrangements. It’s neat to see it completed.”
One of Brownell’s English language arts teachers, Teri Mikkelsen, is Gilroy’s 2021 teacher of the year. Her son Andrew, a former Brownell student, served as one of the architects on the project and redesigned his old middle school.
Romiti looks forward to using the new technologies and learning spaces of the campus.
“There are different learning modalities,” he said. “I want students to use these spaces designed for them.”
It is important for educators to understand the needs of students and the struggles they experience with the pandemic as they return to the classrooms after learning online, he said.
“Kids are going to come in with so many different challenges: Who lost someone to COVID? Who didn’t cope well?” he said. “All of these things are going to be a lot of baggage these students come back with. Not only do you have to be their teacher, you also have to be their counselor.”
In addition to discovering the wonders of math and science, Romiti wants his students to learn about themselves and life.
“Education is much more than just academics,” he said. “Be patient. While we were all online you learned so much more than just the math. You learned how to be resilient, responsible, and resourceful.”
Kaylee is looking forward to returning to campus and seeing her friends. She is most excited to join band class and try track and field.
“She’s excited, she’s ready,” her mother said. “It’s exciting to have her at the new campus. It’s so nice to have my kids coming through the district knowing they’ll be well taken care of.”
Kaylee Arca, a 2017 graduate of Sobrato High School, recently graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in Journalism and Media Studies.