MUSD Historic Event: ‘Topping Off Ceremony’ for MUSD Innovation Campus

Milpitas school and city leaders, as well as staff, alumni, donors, and community members, gathered at 1331 E. Calaveras Blvd. for the symbolic “Topping Off Ceremony” for the MUSD Innovation Campus on Wednesday, December 14, 2022.

One day prior and earlier the same day of the historic event, students and staff from Calaveras Hills High School, Milpitas Adult Education and the District Office, along with Board of Education trustees, City officials and other MUSD Innovation Campus donors, signed a construction beam before the Blach Construction crew raised it onto one of the building structures.

“Signing the steel beam is a commitment to being the foundation for innovation in MUSD,” said Superintendent Cheryl Jordan. “WE are the foundation that fortifies our commitment to designing intergenerational learning experiences that provide students with state of the art skills.”

The MUSD Innovation Campus is a first-of-its-kind high school through adult, early childhood education research and workforce development center. Located on the site of the former Samuel Ayer High School, the MUSD Innovation Campus will be a hub for future-ready learners of all ages to connect with local businesses and partners within classrooms and labs tailored to provide a real-world education.

“I look forward to the completion of the MUSD Innovation Campus, in partnership with the City of Milpitas, County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors, and Assemblymember Alex Lee. Together, we will revitalize this regional area’s economy, workforce development and academic offerings to underserved youth, immigrant/migrant communities, and adult learners of all ages’ said Board President Chris Norwood, a MUSD alumnus who witnessed first-hand how the closing of Samuel Ayer HS in the early 1980’s impacted the Calaveras Blvd-Park Victoria and surrounding neighborhoods.
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The 99,000 sq. ft. campus includes six new two-story buildings, along with one modernized building, which will house classrooms, experimental learning labs, career simulation facilities, and science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) labs to facilitate a wide variety of programming supported by flex spaces and outdoor learning quads and courtyards. The site will include office space for the District.

Through partnerships with community, colleges and universities, as well as local and regional businesses, the MUSD Innovation Campus will provide training and education that support growing and emerging career fields and practical career simulation. One of the founding partners for the MUSD Innovation Campus is KLA Corporation, which donated $750,000 for the naming rights to the STEAM Lab.

Programming will include adult education, business entrepreneurship, robotics, biology, virtual reality, AV production, coding, artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer science and virtual design and construction, as well as simulation for legal, financial, manufacturing and health career training. The MUSD Innovation Campus will provide dedicated space for MUSD’s Adult School, Calaveras Hills High School, and additional facilities for Milpitas High School students.

MUSD Innovation Campus will emerge in three phases: Phases 1 and 2 are scheduled for completion in summer 2023 and summer 2024, respectively, while Phase 3, which includes the workforce and early education research centers, should be complete by fall 2025. MUSD continues to seek the support of individual financial partners like that of KLA Corporation to sponsor this innovative bridge between local businesses, technical training and future-ready learners. For more information, please visit: www.musd.org/campus-campaign.html