  Sophomore Long Nguyen hopes the skills he learns in Ms. Berbawy’s Engineering Class will set the foundation for succeeding in his desired career path. The 16-year-old enrolled in the inaugural student cohort at the Milpitas High School Extension at the MUSD Innovation Campus to accomplish just that.
“Not exactly CAD (Computer-aided Design) specifically but the engineering aspect is what led me here, so I can start creating my own things,” said Long Nguyen, who was learning a web-based software design program. “Also, for my future, I wanted to really improve the world in some way and change the world in some way with the abilities that I would learn here, especially here because it is all about innovation.” His classmate, Bryan Nguyen, has a similar focus of engineering and the first-year innovation extension campus illuminates that desire in all who work and learn there. “I think most kids in here are trying to get into the engineering field so I think CAD and learning it right now is very important so you get used to it and more familiar with the programs we’ll use in college and maybe in your career,” Bryan Nguyen added. The Introduction to Engineering Class is one of three that Ms. Berbawy teaches along with Computer Science and a semester-long CAD course. “My goal with this class is to get the kids excited about engineering, understanding that it’s not scary, it’s not inaccessible,” she said. On this particular day, students are learning how to use OnShape, a product development platform that brings together all the tools needed to develop a product from conception to production. “Now we’re working on how to use CAD to do 3D printing and general design,” said Bryan, who has some familiarity with basic CAD but is getting his first taste of this more advanced program. “I love this class. It’s amazing.” “We are doing a lot of math, a lot of physics, a lot of science but it is all applied and it’s project based so it makes it way more accessible and understandable for the kids,” Ms. Berbawy said. “It’s fun to see them excited about their own ability and freedom to create things.” Throughout the school year, students will use this software program to design their own creations and produce them on a plethora of 3D printing machines in the spacious classroom. “She’s amazing. She supports us in any way we ask. If we need help with math homework, she can help us. English homework, she can help us. But especially with CAD she knows how to fix problems and let us solve it by ourselves,” Long Nguyen shared. “I feel like I’ve learned way more already this year than I ever did all of last year.” The introductory class is the first of three engineering courses that the students will advance through while enrolled in the MHS Extension at the MUSD Innovation Campus. “My goal is that the kids can explore their interests and by the time they are seniors they can make anything,” Ms. Berbawy said. “The possibilities are endless.”  Thomas Russell and Rancho Milpitas middle schools, as well as nine Milpitas Unified School District elementary schools, are ranked among the best in the state, according to the U.S. News & World Report 2025 Best Elementary Schools and Best Middle Schools rankings.
TRMS and Rancho both ranked in the top 40% among 7,166 California Middle Schools. Our MUSD elementary schools also ranking in the top 40% out of 8,778 elementary schools in CA are:
For each state, schools were assessed on their percentages of students who were proficient or above proficient in their mathematics and reading/language arts state assessments. Half of the formula assessed the scores themselves and the other half incorporated the test results in the context of socioeconomic demographics. For MUSD top three ranked schools:
Click links to review the full list of U.S. News & World Report 2025 Best Elementary Schools and Best Middle Schools rankings.  By Atharv Vyas
MHS ASB President As we approach the holiday season, our community once again comes together for the Jack Emery Food Drive—a tradition that has spanned decades. But who was Jack Emery? Born into poverty in Nebraska, Jack knew firsthand the struggles of going without. After moving to the San Jose area, he dedicated his life to helping those in need, starting with small acts of kindness that grew into something much bigger. He reached out to the local Lions Club, and together, they began providing food for families during the holidays. Even after Jack’s passing in 1952, the Lion’s Club kept his mission alive. Eventually, the food drive expanded so much that local schools were brought on board to help, marking the beginning of what we now know as the Jack Emery Drive. This year, we're excited to continue Jack’s legacy with a few changes to make giving even easier. Donations can now be made online through our new digital platform, as well as donating using cash and checking in the boxes provided in each teachers room. Although schools will not be collecting cans, if you wish to donate them you can drop them off at the Milpitas Food Pantry. Whether you choose to donate $1 or $100, every contribution helps bring hope to families in need. Join us in honoring Jack Emery’s spirit of generosity by making this year’s food drive the most impactful one yet. Let's all get together as the strong Milpitas community that we are. As the strong Milpitas community we are, together, we can make a difference. Let’s keep Jack’s legacy of compassion alive! Rancho student leader Amari Sims brings food-allergy initiative Teal Pumpkin Project to MUSD schools11/15/2024
Rancho Milpitas Middle School’s Associated Student Body President Amari Sims went on a quest this Halloween to deliver teal-colored pumpkin baskets filled with non-food treats to students with food allergies at our Milpitas Unified School District schools.
For his Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) Teal Pumpkin Project, Sims purchased the plastic baskets as well as a plethora of cool kid-friendly gifts such as stickers, temporary tattoos, yoyos, necklaces, and friendship bracelets. “I hope that the non-food treats help students with food allergies feel included during the Halloween celebrations and that they consider offering a teal pumpkin at their home and spread the word,” shared Amari in his mission statement. FARE promotes the simple act of offering non-food treats, like glow sticks or small toys, to help create a more inclusive Halloween that all kids can enjoy as there are one in 13 children in the U.S. with food allergies. “Thank you to all of the school staff for supporting me in this project and their words of encouragement and support,” Amari said. “I met so many kind staff when I visited the schools.” For his next endeavor, Amari is planning to organize a citywide walk event to increase awareness about food allergies and general early childhood nutrition while raising much needed funds for these causes. Sinnott’s Gold Standard Project-Based Learning inspires students, garners state recognition11/8/2024
 Student developers in Jeannie Lam’s fourth grade class are anxiously setting up their projects in a communal space at Sinnott Elementary School, where soon two sixth-grade classes will join them to test out their interactive games and learn valuable lessons from their peers. A trio of Sinnott teachers–Jeannie Lam, Kelsey Goode and Kiscelle Calvello–are all smiles as they field last-minute questions from their students. The educators are just as enthusiastic as their pupils are to share in the Project-Based Learning experience. “The three of us, it’s so fantastic. Our personalities, and the way we have decided to structure our teaching time, has enabled us to teach in this way and do what we do with the kids,” said Calvello, who got her first taste of PBL when attending the same workshop as Lam more than a decade ago. Shortly after the two began working at Sinnott, they met up and started collaborating with Goode on PBLs. This particular project is meant to reinforce Sinnott’s school-wide expectations, encapsulated by the word, “ROARS” (Respect, Ownership, Acceptance, Responsibility, Safety). These expectations produce behaviors such as “Be mindful of personal space” or “Inform an adult if worried about a friend.” These activities help students remember ROARS. Afterwards, the student creators reflect, and discuss the experiences they had and the feedback they received. They celebrate all the things that went well and talk about any challenges they faced, making sure to touch on what students did to collaboratively solve dilemmas that occurred. Teachers frame the discussion with the aim of improving future PBL experiences. This is one of the final steps among the eight elements in Sinnott’s Gold Standard PBL format. “It is always really fun. I enjoy doing it because it’s not just between one class. I get to know other people in different classes,” shared Sofia Low, 11, a sixth grader in Mrs. Calvello’s class whose first exposure to PBL came in Lam’s third grade class. “I’ve done PBL in the past, like three years ago, and I have been looking forward to it for a long time.” Earlier in the year, Low and other sixth-grade students performed the same “ROARS” assignment, but they have since moved on to their next PBL task, learning about ancient civilizations in a similar project-based fashion encompassing California State Standards, as well as the multiple elements of Sinnott’s now award-winning Project-Based Learning Practices, a recipient of the prestigious CA School Boards Association Golden Bell Award. Along with the validation of all their hard work and collaboration, Goode sees the award as a vessel to share their PBL practices with other educators who can then integrate them into their lesson planning and reach more students outside of the Sinnott campus. “I would love for other teachers to feel like they could try PBL and find something they can really find joy in and pass that along to their students who can start working together on learning.” “Our teachers' passion and enthusiasm about project-based learning is front and center which quickly gets the buy-in from the students,” said Sinnott Principal Laurie Armino. “The projects allow each child to find and/or show their different talents that might not necessarily be tapped in a traditional setting.” Sixth-grader Pranit Champati, 11, agrees, “I do think I learn a lot of things from it. It did help me with teamwork, and it helped with researching. Those are the two biggest ones.” Champati used to feel bored at school in the afternoon hours, but it is now one of his favorite parts of the school day, “I was just waiting for school to finish, but with PBL it makes me want to do more and think harder and it’s just nice to hang out with other people outside of my class,” he continued. Inside the school’s multi-use room, Champati and his classmates have their Chromebooks handy as they research the ancient civilization that his PBL group chose. This is one of the first steps in the PBL process, where students, once well-versed, must take an oral test confirming their knowledge of the subject matter to move onto the next step. “My group is doing Ancient Persia, and I’ve learned a lot of things that I didn’t know about,” Low noted. “PBL, it definitely enforces the four C’s: collaboration, creativity, critical thinking and communication,” said Lam. “But, what I love to see is how these lessons cross over to other areas like solving a difficult math problem. Using PBL, students can draw out their ideas and solutions. This gives them different ways to show their knowledge, and that’s awesome.” Gold Standard PBL’s eight elements are: a challenging problem or driving question; sustained inquiry; authenticity; student voice and choice; reflection; critique and revision; and a public product with learning goals of key knowledge, understanding and success skills. Student groups showcase how they creatively integrate skills such as writing, research, public speaking, critical thinking, and collaboration to produce an immersive and interactive learning experience. “The reason Sinnott’s program is the best is because we really look at how all the elements are equally important and we make sure that they are present. If you take one away, the magic of PBL doesn’t exist,” said Calvello, noting that the secret sauce for them is repeated peer feedback throughout the process. “Hearing that constructive criticism from their peers and letting that happen over and over as the idea develops is key.” “This is 11 years in the making,” added Lam, who uses a Google Slide Deck format that the 3 teachers have developed for all students to follow for each of their 3-to-5 PBL projects they participate in per school year. The slides provide essential information for students such as the driving question, goals, team members, project path, requirements, feedback, matrix and the all-important “teacher consult” slide where the student groups list what they need from their teacher to complete their project such as feedback, materials, or printing jobs. “It is always wonderful to see the collaboration, problem solving, and the conflict resolution that comes with working in a team,” Principal Armino said. “We hope that these real-life challenges and the skills needed to meet them will transfer as students move into middle and high school.” Roles organically develop and remain flexible throughout the life of the project. It is not unusual to see students move from one job to another as needs present themselves. Groups must pitch their ideas to their teachers and peers, then revise based on multiple rounds of peer, teacher, and subject matter expert feedback. “I like doing the PBL because it helps with your self-confidence,” Low shared. “We want them to learn how to work with each other, work with different types of people and personalities. Sometimes you may be the group leader and sometimes you may not,” Goode explained. One particular PBL Goode fondly recalled was when she had the students create a television show based on Indigenous Peoples. She was able to bring in a good friend who works at Disney’s Lucas Films as a story/character and development producer. “It’s been an amazing experience watching as our sixth graders work with our fourth graders on PBL, and they really get to step into that leadership role,” Goode said. “Our classes basically become one and the community gets stronger.” |
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING:
The governing board of Milpitas Unified School District will hold a Public Hearing on Tuesday, June 28, 2022. Media ResourcesArchives
June 2025
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