Ribbon Cuttings on New and Updated Facilities at Three Middle Schools
Nine years after plans to convert Fremont Unified School District’s junior high schools to middle schools were approved, and after multiple large-scale construction projects, all FUSD middle schools opened to serve students in grades 6, 7 and 8 by the 2023-24 school year.
This month Centerville, Hopkins and Thornton middle schools hosted ribbon cutting events to celebrate the new and updated facilities on each campus, and the additional students and staff that joined each school as it expanded enrollment to include grade 6 in addition to grades 7 and 8.
Centerville Middle School
The Centerville Middle School property on Fremont Boulevard has served as a place of learning since Centerville School moved there as a one-room schoolhouse in 1881. The most recent updates to the site – including construction of a new building with classrooms, science labs, administration offices, a library center and flex labs – ensure it will continue to serve the Centerville community for years to come.
Superintendent CJ Cammack, Board Trustees and Principal Walter Lewis welcomed the community to Centerville’s ribbon cutting on September 5, with a program that included a marimba performance by an 8th grade student supported by teacher Amberle Mitchell. Speakers acknowledged the support of current and former students, staff and families during construction at the site, and the Fremont residents who voted for and championed the Measure E Bond in 2014 to upgrade and repair schools.
The valued construction partners on Centerville Middle School include LPA Design Studios, Rodan Builders, Roebbelen Construction Management Services, The Labor Compliance Managers, and RGM Kramer, Inc.
Centerville Ceremony Video and Photos
William Hopkins Middle School
The construction at William Hopkins Junior High began in 2021 with a scope that included new classrooms, music rooms, and a multi-use room; modernization of existing buildings; and various site improvements. Hopkins students and staff were temporarily relocated to the then-unopened Lila Bringhurst Elementary School campus in 2021-22 to allow for extensive construction and renovation projects on the Driscoll Road property, then returned in the fall of 2022 and patiently worked around construction zones to allow the site’s conversion to meet its completion target this fall.
Cammack, Board Trustees and Principal Nancy Kuei welcomed the community to Hopkins’ ribbon cutting on September 6 during the site’s Back to School Night event. Speakers acknowledged the support of current and former students, staff and families during construction at the site, and the Fremont residents who voted for funding to upgrade and repair schools.
The valued construction partners on William Hopkins Middle School include HKIT Architects; Lathrop Construction Associates, Inc.; Roebbelen Construction Management Services; Davillier-Sloan, Inc.; and RGM Kramer, Inc.
Hopkins Ceremony Video and Photos
Thornton Middle School
Construction on Thornton Middle School began in 2020 with a scope that included new classroom/lab buildings, a new administration and library building, modernization of existing buildings, and various site improvements.
Superintendent CJ Cammack, Board Trustees and Principal Sherry Strausbough welcomed the community to Thornton’s ribbon cutting on September 7, with a program that included a performance by the Thornton Symphonic Band, led by teacher Caitlin Denning. Speakers acknowledged the support of current and former students, staff and families during construction at the site, and the Fremont residents who voted for funding to upgrade and repair schools.
The valued construction partners on Thornton Middle School include Quattrocchi Kwok Architects, Blach Construction, Sixth Dimension, The Solís Group, and RGM Kramer, Inc.
Thornton Ceremony Video and Photos
Improvements Across the District
The District’s two other middle schools, G. M. Walters and John M. Horner, welcomed their first 6th grade students in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Each of the five middle school conversion projects required areas of construction on active campuses.
“I want to acknowledge the patience and perseverance of our staff and our students who have been working hard and learning in an environment where construction was happening concurrent with teaching,” said Cammack.
The long-term goal to convert all junior highs to middle schools was laid out in the Long Range Facilities Plan (LRFP) adopted by the FUSD Board of Education in January 2014, and achieving this goal became possible when Fremont voters approved the Measure E general obligation bond to upgrade and repair neighborhood schools in June 2014.
“I extend my gratitude to the many students, employees, community members and contractors who helped imagine, plan and implement this, turning it from a plan into reality,” said Cammack.
Work funded by the Measure E Bond continues across Fremont Unified, with work underway at John F. Kennedy High School and additional projects in planning.
The 2014 Long Range Facilities Plan is being updated now, with staff and community members reviewing current needs and planning for the future.
Credit on some Centerville and Hopkins ceremony photos to Roebbelen Construction Management Services.
