**NEW SCHOOL OF CHOICE APPLICATION WINDOW**

                                      November 5 - December 3, 2021

                                      For the 2022-2023 School Year

The History of Mound School

      

Mound School  dates back approximately 125 years in Ventura. The original Mound School campus  was built in 1886 near the site in the area where Telephone Road intersects with Main Street. Mound School was located on the property that currently houses the  Firehouse Plaza. The bell that hung from the bell tower at that location is seated in the front of our Hill Road campus today.  

In the 1920's, a  larger site was built near the intersection of Telegraph Road and Day Road. Known today as the Mound School Plaza, this site accommodated  students well  into the 1950's.  When our current campus was opened on Hill Road (1950), it  originally housed the kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd graders in the  Mound School  District, and was affectionately known as "Little" Mound. "Big" Mound remained open on Telegraph and continued to be attended by 3rd through 6th  graders for a period of time until all Mound students were eventually brought to the Hill Road campus by the end of the decade. At that time, the Mound School District extended from Mills Road all the  way to Wells Road, as Saticoy and Montalvo Schools were the only other school options for families in East Ventura. Even in those days, Mound was at the fore-front of the inclusion movement, proud to offer  Ventura County's only regular education program for the blind.  In addition, the  Hill Road campus had been built adjacent to the old Del Mar School (for children  of migrant workers) and upon completion of construction the Del Mar students were integrated  into Mound School on Hill Road. 
  
During the late 1960's, Mound District Superintendent Tony Robinson was the first to vote "yes" for unification efforts in the growing city of Ventura. In 1968, five school districts united to become the Ventura Unified School District under the leadership of  Dr. Pat Rooney. As other neighborhood schools were opened, the boundaries of  Mound were limited from Day Road to Kimball Road. 

Due to low enrollment across Ventura during the 1980's, Mound was closed for a short period of time. Mound celebrated it's reopening in 1988 as the first year-round school in the  Ventura  Unified School District. At that time, the school's educational emphasis  was based on an academic program focused intently on language arts, and the  calendar was designed to spread learning throughout the entire year. Parental  involvement, both at home and at school was, and continues to be crucial to the  success of Mound School. Through it all, Mound remains a highly distinguished school.

In 1995, Mound  became a Math Magnet, a decision 
strongly supported by our community. Due to  its impressive research, Everyday Mathematics was the program chosen to build  the Mound Magnet upon. EDM recognizes there is more than one way for a child to  see and solve problems mathematically. Annual math scores on state mandated  standardized testing support the curriculum selection, as did the 2010 adoption of Everyday Math for all elementary schools operating in the Ventura Unified  School District.

SCIENCE  AND  GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP
October 2013  brought news from the Magnet Schools Assistance Program  that Mound had received  a large federal grant to address diversity  issues in the school and  implement  STEM practices.  The focus of the magnet shifted to Science and Global Citizenship. 
Under the umbrella of science comes a unique hands-on  curriculum  provided  by Discovery Education, FOSS Science Kits, school gardens, a science  laboratory, and a science coach. Under the umbrella of Global Citizenship comes an emphasis on collaboration and service to others in each classroom, cultural awareness and partnerships with local agriculture industry.