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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.
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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.
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