BHS senior internship course also highlighted

The Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District heard about options for renovating the lower campus at Benicia Middle School at Thursday’s meeting.

Roxanne Egan, the Measure S bond director, delivered a presentation on plans for the project, which involves replacing the outmoded portable classrooms— which Egan says are in poor condition— with new buildings and putting in a new tennis court. Egan and the construction company, HY Architects, discussed three possible design schemes. The first plan was to have all the new buildings in the current location of the staff parking lot, however, the requirement of a fire lane would restrict outdoor education and eliminate 27 parking lots, President Gary Wing said. The second option was to construct the new buildings in the same area where the portables currently stand, but it would have created tighter space. The committee decided on the third option which would be located by the sports fields and include two stairwells descending down to an amphitheater-like interior courtyard with benches and trellises for outdoor learning and eight modular classrooms. Egan said the middle school staff determined this design would best meet the desired areas of natural daylight, indoor/outdoor learning and flexible educational environments.

Trustee Peter Morgan raised concerns that the new design would impact local sports organizations like Benicia Youth Football who practice on the adjacent soccer field where construction may be partially taking place.

“My son practices in that area,” he said. “I’ve gotten tons of feedback saying there will be a big uprising if we use their space.”

“It will be an interesting discussion to see how we prioritize the needs of our students and schools and additionally how we address the clubs and sports,” Trustee Stacy Holguin said.

Morgan said he would not favor prioritizing one sport over another and felt the district should reopen the community discussion on the design process.

“I wouldn’t want to make the decision myself,” he said.

Egan expressed an understanding for Morgan’s concerns.

“I wasn’t aware that space was used that much,” she said. “Maybe, as part of the conversation, if everybody thinks that this design is a good solution (and) that we show, ‘OK, your field is gonna be this much smaller but you still get this much area for use for physical practice. Maybe a little bit of impact could still be functional.’”

Morgan reconfirmed the need for bringing the community back into the discussion and said that he is OK with the design’s goal so long as it does not interfere with the existing athletic fields and if the community has no concerns with the design as presented.

“If you have no objection from the community, I have no objection,” he said.

In other matters, the board unanimously voted to approve a College and Career Readiness Block Grant to provide $7,500 to transition the high school semester-long elective course Freshman Focus into a required class.

The board also highlighted Benicia High School’s new senior course iQuest, which trains students in internships in the field of their choice by giving them real-life experience outside the classroom. Presentations were given by teacher Annette Fewins, College and Career Counselor Lisa Douglass and senior Jasmine Weis, who is interning with the law firm Gizzi, Reep and Foley. Other students have gotten internships with the Benicia Police Department, Benicia Fire Department, Benicia Bay Physical Therapy, Solano County Friends of Animals, Solano Family Dentistry, the Martinez district attorney’s office, Flat Iron Civil Engineering, the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum, and more.

“This is great,” Fewins said. “They’re not at McDonald’s. They’re in their career areas learning workplace skills in the classroom, and they’re applying them immediately in the fields of their career passion.”

Weis talked about some of the skills she has learned from her internship.

“I’ve learned the practice of law from ‘How do I identify different types of court documents?’ to how to complete legal research for cases,” she said.

Additionally, interns with the police and fire departments have gotten to go on ridealongs, and guest visitors have come to the classroom to provide advice.

“IQuest is as practical as it is unique,” Weis said. “It allows students to gain experience in the workplace, it provides networking opportunities, it offers workshops with real-life applications and it just moves the transition from high school into the real world. Our seniors are truly privileged to have such a class offered at Benicia High School.”

The board will next meet Thursday, Dec. 15, where outgoing Trustee Andre Stewart will be honored and incoming Trustee Celeste Monnette will be sworn in.