San Jose - A History

San Jose 'Scorpions' /A History

San Jose Middle School is one of 3 middle schools in the Novato Unified School District of Marin County, California. It is located in Southern Novato near the Indian Valley Campus of the College of Marin. The school was built in the spring and summer of 1962, opening in Fall of that year.

San Jose Middle School resides on the old Pacheco Land Grant once owned by Ignacio Pacheco. Pacheco received the first land grant from Mexico and it extended from Novato to the Pacific Ocean. Pacheco used this land to raise livestock. Over the years the ranch has been divided up and sold in separate land auctions. The original Pacheco home can still be seen along the west side of Highway 101 on Alameda Del Prado. The City of Novato purchased the land surrounding the present site of the school in 1960.

After construction began, the workers were plagued by hundreds of scorpions and it is because of this that the school took that name for its mascot. During the 60's, 70's and 80's much of the student population of the school came from the military families that lived on or near Hamilton Air Force Base, located just 3 miles east of the school. However, as the base was slowly decommisssioned that population has dwindled. Novato is now experiencing a housing 'boom', especially in it's southern neighborhoods, which has increased the student population at San Jose.

San Jose's feeder elementary schools are Loma Verde, Lynwood and Hamilton. It, in turn, is a feeder middle school for Novato High School.

Students

As of September 2004, San Jose has 510 students in grades 6 - 8. We have a diverse student body of which 60.5% are Caucausian, 27.6% Hispanic, 5.2% African American, and 6.7% Asian and Pacific Islander. Sixth grade students have a two-period block of English and History/Social Science, when students are taught by one teacher in a self-contained classroom. Math, Science, Physical Education, and elective classes are taught by specialists. In eighth grade all classes are taught by subject specialists. There are several programs in place to support student's special needs including, gifted and talented education (GATE) and Resource for students needing academic support in a smaller learning environment. In addition, there are support classes in Math and Language Arts, after school support classes, and a program for English Language Learners.

Staff

There are 25 fully credentialed staff, 5 instructional and one-on-one aides, and 13 support staff in the administrative, custodial and food service areas. Our principal, Dale Ravazzini, Assistant Principal, Paige Kasun, and Dean of Students, Gustavo Shinzato are collectively responsible for all administrative and disciplinary matters, as well as for most school leadership functions.

Community

Click on this picture of City Hall for Novato city information

Novato, California is the northernmost city in Marin County, approximately twenty-nine miles north of San Francisco and thirty-seven miles northwest of Oakland. Novato covers twenty-eight square miles. As of the 2000 Census, Novato has a population of 47,630 which is 76.3% White, 13.1% Hispanic, 5.1% Asian, 1.9% Black and 3.6% all other races. The city supports a 'downtown' section of privately owned retail businesses and a large retail mall east of 101 anchored by a Costco and Target Superstore. Novato's economy is based on a mixed use of small and large retail, technology companies, and small farming and ranching. The neighborhoods along the Highway 101 corridor are densely populated while the outlying western and eastern neighborhoods have many ranch style properties that support small farming and horse and rider communities. The southern end of Novato, where San Jose Middle School is located, is a less densely populated area and its property borders the College of Marin's rustic Indian Valley College campus and the Marin County Open Space District. The recently decommissioned Hamilton Air Force base is in the process of being re-developed for civilian housing and business uses, and the influx of new families will directly impact our student population. Student numbers are projected to increase over the next 3-5 years.