Superintendent's Weekly Message

September 13, 2023

Dear Hollister High School parents, students, staff and community:

Following up on last month’s town halls that offered our community an opportunity to learn and ask questions about the planning and preparation for a second high school in the San Benito High School District, we are proud to offer a 10-week series of K-8 Parent Listening and Awareness Sessions at local elementary schools starting today, September 13th.

Opportunity For Feedback

Our goal is to extend the opportunity for feedback about a second campus to future generations of high school parents and any other community members, throughout Hollister and San Benito County. Parents and members of our community are invited to join us from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Rancho Santana School's multipurpose room for the first K-8 parent listening and awareness session tonight. At each Wednesday session between now and November, parents of future high school students can learn more about and provide input on the need for the second high school campus in our district. The next community session will be held Wednesday, Sept. 20 at R.O. Hardin, followed by a session at Cerra Vista School on Sept. 27.

Hearing and Sharing

Each session will include a brief presentation by district administrators to explain the need for a second campus, as Hollister High School has grown to the 10th largest high school, by population, in California. In fact, our current population of more than 3,500 students is projected to reach 3,900 students in the next four years. The majority of time in our K-8 Listening and Awareness Sessions will focus on community feedback, with attendees encouraged to consider and discuss what they would envision in a second high school campus.

A Vision For the Future

At the first community town halls in August, comments focused on efficiency, affordability and location of a second high school campus, while highlighting opportunities to provide students with expanded opportunities in a new school. Respondents identified opportunities to increase community connectedness by constructing a specious, modern and thoughtfully-designed facility, keeping in mind concerns about traffic impacts and accessibility.

Attendees expressed a desire that the second high school be sustainable, adaptable and responsive to the needs of our growing community.

One Community

As San Benito High School explores options to build a new high school, which would be the first new campus built in our district in the past 128 years, we value your input. We hope you can make it to one of our upcoming sessions, listed in the flyers below, and share your thoughts on what you’d like to see in a second high school campus. 

After our 10 K-8 Listening and Awareness Sessions around town this Fall, we’ll invite the community back to the Hollister High School library in January to recap what we heard from you. Then, in June, we’ll celebrate the progress on the effort and offer architect’s renderings of the new school. We deeply appreciate the feedback and perspective that our community has offered so far and we look forward to continuing to engage with you as we plan for the future of education in San Benito County.

Together we can, together we will, build a brighter future for all students.



Sincerely,

San Benito High School District Superintendent Dr. Shawn Tennenbaum