Harker plans move of middle school campus, phasing out of preschool program

Harker has announced that it will move its middle school program to its Union Avenue campus and phase out the preschool program currently operating at that site.

Brian Yager, Harker’s head of school, explained the history behind this announcement: “Harker’s acquisition of the Union property in 2012 marked a major milestone in the school’s master plan to own all three of our campuses, and plans are now firmed up to fulfill that plan.” Harker currently leases the middle school campus on Blackford Avenue from the Campbell Union High School District, and that lease is set to expire in 2025. “Our original plan was to move the lower school to our Union Avenue campus when the Blackford lease expired, and then move our middle school to the lower school campus,” Yager explained. “However, as the benefits of moving just one school rather than two became clear, including significantly reducing the stress on our students and faculty and reducing the costs of campus improvements, we decided to move the middle school instead.”

Yager added that the school will accelerate the move from Blackford to Union so that the middle school program will be on its new campus for the start of the 2021-22 school year. An architectural application to upgrade the Union Avenue campus to specifically meet the needs of grades 6-8, including the addition of classrooms and co-curricular spaces, is undergoing final adjustments and will be submitted to the city of San Jose this summer.

The original plan also included finding a new home for the preschool when Harker was ready to move older students to that campus. “Unfortunately, while we love the program and it has been a great success, thanks particularly to the efforts of the professionals who have implemented the program, locating a suitable location for the preschool has proven a formidable challenge,” said Yager, “so we will phase out Harker’s preschool program. The preschool will operate for two more years so that our current preschool families can finish out their programs.” He added that only families of transitional kindergarten-age children will be admitted in the preschool over the remaining two years.

Harker has held meetings with the Harker community and with Union Avenue neighbors to update all on the plans. The school will publish updates in the parent portal and on the Harker website as the multiyear process begins. For more information on the school’s plans contact communications@harker.org.