Esther B. Clark School to Open a South Bay Campus

We are pleased to announce that Esther B. Clark School is expanding to include a South Bay campus. CHC EBC South Bay in San Jose, off Bascom Road, will open its doors in August 2017 to 30+ students. According to Karen Moos, EBC’s Clinical Program Manager, “We had been looking to expand into another geographical location for a while so we could serve more students. San Jose was a good place for that because we have so many students from the South Bay. It’s a long drive for these kids to come to Palo Alto everyday, and setting up a site in San Jose allows for those students to be closer to home and have a shorter commute. It also makes it easier for families to attend weekly therapy sessions—a requirement for EBC parents/guardians.”

For years, EBC students have traveled from distances as far north as Marin and as far south as Hollister to attend this therapeutic day school for children and teens ages 7-16 with severe emotional and behavioral issues. The new campus was formerly an elementary school and has all of the amenities of a school including classrooms, a gym, and even murals. Most importantly, there’s room to grow.

The South Bay Campus is slated to open with three classrooms—grades 5/6, grades 7/8, and grades 9/10—accommodating up to 36 students. EBC hopes to open up more classrooms as the year progresses. About 18 of our current EBC students and 12 staff members will transition down to the South Bay campus in the fall. Karen will be one of the staff members transitioning to CHC EBC South Bay, and she hopes that the new campus will “open the doors for more districts in the South Bay to refer students to us.”

According to Jody Miller, Assistant Director of EBC, “The new campus also presents a huge growth opportunity for our staff. We have been interviewing our current staff for growth positions, and because of the expansion we are happy to say that we had  growth opportunities for every staff member who wanted one. Staff morale is very high right now!”

Chris Harris, Director of the EBC Schools, commented “I am confident that we have professional teams in place, that we’ve found the right space, and that the timing is right for a successful expansion. We are thrilled to be able to offer this transformative and therapeutic education experience to more students from a wider region. We can now serve students from Gilroy and Hollister to South San Francisco, Berkeley and Livermore.”