Bud West Memorial Garden

Kohl Open School is a special place in the Stockton Unified School District. Based on the principles of Herbert R. Kohl's Open School Movement, the school was founded by parents and teachers with the intent of teaching the whole child and encouraging lifelong learning.

During its almost 50 year existence, Kohl Open School bounced around the district using unused portable classrooms at various school sites until 2009 when Kohl was given a permanent home on the corner of Crown Avenue and Brookside Road. 

Bud West, the school's first principal, didn't like the fact that a segregated playground was provided for the kindergarten students. Segregated play went against the Open School and older student / younger student mentoring that was the foundation of Kohl. Instead of a playground, Bud wanted a Memorial Garden to provide a gathering place for quiet study and reflection and to honor history and those teachers, staff, and students who were a part of the Kohl Family and had passed away. Bud convinced the district to let a group of Parents build the Memorial Garden over the underutilized playground. 

In 2019 after 50 years with SUSD, Bud retired after serving as Kohl's Head Teacher and then first principal. The Kohl Community was sad to see him retire as he was Kohl. 

In the fall of 2021, Bud tragically passed away from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident.

After his death, the Kohl Community found numerous ways to honor the man that was "Kohl". The redesign and renaming of the Memorial Garden is one of those ways. ARCHITECHNICA donated time to design the renamed "Bud West Memorial Garden" that keeps the original footprint and structures, while providing a refresh in materials and new features, such as a memorial fountain and enlarged planting beds with new irrigation. In keeping with Kohl Tradition, existing building materials will be repurposed for other elements in the garden and at the school. While an ongoing project, the Bud West Memorial Garden was dedicated during a school memorial service in October 2021. A new sign and freshly painted mail box (from the Arturus School Site) were revealed. As funds are raised for the garden, ARCHITECHNICA will continue to donate time to see the project finished.