In the wake of an arson fire that gutted Gardner's classrooms in 2003, the campus is being reborn this year as a professional development school (PDS) with an emphasis on bringing student test scores up to state and national standards. Hubbs, who has worked for the San Jose Unified School District for 37 years, has been through the PDS process before, first as an assistant principal at Washington Elementary School, then as principal of Grant Elementary School.

She is familiar with the work involved in developing a model that maximizes student achievement through collaborative, cutting-edge teaching methods.

The centerpiece of Gardner's PDS program is a new building that features classrooms with one-way windows, so teachers can observe English Language Development classes without disrupting the students. Later the teachers will share their observations and advice with the classroom instructor.

"The PDS model really piqued my interest," Hubbs says. "It's everything I've been building toward in my career. I had the background, the knowledge and the eagerness to do this job."

Still, she says, it was difficult to leave Grant.

"I really had to think hard about this principalship because I was at a school that was really humming," Hubbs says. "We were really working on improving school achievement. I just had to take a leap of faith."

While the district usually appoints new principals, Hubbs had to apply for the job, as did faculty and staff. Most Gardner teachers weren't asked to return; two teachers from Grant were hired.

"It was an opportunity to choose a staff that wants to do the kinds of things you want to do," Hubbs says.

The immediate challenge at Gardner is to improve test scores. The school is in its fifth year of "program improvement" as part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which allows the state to take over administration of campuses where student test scores don't meet benchmarks.

About two-thirds of Gardner students are English-language learners, which Hubbs says adds another layer to the testing issue. A majority of the faculty speaks Spanish.

"The challenge for us is to keep our rigorous academic program and still give our students a quality ELL program," the principal says. "It takes really good teachers and relevant curriculum."

Once teachers have developed this curriculum, Hubbs says, students will be pre- and post-tested to make sure the changes are effective.

"Otherwise you just go on teaching, not knowing if you're making a difference," she says. "That happens a lot more in traditional classrooms, and we can't afford the traditional way of teaching."

Hubbs says establishing a strong learning environment also requires creating an atmosphere of respect among students and staff. To that end, Gardner held assemblies throughout the first two weeks of school that focused on behavioral expectations for students. Hubbs says the talks had the desired effect.

"The campus is cleaner and more orderly than when I arrived in June," she adds. "We're establishing a nurturing but firm environment, and I see kids responding to it. I'm 99 percent sure we're going to make our targets this year. I'm meeting with parents to let them know how they can help because we can't do it alone."

Hubbs adds, "You can't teach kids unless they're behaving and open to learning. All parents want their kids to learn."