Welcome Back to CAA!

Greetings, Students!

We are excited to welcome everyone back to campus on Monday, July 6! We hope you've had a restful break and are ready to continue your lifelong educational journey.

This is already shaping up to be an incredible semester. We are thrilled to share that Summer–Fall 2026 is the largest semester in CAA's history! We have 317 students enrolled, filling an incredible 1,435 learning seats each week across our classes. Every semester, our community continues to grow, and we are so grateful that you've chosen to be part of it.

New Classes to Explore

We have several exciting new classes joining our catalog this semester!  From the School of Visual Arts, Professor Darren is introducing Making Comics, while Professor Taima will be teaching the art of Quilt Making.  Music lovers can enjoy our brand-new Beginning Piano class with Dr. Pam and Professor Michael R. And if you've been waiting for more opportunities in the kitchen, new Professor Karen will be teaching Keep Baking!, a beginning baking class that is sure to be deliciously fun.

New Semester, New Look

Students coming to campus will immediately notice that CAA has a fresh new look!

During the semester break, we completed one of the largest campus improvement projects in recent years. Thanks to an incredible community effort, our campus has been refreshed with beautiful new colors designed to create an even more welcoming learning environment.

This project would not have been possible without the generosity of our partners and volunteers.  A heartfelt thank you goes to Benjamin Moore and Stacie and Jeff Davidson, owners of California Paint Company for donating all of the paint and painting supplies. We are also deeply grateful to Stanford Painting, led by Jay Furlong, for generously donating the professional labor to paint all of our campus doors.

An amazing team of volunteers completed approximately 95% of the painting throughout the campus! We'd especially like to thank the Lions Club, Los Gatos Morning Rotary, and Kiwanis for sending volunteers who worked tirelessly to help transform our campus.

We also want to recognize CAA Board Member Cristin Reichmuth, whose introduction to Jay and the Stanford Painting team was instrumental in bringing this project across the finish line.

To everyone who donated their time, expertise, and resources—thank you. Your generosity has made a lasting impact on our students and community.

Why These Colors?

You may be wondering why we chose these particular colors.

The answer is neuroaesthetics.

Neuroaesthetics is the study of how our brains and nervous systems respond to beauty, art, architecture, color, sound, nature, and design—and how those experiences influence our emotions, stress levels, learning, memory, and overall well-being.

Working alongside Stacie Anderson of Benjamin Moore, we intentionally selected a color palette designed to support learning, comfort, and community. Every color was chosen with the goal of creating an environment that helps students thrive.

Research in neuroaesthetics suggests thoughtfully designed spaces can:

Lower stress and cortisol levels

Improve focus and attention

Encourage positive social interaction

Reduce mental fatigue

Improve mood

Support memory formation

Increase creativity

Foster a greater sense of belonging

In other words, this wasn't simply a paint project—it was an investment in creating an environment where learning can flourish.

A Healthier Campus

We also selected Benjamin Moore Eco Spec®, one of the company's most environmentally friendly paints.

Eco Spec features:

Low odor

Zero VOCs (volatile organic compounds)

Zero emissions

Because of these qualities, it is commonly used in schools and hospitals. One of the immediate benefits was that there was virtually no lingering paint smell throughout campus. It also dried remarkably quickly, allowing volunteers to apply second coats on the same day and complete the project on schedule.  Stacie even recruited members of her own Benjamin Moore team to volunteer alongside us, helping make this ambitious project a success.

We Can't Wait to See You!

We are so excited to welcome everyone back next Monday and begin another wonderful semester together.

While our campus has a fresh new look, our mission remains the same: providing an inclusive, engaging, and lifelong college experience for every student.

We'll continue making improvements throughout the summer, and we'd love to hear what you think. Please share your feedback and let us know how you like the new campus!

Welcome back—we'll see you on July 6!

Nicole Kim, Executive Director

College of Adaptive Arts :)