- Palo Alto Unified School District
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Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Type and location Type Public Grades K-12 Established March 20, 1893 [1] Region Palo Alto, California Location 25 Churchill Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306 District Info Superintendent Kevin Skelly Students and staff Other information Website http://www.pausd.org/ The Palo Alto Unified School District is a public school district located in Palo Alto, California. It consists of twelve elementary schools, three middle schools, and two high schools.
Contents
History
The district itself was founded on March 20, 1893, with the first school opening in September of that year.[1] Enrollment grew until it reached a peak of 15,575 students in 1967. Afterwards, enrollment declined sharply, forcing the district to close many schools, including Jordan Middle School. The closing of Jordan Middle School was the reason for the renaming of Wilbur Junior High School as Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School in 1985.[2] Jordan Middle School was reopened when enrollment grew again. Barron Park Elementary School was added in 1998, and Terman Middle School was reopened in 2001.[1]
High schools
Gunn High School
Main article: Gunn High SchoolHenry M. Gunn High School is one of two public high schools in Palo Alto. The school is named after Henry M. Gunn (1898–1988), who served as the Palo Alto superintendent from 1950-1961. During his tenure he saw the district expand from 5,500 students to 14,000, adding 17 new schools, and is credited with the establishment of De Anza College and Foothill College, two local community colleges. In 1964, the Palo Alto Unified School District announced it would name its third high school after him. Its first class graduated in 1966. The mascot of the school is Timmy the Titan. The student newspaper is The Oracle, part of the High School National Ad Network. There is an internal student-run television news show called the Titan Broadcast Network. During the last few years, there have been many suicides, resulting in train track supervision to prevent further suicides.
Palo Alto High School
Main article: Palo Alto High SchoolPalo Alto Senior High School is among the oldest high schools in the region. Founded in 1898, its enrollment today is over 1700 students. "Paly", as the school is known locally, draws high-achieving and scholastically-minded students due to the demographics of its location in the heart of Silicon Valley and its proximity to Stanford University. In 2002 Newsweek magazine ranked it among the top 200 public high schools, based on test scores. In 2007 US News & World Report magazine ranked it #85 out of over 18,000 public high schools. Palo Alto High also carries on a distinguished athletic tradition, marked in recent years by a rivalry with crosstown foe Gunn. Titles won by teams from Paly include California State Championships in Boys Varsity Basketball in 1993 (during which the team went undefeated) and 2006, along with CCS Championships in Football in 2006 and 2007.
Middle schools
David Starr Jordan Middle School
David Starr Jordan Middle School Location 750 North California Ave., Palo Alto, California Information Principal Gregory Barnes Grades 6-8 Mascot Jaguar David Starr Jordan Middle School is a middle school in Palo Alto, California. Currently in attendance are approximately 1000 students from grades 6 through 8. The school is named after David Starr Jordan, who was the first president of Stanford University.
The student population (as of 2007) was 65.9% Caucasian, 16.4% Asian, 8.4% Hispanic, and 3.7% African American.
It was closed in 1985 due to lack of enrollment in the district. It was remodeled and reopened in 1991. A bond was approved by the city of Palo Alto in 1995 to allow for further technological upgrades to the school.
The school mascot from 1937-1985 was a dolphin. When Jordan reopened in 1991, the students voted to have the jaguar become the mascot. In 1999, the students voted to have the dolphin returned to its status as co-mascot with the jaguar.
Jordan facilities include a swimming pool, a fitness room, and a kitchen.
Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School 
Location 480 East Meadow Drive, Palo Alto, California, 94306, USA. Information Principal Sharon Ofek Grades 6-8 Mascot Panther Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School
Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School is a middle school located at 480 East Meadow Dr., Palo Alto, CA 94306.[3] 2007 STAR test results showed an attendance of 870 students, in grades 6 through 8.[4] It was originally named Ray Lyman Wilbur Junior High School after Ray Lyman Wilbur. After the other two middle schools in the district closed due to lack of enrollment, students transferred to the school, which was renamed Jane Lathrop Stanford (abbreviated JLS) after Jane Stanford, who was the wife of Stanford University founder Leland Stanford.
The land that Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School and the adjoining Fairmeadow Elementary School now sit on were once owned by three farmers by the name of Diss.[2] The farmers sold their land to the real-estate developer Joseph Eichler, who later donated the land to the district.[2]
Terman Middle School 
Location 655 Arastradero Rd, Palo Alto, CA 94306, USA. Information Principal Katherine Baker Grades 6-8 Mascot Tiger Terman Middle School
Terman Middle School is located at 655 Arastradero Road in Palo Alto. The school mascot is the tiger.[5]
The original name of the school located on the site was Terman Junior High School (named after Lewis Madison Terman), unrelated to the school currently at the site.[6]
The district placed a new middle school named Terman Middle School at the site in 1999 to deal with rising enrollment. The first school year was 2001-2002. It was named after both Terman and his son Frederick Terman.[6] The relocation was met with great controversy by local residents as the district overtook the land by eminent domain from the residing Jewish Community Center.[7]
Elementary schools
- Addison Elementary School
- Duveneck Elementary School (formerly Green Gables)
- El Carmelo Elementary School
- Escondido Elementary School
- Fairmeadow Elementary School
- Barron Park Elementary School
- Juana Briones Elementary School
- Hoover Elementary School (formerly located on Middlefield Road at Hoover Park)
- Lucille Nixon Elementary School
- Ohlone Elementary School (formerly on E. Charleston, where Hoover is now located)
- Palo Verde Elementary School (called Sequoyah from 1976 to 1983)
- Walter Hays Elementary School
Past schools in the district
- Cubberley High School (1956–1979), now the Cubberley Community Center
At its peak in 1967, Palo Alto had 22 K-6 elementary schools. Of those, these schools are closed:
- Crescent Park Elementary School (?-1983), razed for housing development
- De Anza Elementary School - razed for housing development
- Elizabeth Van Auken Elementary School - still stands, now the site of the Ohlone Elementary magnet school
- Garland Elementary School - still stands, currently leased to a private school. There are plans to reopen it as a public school in 2010.[8]
- Greendell Elementary School - still stands, currently operates other school district programs
- Lytton Elementary School - razed for development
- Ortega Elementary School - razed for housing development. Was the site of the Jewish Community Center from 1976 to 1983 before Terman.
- Ross Road Elementary School - razed for housing development. Was the site of the Mayfield Continuation School.
- Ventura Elementary School - now the Ventura Community Center under the Parks and Recreation Department
External links
References
- ^ a b c "About PAUSD - Background - History". http://pausd.org/community/about/background.shtml#History. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
- ^ a b c Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School Website - History Retrieved March 1, 2008 Archived November 9, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School". GreatSchools.net. http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/ca/5619. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
- ^ STAR Test Scores Retrieved May 6, 2008.
- ^ http://www.pausd.palo-alto.ca.us/schoolsites/terman/history.htm
- ^ a b "History of Terman". http://www.pausd.org/schoolsites/terman/history.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-21.[dead link]
- ^ Terman dilemma divides community
- ^ http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=10422
Categories:- School districts in Santa Clara County, California
- Palo Alto Unified School District
- School districts established in 1893
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