School and District Issues

Attendance Area Advisory Committee (AAAG)

The Palo Alto Unified School District is planning to review the geographical boundaries defining which schools residents may attend. PAUSD has revised attendance area boundaries from time to time, most recently in 1998 (before Barron Park Elementary opened) and in 2001 (before Terman Middle School opened).PAUSD has asked a committee of representatives from each school in the district, the Attendance Area Advisory Group (AAAG), to advise how the boundaries might best be redrawn. Linda Jensen and Liz Cowie, are El Carmelo’s representatives on this committee. The AAAG will begin to meet in September and new boundaries could possibly go into effect the following school year, 2007-2008.

Notes from the El Carmelo Representatives


AAAG Minutes


AAAG BACKGROUND

Several factors are prompting the District to consider new boundaries. First, an increasing number of children are not able to attend their neighborhood school. This is due to population shifts, growing enrollment (a 21% increase over the past 10 years), and the community’s desire to maintain small class sizes. In the 2005-2006 school year, 109 elementary students were “overflowed” to schools beyond their attendance boundary. The District places a premium on neighborhood schools and hopes to reduce the number of overflowed students through the boundary review process. Second, there is a variation in enrollments among schools due to population and capacity. Third, projected new housing developments may affect enrollment. (For more information on the boundary review, see http://pausd.org/ community/downloads/brd_ed/brd_packet/pkt_101105.pdf, pp. 25-29).

Changing attendance boundaries is likely to be challenging. A change in one area is likely to require a change in a neighboring area, and so on. We are very fortunate that all of the schools in the District are terrific schools. New boundaries could affect not only where your child may attend elementary school, but also middle school and high school.Currently, there are two different attendance paths for families within El Carmelo’s boundaries. El Carmelo students residing south of Matadero Creek attend JLS Middle School, followed by Gunn High School (the number of El Carmelo students in this segment is approximately 20-22 kids per year). Thus, these students are “streamed” with their middle school peers when they enter high school.

In contrast, El Carmelo students residing between Oregon Expressway and Matadero Creek also attend JLS, but go on to Palo Alto Senior High School (Paly) (the number of El Carmelo students in this segment is approximately 20-22 per year).1 (Until about five years ago, this segment attended Jordan Middle School, followed by Paly.) Only about 23% of JLS students (about 70 out of a class of 308) are currently slated to go to Paly each year.2 These students were not streamed with most of their peers when entering high school. Note: If you do not know which middle and high school your child is assigned to, go to www.pausd.org, click on Registration, and scroll down to the link in the text called “School Finder.” You enter your street name and it gives you the assigned schools.

The Survey

In May we surveyed El Carmelo families about boundary issues and were very pleased that 49% (144 families) responded. As discussed at the PTA meeting on August 29, virtually all respondents living within the El Carmelo residential area feel that El Carmelo is their most appropriate neighborhood elementary school based on where they reside. Further, the great majority of responding El Carmelo families prefer their children to be “peer-streamed” in middle and high school. For example, 87% of families living south of Matadero Creek prefer peer-streaming, and prefer their status quo path of JLS-Gunn. 78% of families living north of Matadero Creek prefer peer-streaming, either Jordan-Paly or JLS-Gunn. Neither of these options is available to those families under the current boundaries. Only 17% of families living north of Matadero Creek prefer their status quo path of JLS-Paly. This path is not considered “peer-streaming” because the great majority of JLS students go on to Gunn High. Finally, if a split of El Carmelo students were necessary in secondary school, 70% of all responding El Carmelo families prefer that the split occur at 6th grade, rather than at 9th grade as it occurs today.

The committee’s public meetings are scheduled from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in the PAUSD office at 25 Churchill Avenue on the following dates: Sept. 11, Sept. 25, Oct. 9, Oct. 16, Oct. 30, Nov. 13, Nov 27 and Dec. 5.

Maps and Tables

Elementary school scenario (12 schools) with Areas Changing Schools in Red and Yellow Colors.
Elementary school scenario (12 areas) with estimated Fall 2001 regular K-5 resident counts.
Numbers include expected enrollment growth from new housing and migration.
Elementary, Middle and High School Scenarios with estimated Fall 2001 resident counts.
Numbers include expected enrollment growth from new housing and migration.
Subareas with Number of Fall 2005 Regular Program (K-5 Residents)
13 Elementary Schools with Number of Fall 2005 Regular Program (K-5 Residents)
Garland Elementary School Open
12 Elementary Schools with Number of Fall 2005 Regular Program (K-5 Residents)
12 Elementary Schools with Number of Fall 2005 Regular Program (K-5 Residents)
12 Elementary Schools with Number of Fall 2005 Regular Program (K-5 Residents)
Scenario 13 A Modified
13 Elementary Schools with Number of Fall 2005 Regular Program (K-5 Residents)
Garland Elementary School Open
Assumes Spanish Immersion stays at Escondido
13 Elementary Schools
Ohlone moves to Garland Elementary School
Ohlone site a regular school with Number of Fall 2005 Regular Program
13 Elementary Schools
Either Hoover or Greendell opens as a regular school
With Number of Fall 2005 Regular Program (K-5 Residents)
Table of Attendance at Elementary Schools
under the various scenarios