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Students across Menlo Park, Woodside and Portola Valley started their school year this week while high schoolers and East Palo Alto students got an earlier start on Aug. 14. Students include some entering their educational journey as transitional kindergarteners and others who are about to embark on their last year of high school.
At Costaño Elementary School, students walked through a balloon arch holding their parents’ hands with either joyful smiles or tears of sadness. Teacher Salvatore Germano said he’s looking forward to the journey.
“I just really like to connect with the kids and make them feel safe when they come to school. I think that giving them the space to be themselves, to grow, to have a voice and just be a sponge and learn everything they can is important,” said Germano. “It helps them with the foundations for the rest of their school life.”
With a new class of students joining at the start of every school year, local school districts are always updating their goals and initiatives to meet the needs of every new class. School districts are adding new courses, programs and updating mission statements. Some local schools are building new classrooms and installing upgraded heating and air units.
Here’s a look at what’s new.
Sequoia Union High School District
Woodside High School
Woodside High School is implementing an updated cellphone policy to improve academic engagement and student mental health for the 2024-25 school year, according to the school’s newsletter. Students have to keep their phones in assigned pockets during class and when leaving to use the restroom. Phones are allowed during eating periods and at the discretion of teachers.
Within the selection of courses, Woodside High has added Advanced Placement Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, in addition to AP Physics C: Mechanics, which has been offered for several years, according to Woodside Principal Karen van Putten.
The school is also seeing a record number of freshman students enrolled in AP Computer Science Principles and full enrollment for Advancement Via Individual Determination classes and the Graphics and Technology Academy. Administrators say enrollment in these courses reflects pre-COVID numbers and higher.
TIDE Academy
Enrollment has increased at TIDE with an incoming ninth grade class of 65 students including junior and senior transfer students. TIDE Principal Simone Rick-Kennel said the goal is for each grade class to have 75 students. Kennel is also proud to see a 100 percent graduation rate in its first two graduating classes since its inception in 2019.
The school is introducing four new classes: Multimedia Design, Journalism II, Psychology and Intro to College, a dual credit course with Foothill College. Students are also taking part in a multi-school agreement with Menlo-Atherton High School allowing TIDE students to get involved in fall sports.
Over the summer, 27 students continued their learning by completing a summer internship focused on collaboration, technology and professional skills while working at local businesses. Students earned a $1,500 stipend upon completing the program.
Menlo Park City School District
MPCSD is launching a new vision, mission, core values and strategic directions for this school year, according to the school’s Public Information Officer Parke Treadway. The latest strategic directions for 2024-30 outlines three milestones: grow student belonging, strengthen academic excellence and create inspiring environments.
The district also continues to focus on facilities needs as it prepares for a bond measure to be voted on in the November election. Over the summer, fences were added and moved at Hillview Middle School and Encinal Elementary School to enhance safety. If the bond measure passes, the district will continue with improvements to facilities with electric HVAC units with air conditioning on every campus and larger-scale projects like new buildings at Laurel Lower Campus.
Woodside Elementary School District
Woodside Elementary completed multiple facilities projects including temporary repairs to mitigate creek erosion and installing safety fences on the kindergarten field. According to the school’s Aug. 19 newsletter, two bond projects will begin during this school year to build a tech center on campus. The project will start in January 2025 and will be completed by July 2025.
More information will be posted by the district as projects unfold.
Portola Valley School District
This school year, the Portola Valley School District will be implementing new science and language arts instructional material at Corte Madera and Ormondale Elementary schools. Superintendent Roberta Zarea looks forward to seeing their newly renovated buildings on both campuses continue to be utilized for science, art, music and outdoor learning.
The district is also committed to prioritizing student and staff safety by actively partnering with Woodside Fire Protection District, San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and utilizing the San Mateo County Office of Education’s Big 5 emergency response protocols.
Mental health of students and staff will also be a primary focus for the district.
Ravenswood City School District
In preparation for the new school year, the Ravenswood City School District met with families, community members and faculty to gain feedback for the district-wide project, Ravenswood Promise.
With the help of that feedback, the district will be focusing on developing language and literacy skills, improving attendance to allow students to build relationships and engage in learning and continuing efforts to find, recruit and retain the best faculty and staff.
Ravenswood Superintendent Gina Sudaria is also proud to announce that every certificated position within the district is filled with a credentialed educator. Over the past years, the number of teacher credentials have decreased across school districts in California leading to major teacher shortages.
Las Lomitas Elementary School District
During the summer, 119 students, transitional kindergarteners through seventh graders, participated in a four-week summer school program engaging with reading, writing and math lessons. Sixty-eight students were also welcomed to Las Lomitas Elementary School in an ocean-themed orientation.
The district’s facilities updates are nearly complete after years of construction. Las Lomitas and La Entrada Middle School will be opening new classrooms, and upgrading roofs and HVAC units, enhancing outdoor spaces and expanding parking lots. In addition to these modernization efforts, Las Lomitas has a new administrative building and La Entrada has renovated its school’s Jensen Hall.
It was disappointing to see the headline that said “high schoolers and East Palo Alto students started on August 14”. It’s hard to understand how a Menlo Park based newspaper doesn’t know that Ravenswood includes Menlo Park students as well. While I appreciate that they are not using the misleading and factually inaccurate label of “east Menlo Park” excluding Belle Haven from the article was disappointing after all this time. I expect better from my local news.