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Low birth rates, lack of diversity, declining enrollment and budget deficits. The Sequoia Union High School District cites these key factors as the reasons TIDE Academy could be shut down, but parents, students and teachers are not satisfied with the data.
“At large schools, students sit invisibly. At TIDE, our student council sees students sitting alone and sends other students to befriend them,” said Joanne Yao, an English teacher at TIDE.
The STEM-based school on the industrial side of Menlo Park stands out from traditional high schools, right down to its neon yellow exterior. TIDE was built to provide “an alternative small school to meet the diverse needs of the student population,” according to a district mailer. Since opening in 2019, the campus has become a safe place for nearly 200 students, many of whom say they felt like outsiders in larger schools.
Despite pouring $50 million in bond funds into constructing a modern school focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), the district is now considering shutting down TIDE after six years of operation. Sequoia Union is facing a projected deficit of over $6 million by the end of this school year, said Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Janea Marking during a Jan. 15 presentation.
The district spends thousands more per student at TIDE compared to those of its other campuses, according to district staff. SUHSD spends an average of $39,169 per student at TIDE compared to $20,758 per Menlo-Atherton High School student, district data shows.
Faced with an impending school board vote in February, TIDE Academy families and students last week spent three consecutive days listening to Sequoia Union High School District officials present data illustrating the challenges of operating the small high school.
In November, a board subcommittee asked Superintendent Crystal Leach to develop a plan to consider closing TIDE, due to its declining enrollment and the district’s structural deficit.
In December, Leach assured parents and students that they would be presented with data on enrollment numbers and district finances during two community meetings in January.
According to a demographic study conducted by King Consulting, district enrollment has steadily declined across all campuses since the 2021-22 school year, not just TIDE. An enrollment study forecasts a continued annual decrease in students through 2034.
This year the district has a total of 9,187 students enrolled — Sequoia Union’s smallest student population since 2011.
“We simply have fewer students today than we did in 2015 when TIDE was being planned,” said Public Information Officer Naomi Hunter during the Jan. 12 community meeting. “The anticipated growth, especially growth at M-A, did not occur and that was for a variety of reasons.”
District officials believe that a number of factors have played a role in declining enrollment at TIDE, including COVID-19, changes in the school’s leadership and staffing, demographic shifts and family transiency, and modifications to its career technical education program offerings.
TIDE Academy has the district’s third-largest percentage of Latino students after Redwood and East Palo Alto high schools. The school also supports the largest percentage of special education students and is “overrepresented with male students,” according to district data that officials say points to a lack of diversity.
“TIDE is located next to East Palo Alto, a historically redlined community,” said Adriana Stone, a TIDE teacher. “Neighborhoods like Belle Haven and North Fair Oaks have limited nearby public school options. Students attend TIDE because it is accessible. Not because of a demographic imbalance.”
In previous board meetings, students have shared their stories of finding community at TIDE after dealing with bullying and a lack of academic support in the district’s larger high schools.
“I’ve been witness to students’ tears and pain through this process, including students worrying that, if forced to move schools, they’ll experience resurgences of social anxiety, depression, bullying and academic failure that they’ve been able to overcome through our close-knit, inclusive community and wraparound support,” said Lauren Reiser, a therapist at TIDE.
TIDE alumni parent Ken Parekh pointed out that the district’s data presentations highlight a district-wide issue. He questioned why the board does not take a more “strategic approach at establishing TIDE as a center of excellence,” especially for neurodivergent students.
The district will hold a study session on Monday, Jan. 26, at Sequoia High School’s Carrington Hall before the superintendent’s final recommendation is presented to the board for a vote on Feb. 4.
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