News

Student input to be considered in appointing new principal following resignation

May 27, 2017

Written by Clara Kieschnick-Llamas and Caroline Ro On May 24, Principal Dr. Denise Herrmann announced her resignation from Gunn to take a position as Associate Superintendent for Instructional Services in the Fremont Unified School District. Herrmann announced her resignation to students in a Schoology post, and explained her reasoning behind [...]

Low test attendance rates affect additional school funding

May 19, 2017

Written by Joy Huang This year, due to many students opting out of the annual California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) tests, the school did not meet the 95 percent participation rate required to receive additional federal funding. Students were able to opt out of testing because California Education Code section 60615 [...]

Middle school sex education class causes controversy

May 19, 2017

Written by: Ayala Tzadikario In Jan. 2016, the new California Healthy Youth Act (California Education Code Sections 51930-51939) was passed. It requires all California school districts to provide unbiased comprehensive sex education to all public school students. To comply with this act, PAUSD schools decided to implement a curriculum from [...]

Children’s Health Council launches Intensive Outpatient Program

May 19, 2017

Written by Kaya van der Horst The Children’s Health Council (CHC) launched its first Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) on May 8, marking a pivotal point in expanding local teen mental health services. The program will address the needs of high school teens ages 14 to 18 who show signs of significant anxiety, depression or suicidal thoughts. [...]

Administration releases new bell schedule for next year

March 31, 2017

Written by Shagun Khare and Grace Tramack On Tuesday, March 28, Principal Dr. Denise Herrmann officially released the new schedule for the 2017-18 school year via Schoology. The new bell schedule will maintain the same schedule as this year with the exception of the optional Thursday Tutorial, which will be replaced with a mandatory mid-day Flex [...]

PAUSD and Gunn take steps to narrow achievement gap

March 31, 2017

Written by Lena Ye On Mar. 14, Equity Coordinator Dr. Martha Castellon presented the Equity Plan to the Board of Education. The Equity Plan was one of the Minority Achievement & Talent Development Advisory (MATD) Committee’s recommendations in their short-term strategies to increase equity in access to education. The MATD Committee was [...]

Board cuts eugenicist ties with vote to rename schools

March 31, 2017

Written by Sohini Ashoke and Amanda Lee After 17 months of community debate, the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Board of Education decided to rename David Starr Jordan Middle School and Terman Middle School in a unanimous vote on March 17. The schools’ names will officially be changed before the 2018-19 school year. The controversial [...]

‘Lesson Plan’ shown for first time in Palo Alto

March 31, 2017

Written by Janet Wang On March 22, the documentary “Lesson Plan: The Story of the Third Wave” premiered in Palo Alto for the first time at the Cubberley Theater. The film was created in 2011 by former Cubberley High School students who took part in a 1967 experiment that mimicked the rise of authoritarian leaders. The premiere was hosted by [...]

School Board requests additional $2 million in possible cuts

March 31, 2017

Written by Helen Nguyen and Aleks Tycz Following a major budget miscalculation, the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) must make $3.3 million in cuts. PAUSD Superintendent Dr. Max McGee believes that the budget cuts are going to impact some of the district’s infrastructure. “We’re trying to keep the cuts from having any effect [...]

Seniors opt out of required California science test, while teachers urge participation

March 25, 2017

Written by Joy Huang Gunn seniors will take The California Science Test (CAST) Pilot Test on Thursday, March 30, and Friday, March 31. According to Superintendent Max McGee’s email to the seniors’ parents, the CAST pilot test will help the assessment to accurately measure students’ performance on the new California state science standards. [...]