As of 2021, 1,069 PAUSD students — one in 10 — had physical or cognitive disabilities. Most of these students were part of PAUSD’s Special Education program (also known as SpEd), according to the website Disability Almanac.
To ensure students with disabilities receive equitable instruction,...
On March 30, the Best Buddies Club hosted Lantern Night in collaboration with Palo Alto High School’s Best Buddies Club and Palo Alto Unified School District’s Futures special education program. The event was held in the amphitheater from 7 to 8 p.m. and concluded Gunn’s first Neurodiversity Week....
Speech-language pathologist Peggy Syverston is retiring at the end of this school year, after eight years at Gunn. As a speech therapist, she helped students with communication disorders work on their grammar, social skills, and how to communicate with an iPad.
Syverston shared some of her favorite...
This afternoon, English, social studies and special education teachers sent an open letter to Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Superintendent Don Austin, Associate Superintendent of Educational Services Sharon Ofek, Director of Secondary Education Services Kathie Laurence and the Board of Education...
Mia Knezevic, Forum Editor, Photo Editor and Oracle-SEC Liaison
• May 24, 2020
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools in the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) have been closed since March 13 to protect the health and safety of students and staff. While every student has been impacted by adjusting to online learning, the students who have previously relied on the district...
Chief to the integration of special education programs into classroom settings has been the co-teaching program. Launched just five years ago, the co-teaching program consists of a general education teacher and a special education teacher instructing students in a shared classroom. Currently,...
Each Monday during A period, the smell of banana bread and freshly-made espresso wafts down the halls as special education students host their weekly Coffeeology cafe. Students budget money, cook food, operate coffee machines and use Vehicle Transportation Agency (VTA) transit to buy the necessary...
Written by Helen Nguyen and Ayala Tzadikario
Betsy DeVos’ confirmation as Secretary of Education on Feb. 7 has been met with opposition by many teachers and parents across the United States due to her lack of experience working in public education. Concerns also reside in Palo Alto because of DeVos’...
Compiled by Janet Shea
The Oracle: Why did you decide to take this job?
Lynn Tabuchi: I heard great things about this district and about this school. After I had read about the district’s philosophy and vision, I wanted to check things out. This is my second year as the Inclusion TOSA....
Written by Elizabeth Chung and Grace Ding
In 1975, P.L. 94-142, the law that guaranteed a free appropriate public education to each child with a disability, was passed to ensure equal educational opportunities for students with special needs. This called for the official formation of special...
Written by Lena Ye
Since the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year, Gunn has established five gender-neutral bathrooms. These bathrooms are located inside the main office, behind the physical education classroom, just right of the senior quad and inside the new building. In August 2013, California’s...
