We are very fortunate in our community to have an exceptional high school district, composed of two comprehensive high schools, Los Altos High, and Mountain View High, an alternative school, Alta Vista, and the Adult Education School. All are the envy of communities throughout the state. It is important to understand that the comprehensive high schools, while consistently ranked at the top of the state in excellence have very different academic and socio-economic profiles and each are governed both by independent administrations, though they report to a Superintendent, and a School Board which oversee the entire district. This is similar to the administration of the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District, where each college has its own President, Vice-President, etc., but is overseen by the Chancellor and Board of Regents. Just as Foothill and DeAnza are independent of each other in size, programs, and policies in academic departments, so too, are the high schools in the Mountain View and Los Altos High School District.

Each high school serves half of the Mountain View area, and half of the Los Altos area. The children from the "feeder schools" in the Mountain View (now including the old Whisman District,) and Los Altos Elementary Districts are able to choose the high school that best suits their educational needs and interests, a policy known as "open enrollment." The high school district and individual schools work diligently to educate the students and the parents so that they make informed choices about the school appropriate for their children.

One issue that is treated differently between the two schools, which surprises many in our community, is that of AP/Honors placement. Advanced Placement classes are those which are developed in conjunction with the University of California and State systems, which grant students who successfully complete AP courses to receive college credit, while they are still in high school. Honors classes are high school classes with more challenging expectations and outcomes required of the student than the "regular" classes, though they do not receive college credit. However, Los Altos High School takes the more traditional approach to placement in these two programs: students usually must have an "A" in a previously required course as well as the recommendation of their teacher. For example, to place in an AP English class for the sophomore year, a student must receive an "A" in the Freshman English class, along with the Freshman English teacher’s recommendation. There is an appeal process for students who believe they can master the curriculum but do not meet placement requirements. Los Altos High School offers more AP/Honors classes, with more sections than does Mountain View. Some courses have no pre-requisites, such as European History or History of Art and require only the consent of the instructors, based on prior records.

Mountain View High School has no prerequisites for any AP/Honors classes. Thus, anyone can elect to take an AP/Honors class. This does not mean all students succeed in the class, and they are encouraged to make an informed decision before they elect to try the class. It can, in fact, be an extremely complicated decision which includes working with counselors. Students are encouraged to attend the College Awareness Day in the fall to determine requirements might be for colleges of interest, as this plays an important role in the choices they make about Honors and AP classes. They are also encouraged to attend the Curriculum Day, where, in every period, the teachers discuss the courses in their Department, which helps students to learn about all courses offered by the Department besides Honors and AP courses.

The move to eliminate prerequisites for the AP/Honors enrollment at Mountain View came about in conversations among the teachers and administrators and with the District Board in the late 1990’s, about the AP/Honors system, what is was, who it served, and the placement requirements. The discussions focused on students who were being turned down for placement because they didn’t meet certain requirements, but who were otherwise evaluated as able to succeed, and who would benefit from such classes. Before the policy was implemented, Mountain View High School Principal, Pat Hyland, said there were some hurdles to get over: teachers had to get beyond the fear that, in being evaluated as teachers, they would somehow appear to be poorer instructors if they failed a higher percentage of their students in AP and Honors Classes. Parents of AP students were worried that the AP experience would be diminished for their students who met the prerequisite requirements in a more traditional setting, and that teachers would spend too much time with those who had difficulty with the material. (continued, next page)

Pat Hyland has carefully tracked the success of the open enrollment policy of the AP/Honors classes since it began in the late 1990’s. The number of students taking an AP course has increased by 63%, and those taking Honors classes increased by 80%. The AP/Honors semester 1 trends show a steady increase in the numbers of students taking the classes, but with a consistently high grade point average. In other words, what Pat Hyland and the policy she has encouraged and administered have demonstrated is that student desire is at least as important as previous academic experience.

At Los Altos High, the administration has followed a more traditional path on the issue of placement in Honors and AP classes, with requirements that are more stringently applied. Theirs too, has been successful and Los Altos sends virtually as many students as Mountain View on to higher education.

So, what is the issue here? Is one approach superior to the other? It is that a policy which considers the needs and aspirations of the affected students and which seeks involvement and input from all constituencies will work

Over the past several years, the Los Altos School District has been challenged by a number of controversial issues: the long overdue renovations of the eight schools in the district, the reopening of the Covington School site, the push to pass the parcel tax last year, state and local budget and financial crises, the decision to close one of the elementary schools, and most recently, the proposal to form a Charter School at the site of Bullis School in Los Altos Hills. At the school board meeting on May 5, the District rejected the proposal for the Charter School, but that has not been the end of the discussions.

The Town Crier has offered some excellent coverage of both sides of the issue in interviews with Marge Gratiot in the May 7 issue, and Craig Jones, President of the Bullis Charter School group, and Ted Lempert in the May 14 issue. We at LANN have wondered what happens next. What is the next step each group takes in their efforts to move forward? Representatives from both the Charter School group and the Los Altos School District were very kind in offering information about the perspective of their positions by answering specific questions which assumed that each group was moving ahead with their agenda.

Charter school proponents have stated that they look forward to the end of the divisiveness, and that their goal is to simply bring world class education to Los Altos Hills by creating something wonderful for their community. They have stated that they have no wish to dictate or control the activities of neither the school district nor its residents, and they would like to see the school district work with them

1. Next Legal Procedures

The School Board’s denial of the Charter School proposal has, for the most part, ended their legal obligations, at this point, to the Charter School group.

When a school is closed, the state mandates a committee; made up of no fewer than 7 and no more than 11 members from the district, form what is called the "7-11 Committee" to figure out what to do with the school property. The 7-11 Committee has been formed, has met three times thus far, and will hold a public hearing within the month, the findings and recommendations of which will be published and distributed to the community. The 7-11 Committee is charged with doing five things:

• Review the projected enrollment to determine if the Bullis school site is surplus to the District.
• Establish priority of uses of the surplus property that will be acceptable to the community of the District.
• Circulate throughout the attendance area a priority list of surplus space in real property space.
• Provide for a public hearing for input by the community to the committee regarding the acceptable usage of the space, including sale or lease of the surplus real property for child care development purposes, and then make a final determination of limits of tolerance of use of space in real property. For example, will the property/community tolerate a private school, senior day care center, child care, etc?
• Forward the report to the governing board (i.e. the school board), recommending the use of space in real property

3. A School District for the Town of Los Altos Hills

It was the understanding of members of the school district and Board that the town of Los Altos Hills had been approached about this possibility, but there was no information as to whether or not this would be a viable option. It was explained that this is a complicated and expensive process.

4. Private School Possibility

Depending upon the recommendations of the 7-11 Committee, the leasing of Bullis for the purpose of a private school remains an option.

5. How the Charter School Would Benefit ALL of the District

One of the three reasons for the denial by the District of the petition is that it is perceived that the Charter School would not benefit the community in any significant way that was different from what is currently provided by the Los Altos Schools. In the resolution by the district denying the petition, it is stated that "Nothing new, innovative, or specific to the proposed Charter was developed by the Petitioners in the…" area of programs, curriculum, goals, and core values. One of the mandates of a Charter School when legislated by the state was that it offer something different, creative, diverse, and distinct in the way of curriculum and/or programs than was currently being offered by the existing school district. The District points to its status on test scores, its educational programs, quality of educators and its standing as the highest ranking public elementary school district in the state, and believes that achievement would be difficult to surpass.

6. Efforts to Compromise or Repair the Division within the Community

The district is moving forward as planned to incorporate the children from Bullis into the Covington site. With all of this wrangling over the charter school, several concerns on both sides have been raised which really have not been addressed: What went wrong to precipitate the school closure in the first place? Why was the district unable to perform the bonded renovation of all the schools? Where was the breakdown in communication by the district with the community which seems to have led to a feeling of isolation by the Bullis community? And, despite the current financial situation the district is in because of the retroactive budget cuts by the state, the school district has had to spend over a hundred thousand dollars researching the law on charter schools and analyzing the petition—money the district would have had at its disposal to spend on real necessities. In the event the charter school petition had been approved, even more money would have had to be spent working out the details and logistics of its implementation. But perhaps the most important concern should be for the children themselves who attend Bullis School. How are they dealing with this issue?

There has been a mixed response to this question from various Bullis parents. None of them wants to see their school closed, but one parent indicated that the most important thing to her child is that that the she be with her friends, wherever they are. Another parent indicated that her child is quite upset at the thought of the school closing and having to go to a different school, across the expressway, where the Bullis children would be a minority. Perhaps the children, in the end, are simply mirrors for their parents—reacting to a difficult situation in the manner they see those they love most responding. Of course, the bottom line is that each side wants what they feel will be in the best interest of the children. Perhaps what should now be focused on is an honest approach the problem. Figuring out how to rectify the situation in a manner which is productive, creative and positive will help set an important example to the kids we care so much about. What better lesson to learn than how to get along and problem solve by working together as a community

One recent Saturday night, my 15-year-old son and his friend went to an 8 o’clock show at the Mountain View Century Cinema. Our family has gone there fairly often over the years and we enjoy the great selection of films and the relative convenience of getting there, available parking, clean theaters, etc. Thus, when my son and his friend wanted to see a just-released film popular with his age group, my wife and I had no qualms about dropping them off, with a pickup arranged for around 10:15 or so. My son called right on schedule around 10:00 and a few minutes later, I set out in the car to pick them up. When I arrived at the circular drive that separates a decorative fountain "island" from the covered patio area in front of the ticket windows, I saw my son surrounded by a group of boys about his age. He appeared to be having a rather intense conversation with one of them. I could tell by my son’s body language that this was not a friendly encounter with a group of schoolmates. When my son spotted me in the car, he and his friend swiftly came over and got in.

As we were driving off, I casually asked if the other boy was hassling him.

"Yes," he replied.

"What was the problem?" I asked.

"He wanted my money" was the answer.

I was stunned. "You’re kidding? What did he say?"

"He said, ‘give me your money.’"

"And what did you say?"

"I said ‘no.’"

"And then?"

"And then he said ‘give me your money or I’ll knock you out.’"

"And what did you say?"

"I said ‘no’ again. ‘I didn’t do anything to you, so why do you want to do this?’ Just then you drove up. As he and his friends were leaving, he said to me ‘I’m going to get you.’"

"How many friends did he have?"

"There were seven of them."

So there you have it: A group of teenage boys intimidating other kids and shaking them down at the local movie theater in plain view of other patrons in a well-lit area in front of the ticket windows. Needless to say, my wife and I were upset. We called the Mountain View police department and discussed the incident with an officer who patrols the area around the theaters. He said that there has been an increase in the number of kids loitering in front of the theater since the release of the movie my son went to seen and there have been some problems. He also said he would speak to the manager about having the theater security people spend more time in the patio area by the ticket windows.

The next day our family went back to the Century Theaters to talk to the manager (it turns out you really can’t call them on the phone.) My son recounted the story and my wife and I made it clear that the management needed to be aware of this problem and make some changes to deal with it. The manager was a young man who was very reasonable and friendly and, in fact, thought that he may have even seen the group of boys my son encountered when he himself was at the theater as a patron the night before. He also suggested, like the police officer the night before, that perhaps extra security was needed, especially out in front by the ticket windows on Thursday through Saturday nights because this wasn’t the first time this had happened.

So, were we satisfied with the responses of the Mountain View police and the theater management? Sort of. This establishment used to be a place where we had no hesitation about letting our kids go alone at night. Although my son can definitely take care of himself, I’m not too interested in having him exposed to these kinds of situations. He’s a pretty able kid, but not when the odds are seven to one. Who knows what the response might be next time? Instead of verbal intimidation, there might be knives or guns involved---it has happened before amazingly enough---and I don’t want my son caught in this kind of trap. Will I let him go to the theater again? Sure, but I don’t think I want him waiting out front for me and I may try to get to the theater before the movie ends so I can meet him just as he comes out. I may also encourage him to go to films that get out earlier. Do I believe the Mountain View police and the theater management are going to increase their vigilance? Probably, but I don’t think I’ll feel as comfortable about the Century Cinemas as I did a week ago.