Upfront
CityView A round-up of
EDUCATION
Achievement-test results spark heated discussion
Palo Alto government action this week
City Council (Nov. 7)
Crossing guards: The council approved a contract with American Guard Services to oversee the city’s school crossing-guard program. Yes: Unanimous Bike plan: The council directed staff to solicit more input about the city’s proposed Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan from local commissions and stakeholders. Yes: Unanimous
Board of Education (Nov. 8)
Student achievement: The board discussed a report on SAT and Advanced Placement test results for the Class of 2011. Action: None Facilities bond: The board heard reports from the Citizens’ Oversight Committee for the Strong Schools Bond and from auditors of the bond fund’s financial transactions. Action: None Summer School: The board heard a report about results from 2011 Summer School, and plans for 2012 Summer School, with a variety of programs proposed between June 18 and July 27. Action: None
Planning & Transportation Commission (Nov. 9) Joint meeting: The commission held a joint meeting with the Architectural Review Board. Action: None
LET’S DISCUSS: Read the latest local news headlines and talk about the issues at Town Square at PaloAltoOnline.com
Public Agenda A preview of Palo Alto government meetings next week CITY COUNCIL ... The council plans to hold a joint session with the Architectural Review Board; discuss revisions to the Rail Committee’s guiding principles and hold a closed session to discuss labor negotiations. The joint session will begin at 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 14, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). The rest of the meeting will be held in the Council Chambers. The closed session will follow the regular meeting. COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTEE ... The committee plans to discuss the Electric Overhead to Undergrounding Conversion Program; consider a report on the city’s Ultra High-Speed Broadband System Project; and discuss the proposed PaloAltoGreen Local Energy Program. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 15, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). COUNCIL POLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE ... The committee plans to discuss a proposed ordinance regarding vehicle dwelling and hear updates on the Magical Bridge Playground project and Project Safety Net. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 15, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). HISTORIC RESOURCES BOARD ... The board plans to discuss 1213 Newell Road, proposed modifications to the Main Library, Art Center and community gardens. The meeting will begin at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 16, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). CITY-SCHOOL LIAISON COMMITTEE ... The committee will discuss public facilities inventory planning, information technology dark fiber infrastructure, and energy efficiency and sustainability. The meeting will begin at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, in Conference Room A of school district headquarters (25 Churchill Ave.). ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD ... The board plans to discuss 3431 Hillview Ave., a proposal by VMWare to renovate several buildings, construct two new office buildings and two amenity buildings and build three new parking structures; and 4214 El Camino Real, a proposal by OTO Development on behalf of Schnell Brothers Properties for a four-story, 178room Hilton Garden Inn. The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). RAIL CORRIDOR STUDY TASK FORCE ... The task force will continue its discussion of the city’s land-use vision for the Caltrain corridor. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). PUBLIC ART COMMISSION ... The commission plans to discuss maintenance of the city’s art collection, the upcoming meeting to discuss a mural at the new Mitchell Park Library and Community Center teen room, El Camino Park and the commission’s procedures and protocols. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). LIBRARY ADVISORY COMMISSION ... The commission plans to hear presentations on youth services, e-readers and strategic planning training and discuss its annual joint meeting with the City Council in December. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, in the Downtown Library (270 Forest Ave.).
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Stellar averages make good students feel like ‘amateur athletes in an Olympic village’ by Chris Kenrick
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esponding to criticism that he’s excessively focused on test scores, Palo Alto Unified School District Superintendent Kevin Skelly said Tuesday (Nov. 8) that supporting struggling students as well as top achievers is a central challenge for the school district. The discussion followed a presentation to the Board of Education on SAT and Advanced Placement data for the Gunn and Palo Alto high school class of 2011. The presentation noted an increasing number of students — 75 percent — enrolling in AP classes and passing at least one AP exam. “We don’t want every kid to take AP classes,” Skelly said. “Kids can get a fine education here without that. “But this (SAT averages and AP participation) is data we want people to know about. We’re not emphasizing it. We just think people are curious about this stuff, and it gives families and students information about what their world looks like.” Tuesday’s annual presentation of high school test data portrayed a district with SAT averages so high that a student in Palo Alto’s 25th percentile ranks in the state’s 75th percentile. A student in Palo Alto’s 75th percentile, with a combined SAT score of 2180 out of a possible 2400, ranks in the top 2 percent nationally, board members said. That rarefied atmosphere makes many otherwise excellent students feel like “amateur athletes in an Olympic village,” said board mem-
ber Barbara Klausner. Skelly and board members said publication of the test data is useful in helping students and families grasp what kind of community they’re operating in. Seven parent members of a group called We Can Do Better Palo Alto said the district’s “choice of measurement — SAT and AP test score — is not just incorrect, but harmful.” “You talk of broadened access (to AP classes), and I call it increased stress,” said parent Michele Dauber, a Stanford Law School professor and co-organizer of the group. “The picture I see is increasing stress and ramping up the stresso-meter on our kids right at a time when we should be looking for ways to turn it down.” Parent Wynn Hausser, a member of the group, said the presentation slide lauding “two extraordinary schools” should have been titled “an extraordinary gene pool. “We’re talking about people who would be successful regardless of the quality of the schools, in many cases,” Hausser said, suggesting that Palo Alto emulate another highachieving public school system, Scarsdale, N.Y., which eliminated its AP program in 2007. Group member Kathy Sharp said many top achievers benefit from expensive tutoring while the school district is “not serving our economically disadvantaged population well.” We Can Do Better members urged the district to broaden its definition of success by adopting other metrics, such as a student’s GPA trajec-
tory and successful completion of a course sequence. While agreeing they would like to explore other measures of student success, including GPA trajectories and extracurricular activities, board members defended publication of the SAT and AP test data. “For better or worse, this is the environment our kids are being raised in,” Klausner said. “We don’t want to raise the stress level of our students, but I think it’s a very complicated issue.” Noting the stubborn persistence of an achievement gap, particularly among African-American and Hispanic students, Klausner suggested that the board spend time taking a focused look at the district’s African-American and Hispanic students, who respectively comprise 3.2 percent and 10.4 percent of current enrollment. With parents who had 8th grade educations and little wealth, board Vice-President Camille Townsend said she applauds “when I see access to AP classes for kids who may not look the part.” “We walk a tightrope in this town,” Board President Melissa Baten Caswell said. “These are conversations our community needs to have, and be cognizant that it’s a double-edged sword in our schools. If we can offer our students opportunities and support, with resilience and strong mental health — then we’re staying on the right side of it.” N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be emailed at ckenrick@paweekly. com.
CITY HALL
Changing of crossing guards vexes parents Palo Alto gets new crossing-guard manager for the first time since 1999 by Gennady Sheyner
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or the first time in more than a decade, Palo Alto is preparing to hire a new company to manage its ranks of school crossing guards — and not everyone is thrilled about the change. Dozens of parents attended the Monday night (Nov. 7) City Council meeting to urge the council not to make a switch from the present company, All City Management Services, which has been managing the city’s crossing-guard program since the Police Department privatized the service in 1999. This year, the city went out to bid on the contract, as it has in the past, and received responses from eight companies, four of which had lower costs than the incumbent. The council voted unanimously to support a staff recommendation and award a contract to American
Guard Services, the company with the lowest bid. It reached this decision despite oral and written arguments from dozens of parents who claimed the transition would threaten the safety of their children. Many speakers who opposed the change pointed to Michael Saterfield, a crossing guard who mans the intersection near Terman Middle School. One parent after another praised Saterfield for his ability to command the attention of students and drivers and for keeping the busy stretch of Arastradero Road safe. Stacey Ashlund, whose daughter is in fourth grade at Juana Briones Elementary School, was among them. “I let her cross Arastradero by herself for only one reason — Michael is his name,” Ashlund told the council. “I see no rebellion at that
intersection. I see happy compliance. What I wouldn’t give for that in my household?” American Guard Services offered jobs to current crossing guards, but only under lower wages. Saterfield said the proposed rate was far below the existing one. While the current management company offered in its bid to pay crossing guards $14.39 per hour in the first year and $14.75 in each of the following two years, American Guard proposed a rate of $13.25 an hour in the first two years and $13.51 in the third year. Saterfield also addressed the council during the public comment period and urged council members to renew All City’s contract. “I think that safety is the issue here and we provided that safety (continued on next page)