at full capacIty
Sabrina Ghaus | El Estoque
High population growth plagues campus by Jonathan Chan with additional reporting by Jeremy Lee ith almost 700 freshmen, the Class of 2012 is the largest class known to walk the halls of MVHS. According to statistics provided by the California Department of Education, this growth is not an illusion. During the 2007-2008 school year, only 590 freshmen enrolled at MVHS. With the number at 692 this year, the freshmen class student body has increased 20 percent. The student population of MVHS has been steadily increasing over the years as more families are attracted to the high-performing school. As many students are turned away some students have tried to work around the residency verification system in order to attend the school. An anonymous student who currently attends MVHS based on a non-permanent address shared her perspective on this issue. Going to MVHS is more convenient for her family. “My dad’s office is very close to MVHS and if I went to Cupertino, it would be a lot more difficult,” she said. Cupertino is the high school she would have attended based on where she lives. In order to attend MVHS, her family rents her aunt’s house and uses that to verify residency.
Unlike some of the other students who attend the school based on a fake address, she claims that she is not avoiding residency verification because of the academics. “I don’t care about academics. It’s just because [this school] is closer,” she said. “Before I got my license, I needed to get rides to school every day.” Even though she doesn’t live within the school boundaries, she does not feel that she has violated any law or morals. “[We] pay taxes when we pay rent,” she said, taxes that help fund the school. The opportunity to attend the school does not come free—she is not allowed to have any friends over at her house because her family cannot risk having their real address revealed. In order to support students like her who want to move out of the area but still attend MVHS, the District implemented the senior privilege program. Senior privilege is a program designed to allow seniors to continue attending their current FUHSD high school despite no longer living within the boundaries of their respective high school. Gabrielle Wong, a Class of 2008 graduate, was one of the students who used senior privilege last year. In fact, Wong knew “quite a few seniors
inside...
How schedules are made for over 2500 students
see LARGE SCHOOL on page 10
...on the back
Can school size affect student performance
48 students
in one class