Editorials

Art by MICHELLE KIM

FOLLOWING A SHIFT IN Santa Clara County’s COVID-19 risk level from the purple to red tier on March 3, Palo Alto High School students and teachers began to return to campus on March 9. The county has since moved to the orange tier on March 24 and Paly is now an open campus.

The vast improvements in the current hybrid schedule compared to last fall’s reopening plan must extend to better communication and inclusion of teacher’s voices in future district decisions.

However, we recognize the difficulty in reimagining a long-standing learning model and thank the Paly staff for their contributions during the pandemic, and suggest that Paly continues to increase opportunities for on-campus student activities.

Staff behind the scenes

Verde is grateful for the staff at the forefront of in-person learning — including admin and teachers — as well as those behind the scenes whose diligent work made our return safe and possible.

We’d like to shine a light on the exceptional food service workers within the Paly staff and outside volunteers who have worked tirelessly to deliver meals directly to student homes, classrooms and the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park since schools closed last March.

Additionally, with the reopening of in-person school, the workers are providing free lunches on campus to any student in need.

Food Services has served 66,745 breakfasts and 232,175 lunches during the pandemic, according to district Food Service Consultant Alva Spence.

Verde would also like to thank the hardworking custodians across all PAUSD schools who have been instrumental in students’ and teachers’ safe return. From disinfecting classrooms at the end of the school day to meticulously arranging desks and shields to be spaced six feet apart, custodians have been the backbone of on-campus activities.

Finally, we are immensely grateful to the Paly nurse and Wellness Center personnel who ensure that the Paly population is as low-risk as possible for COVID-19 spread, and that students have accessible support throughout the day.

Building connections

The district’s current plan for students to participate in on-campus learning has been mostly smooth and successful in beginning to revive Paly’s school culture.

“It’s really heartwarming to be able to see students back having fun and enjoying this beautiful campus and being able to have a community again,” history teacher and Student Activities Director Greer Stone said. “That’s been something that’s really been missing and it feels like we’re starting to get that back.”

Though students now have opportunities for further interaction with teachers and activities such as science labs, classes remain fairly similar to at-home learning and remain on Zoom for the majority of the day.

“It’s still really in this weird stage right now, where we’re talking to the teacher through Zoom, even though they’re right there,” junior Benjamin Antonow said.

We commend teachers for continuing to foster a positive learning environment for students and hope that safely expanding opportunities for in-person learning remains a top priority in the district as COVID-19 cases decline.

Increased communication

Last fall, the PAUSD Board of Education’s approval of a hybrid learning plan to bring students back into physical classrooms was met with bitter debate.

“I do know that there was pretty heavy teacher objection to the board’s plan, and those objections didn’t appear to be considered in the decision,” Stone said. The current plan in the spring semester resolved some of Verde’s previous concerns of safety and flexibility and garnered greater support in the community by addressing opposing opinions. We appreciate the ability for students to choose to attend school in person or stay home on a daily basis, but criticisms remain.

“I would have liked to have seen a plan that as far as the timing of its implementation, to be more flexible with the timeline of vaccines,” Stone said.

Given that teachers are most directly affected by the board’s decision to reopen schools, as they come into contact with several different groups of students throughout the day, the district must prioritize teacher opinions and concerns for their safety to a greater degree in future board decisions. v

The Verdict editorial section expresses the collective opinion of the Verde Magazine staff.

IN JANUARY, STUDENTS across the Palo Alto Unified School District and larger Bay Area shared their experiences of sexual harassment and assault on social media. Verde unequivocally stands with survivors and commends the courage of every individual with a story.

Procedural reforms by the PAUSD Title IX Office and increased openness to student feedback must be followed with stronger support for survivors during investigations, accelerated development of consent education and frequent updates for students on the district’s efforts to make tangible change in the Title IX process.

Supporting survivors

While the Office for Civil Rights resolution approved by the PAUSD board in 2017 made significant improvements to the Title IX reporting process and staff training, students continue to express concerns over the lack of mental health support during Title IX investigations.

“There were times that they handled [the investigation] really well ... and it genuinely seemed like they cared,” said Dylan, a Paly student and survivor of sexual assault whose name has been changed to protect her identity. “There were other times that I felt invalidated and I didn’t feel believed.”

Similarly, several other students interviewed by Verde for the feature story “The ‘gold standard’?” felt uncomfortable during the district’s handling of Title IX cases, PAUSD Superintendent Don Austin released a statement on Jan. 27 that the district has promptly and fully investigated all misconduct reports.

“I felt like [Don Austin’s statement] was a little generic and didn’t seem ... like the district was going to make any considerable changes as a result,” Mickelsen said.

According to an online Verde optin survey of 125 Paly students conducted from March 18 to March 22, 52% of respondents are “not confident at all” in PAUSD’s system of handling Title IX cases. If the district wants to amend this, they must better communicate their efforts to protect student safety and streamline the Title IX process in order to build trust.

To address accessibility concerns, PAUSD General Counsel Komey Vishakan and her office hosted meetings with student representatives since August 2020 and held a listening session last December to hear student opinions on the Title IX process.

“The student representatives were instrumental in the policy revisions that were discussed by the Board Policy Review Committee (BPRC) in September 2020,” Vishakan wrote. To keep progressing, we urge the district to regularly hold similar forums and periodically update students on developing Title IX improvements. v

investigations. Having a counselor present would reduce stress when students discuss sensitive topics in their report and ensure intervention if they become overwhelmed.

Consent education

Fostering healthier consent culture in PAUSD schools must start through smaller, youth-led conversations, which normalize frequent and active discussion of consent in ways that current assemblies, Advisory periods and the Living Skills course do not.

“It’s crucial for our consent education to be informative and interactive so students will pay attention and understand the information they’re being given,” said senior Anna Mickelsen, vice president of the Paly Responsive Inclusive Safe Environment Task Force, a student advisory group working against rape culture at Paly.

Given the reports of sexual misconduct that come from elementary and middle school campuses, more conversations on consent must begin before high school.

“[For younger students,] we can talk about how you don’t always need to hug your friend ... [or] share your snacks if you don’t want to,” RISE co-president and junior Kyla Schwarzbach said.

Publicizing change

After students publicly expressed their frustration with