News

COMMENCING CONSTRUCTION — Workers dig up the fenced-off Palo Alto High School Quad, which students won’t fully enjoy until winter 2023. “That strip [the Quad] is going to be like that for a while until the whole project is done,” Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson said. Photo: Miya Whiteley Quad to fully open one year from now

THE PALO ALTO HIGH School Quad will be under construction until December 2023 for the Tower Building renovation.

“We’ll wait for everything to be done [to re-do the grass] just in case there’s something that happens that gets in the way,” Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson said.

The purpose of the construction is to add electrical lines and plumbing to and from the Tower Building. Fencing surrounding the construction on half of the Quad was removed on Nov. 14.

Some students are disappointed at the lack of full Quad accessibility.

“I’m going to miss things like Quadside lands [student-band concerts] because they’re usually held there [on the Quad],” senior Brooke Threlkeld said. “I’m definitely going to be sad that the Quad isn’t going to be fully open because it’s such a community space for people.”

by MIYA WHITELEY

STARTING JAN. 1, Santa Clara County will require buildings to install all-electric appliances and heating systems, as well as infrastructure for charging electric vehicles.

This program emerged under a new county ordinance, known as “Reach Codes,” that permits local energy amendments to be adopted by cities and counties in California.

GIVING GUIDANCE — Miss California 2022 Catherine Liang speaks with Verde Magazine staff writer Felicia Buchholz after visiting Verde on Oct. 26. Liang said she is visiting classrooms across the state to promote the value of emotional intelligence. Among elementary schoolers, the majority of Liang’s audience, she said she hopes to help them to find motivation in themselves. “We often look to other people for inspiration but we often forget to find that within ourselves,” Liang said. “That’s why people often struggle with anxiety, stress and all of that, so I’m really encouraging people to focus on their emotions.” Photo: Yash Shetty

Edited and designed by GOPALA VARADARAJAN

THE CITY OF PALO ALTO is reviewing plans for a pedestrian and bicycle underpass to make transportation on Churchill Avenue safer.

Multiple designs are being considered; the city’s preferred plan is to build an underpass for cars at Churchill Avenue and another underpass at either Kellogg Avenue or Seale Avenue for cyclists and pedestrians. Construction on the underpasses is projected to be complete by 2030, and the Churchill Avenue crossing will be closed for extended periods of time according to City of Palo Alto volunteer Arnout Boelens.

“While 2030 seems very far away, and you might not even be at Paly anymore by that time, we are asking you to think about the future students of the school,” Boelens said.

by ANNA GHEREGHLOU and GOPALA VARADARAJAN

TRANSFORMING TRANSPORTATION — The proposed underpass will give students a safer and easier way of getting to school. “If the Churchill railroad crossing will be closed to pedestrians and bicyclists, many students will see a change in their route to school,” City of Palo Alto volunteer Arnout Boelens said. “This might be for the better or for the worst for different people depending on where a new underpass will be built.” Graphics courtesy of City of Palo Alto

THE CALIFORNIA COLLEGE Guidance Initiative is partnering with the Palo Alto Unified School District to implement a new college and career planning platform in spring 2023.

According to Kathie Laurence, director of academic initiatives for PAUSD, the platform uses CaliforniaColleges.edu, a free state-run website.

“It has seamless integration with community colleges, CSUs and UCs,” Laurence said.

Laurence hopes to have the platform live by February, and the Class of 2024 will be the first to participate. Students in grades nine through 12 will have access to services such as career education, A-G course tracking, automatic transcript verification, academic planning and help with applications for federal student aid.

Sandra Cernobori, a college adviser at Palo Alto High School, anticipates that CaliforniaColleges.edu will be more beneficial to students and families outside of college and career planning.

“It’ll be a lot more obvious and transparent that you’re on track for meeting CSU and UC eligibility even before you get to me,” Cernobori said.

CaliforniaColleges.edu is designed to supplement Naviance, the current college and career planning system used by PAUSD, according to Laurence.

For junior Sophia Lee, having both Naviance and Californiacolleges.edu in place would be an ideal, streamlined process for applying to UC, CSUs and community colleges

“I used Naviance for college visits at Paly,” Lee said. “And I would support that [the new college and career planning platform].”

THE PALO ALTO Unified School District School Board will install heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, or HVAC, in every PAUSD campus according to the Oct. 11 meeting.

PAUSD’s Director of Facility and Construction Eric Holm said that the current plan will replace all old gas heaters at elementary and middle schools with electric heat and AC, and will be completed across all schools in the summer of 2026 with a forecasted budget of over $34 million.

According to Board of Education Vice President Jennifer DiBrienza, PAUSD’s Board Bond Advisory Committee, which consists of board members, teachers, staff and parents, first recommended that all PAUSD sites be outfitted with HVAC in February 2021.

“Plans were paused during the pandemic because of all of the various needs,” DiBrienza said.

As winter brings steadily dropping temperatures, students have expressed their frustration with the lack of infrastructure.

“We have [late hours] and … it gets really cold and difficult to work,” Palo Alto High School senior Dalia Antebi said. “I would like it if HVAC worked in all classrooms equitably.”

However, according to Holm, the distribution of existing HVAC systems disproportionately neglects younger students.

“Almost every elementary school and most classrooms at the middle schools [don’t have functional HVAC],” Holm said. “Most high school classrooms [do], with the exception of a few remaining rooms.”