Los Altos School District

Los Altos School District (LASD) serves the elementary and intermediate educational needs of Los Altos, California, United States. Led by Superintendent Jeffrey C. Baier,^[2] the Los Altos School District provides the same program at all elementary schools. It is the only district in the surrounding areas that does not offer a choice/magnet school to its community.

The local high school, Los Altos High School, is not part of the Los Altos School District.

History

The desire of the local residents to have a free public education for their children led to the formation of the Los Altos School District in February 1909^{[citation needed]}. During this time, 4.5 acres (18,000 m²) of land along San Antonio Road was purchased and the construction of the first school in the region, San Antonio School, was built. It catered to students in grades K through 8, and was the only academic institution until the ending of World War II.

In the years 1948 through 1961, the city was faced with an increasing student population and state mandates against having single schools with greater than 800 students. In 1948, the district annexed lands and purchased the old Purissima School site (in Los Altos Hills) from the neighboring Palo Alto School District. During this time of expansion, the district included sixteen different schools.

However, during the decline of the early 1970s, the original San Antonio School was demolished and sold, while the number of facilities dwindled. The district currently consists of nine open regular schools (seven elementary and two intermediates), and one closed school (Eastbrook).^[3]

API Scores

Los Altos School District students' test scores were among the highest in California, with an average Academic Performance Index (API) score of 959 in 2007.^[4]

Los Altos School District* consistently scores high on the state examinations; four Elementary Schools score in the top 25 in the state, while both Egan and Blach Junior Highs score within the top 15 middle schools. Although this success can be partially contributed to favorable demographics, the San Jose Mercury News states that "Los Altos elementary schools do well even against schools with similar demographics".^[5]

Elementary schools (K-6)

• Almond Elementary
• Gardner Bullis Elementary School (formerly Bullis-Purissima Elementary School)
  • Closed as a K-6 school in 2003, Bullis-Purissima operated as a district-wide full-day kindergarten program from Fall 2005 through Spring 2008. It reopened as a K-5 school in August 2008 following extensive renovations. It will become a K-6 school in the fall of 2009.^[6]
• Covington Elementary School
  • The ethnic makeup of those who attend is 64% Caucasian, 27% Asian, 3% Hispanic, 1% African-American, and 1% Filipino.
• Loyola Elementary School
  • Less than 1% of students who attend this school are eligible for the free lunch program, in stark contrast to the state average of 39.4%. The ethnic makeup of those who attend is 72% Caucasian, 26% Asian, 1% Hispanic and 1% African American. There are approximately 600 students in the school.
• Oak Avenue School
• Santa Rita Elementary School
• Springer Elementary School

Bullis Charter School is not chartered by LASD, but through the Santa Clara County Office of Education. LASD provides facilities to Bullis Charter School in accordance with California law.

Intermediate schools (7-8)

• Blach Intermediate School
• Egan Junior High School

Charter School Controversy

The District has been sued several times in the past several years by Bullis Charter School (BCS). After winning the two previous cases, the District lost its most recent case in the appellate court of California. The court found the District to have violated Proposition 39 in regard to providing "reasonably equivalent" facilities for BCS and cited for having undercounted by over 1,000,000 square feet.^[7] BCS was founded as a reaction to the LASD board's decision on 10 February 2003 to close Bullis-Purissima Elementary School and has been at odds with LASD administration since the school's inception.

LASD contends charter laws were intended to raise the quality of education in communities and should not be used to displace high performing district schools. The District continues to engage in litigation with BCS.

References

External links

• Los Altos School District
• List of Schools in LASD from the API database