Great article. It should be noted that MVC was canceled in response to losing the lawsuit on PAUSD's violations of the Math Placement Act in which they held back kids from advancing in math and forced them to repeat UC-approved classes they had already successfully completed externally. A result of the lawsuit is that kids can now progress at a rate more commensurate with their interests, starting in 9th grade. The administration says it is inequitable that some kids have the resources or interest to accelerate in math. In order to blunt the impact of being forced to allow 9th grade kids to accelerate in math, they took away the senior year endpoint at MVC so that the maximum amount of math available as offered by PAUSD is now BC calculus.

Flattening outcomes is the agenda of 4 out of 5 board members and the PAUSD administration, arguing for equity (equal outcomes) along racial lines -- the SWIFT document states this explicitly.

Contrary to what the district leadership claims, it is not illegal for PAUSD to offer MVC and other advanced math classes. The CA Department of Education confirmed the understanding that MVC can be offered as a CCAP class, on a closed campus, with a college instructor who does not need a high school teaching credential. The simple reason is (as initially stated but backed away from) that it was because they lost the lawsuit.

MVC is now allowed to be taught by Foothill on Paly campus, but the district disavows any connection and will not put it on the transcript, as in previous practice. The class is taught between 4:45-7pm, a time that collides with extracurriculars. Kids are being forced to decide between those activities and taking math in their senior year. This is a burden that our neighbors do not impose on their students. Los Altos and Mountain View offer MVC during school hours. The district leadership's idea of equity simply puts us behind our neighboring kids by one year, making them less competitive.

You meant the meeting on 8/22/23, correct?

PAUSD: Start listening to your students. Do not hold back students' passion, be it arts, sports or academics. DO NOT hold back in the name of mental health - held back students are suffering in slow paced classes.
PAUSD: you are an educational institution. Students and parents should not need to be begging for challenging classes and first class education.
It's sad what the school district is putting its student go through!
Very sad!

I would like to call Todd Collins out about his comment “I can’t think of a time when I’ve seen that done." Students have spoken out at several board meetings about math.

Thanks for posting this here! It clears up a lot.

From the enthusiasm shown by these students, it's clear this is students' own initiative - not parental pressure as PAUSD always seems to point to!

Its an equity issue to allow personal growth in Math. But never an equity issue for Sports.

There must be no such thing as toxic parent behavior in sports.. /s

"Like many students, Vakil didn’t score high enough on PAUSD’s math placement test to skip a grade in math. This, he argued, is because PAUSD’s policies and placement tests are designed to prevent acceleration. PAUSD’s policies were even ruled illegal earlier this year, following a lawsuit filed by parents".

What has PAUSD done so far to rectify its illegal math placement policies? Was there any update about that at the 8/22 board meeting?

Brilliant move PAUSD students! Way to go!

All the current PAUSD Board Members should be replaced with this group of smart, deep thinking, take action students, and Benjamin Vakil named as President of the Board. These students should be very proud of their efforts to advocate for ALL students in math. These courageous, organized students utilized the system designed to silence the community (with a 1 minute limit) to speak up, made their voices heard, and very articulately stated what STUDENTS need. The same students the Board is supposed to be serving. Sadly, the current Board has not served our students in many years. The consensus among most I've spoken to -- parents, students, community members, former PAUSD families, even teachers and Stanford Professors who actually know something about math instruction as math professors -- is that the current Board members serve themselves and their personal agendas to the detriment of the students. Let's see if the Board Members actually listen this time. Shame on the Board if they dismiss the students who know best what THEY need in math.

It is important to note that ALL college courses taken must be noted on a student's college applications. Colleges know that students can't always take certain courses at their high schools, so when a student takes a course at a community college the college they are applying to notes that and will recalculate it into their GPA. This is true for the CSUs, the UCs, private and public out of state institutions.

Brave, smart, and well-organized students.

We need to annihilate once and for all this bias that if a kid excels at math, it comes at the expense of something else. Mountains of evidence speak against it (strength in different domains reinforce, rather that compete with, each other). It's partially America's anti-intellectual sports culture, and partially (in the peninsula's case) just plain racism against Asians. A cheap way to denigrate others' efforts and achievements.

Science and math real, and our world deeply needs youth whose values and talents can lead us forward. STEM is not fundamentally vacuous cultural oneupmanship. Perhaps you start to think that way too much of your time and interests are hinged to sports and bureaucratic power regimes.

It's long-past time for the Board and Austin to listen to and support their parents and students.

Limited to 1 minute per speaker, when they are the ones directly impacted?

Is the video posted online somewhere? I want to watch how the board members reacted to this so I know how to vote. Even if my kids don’t qualify for advanced math, I want them and other kids to have the option! We should celebrate and further human spirit and success not suppress it.

Can we get rid of varsity sports so no one is selected unfairly?

Great job students in self organizing! It is too bad Don Austin and the school board already have an agenda of favoring "what sounds good" over what students actually need. They have already made up their minds on what is best for you and thrown out practices that have worked for decades.

Public school enrollment will continue to decline, giving private schools a leg up, until they change their mind and make academics is a priority.

Thank you PAO for posting this! Here are some board meeting links for context:

The 25 students speaking at the 8/22/23 board meeting:

Web Link

Hear out this student:
Web Link

The toxicity, dishonesty, and intentional obstruction don't just impede academic achievement. Our students are not safe in our schools. They feel excluded, ignored, stereotyped. They are told that their families harm them, that they are just pretending they like STEM, that they hurt others by their very existence, that they should go elsewhere. They are told that by the adults that were elected and hired to create a nurturing and positive environment for all students.

Bravo! I am so impressed by the students here taking the initiative to improve education here. I am not impressed that the district has not acted despite this not being the first time the board has heard about this.

I don't think the district should wait til October, it will hurt the kids who are close to graduation to wait on this. The students have made eminently reasonable requests that the district can in fact honor to their benefit, and they should. Now.

My child was a victim of the district's experiment with EDM, which left them in some ways worse off at the cusp of middle school than in 2nd grade math. Same child (we only found out after high school) was dyslexic and had other issues. Regardless, they were held back in middle school precisely because of the district testing and poor attitude of teaching staff towards students who wanted more math.

At their request, we allowed them to transfer to another district for high school where they were able to work independently on math. We did request independent study within PAUSD but it was denied, saying the student was not a candidate for independent study. Transferring to an independent study program allowed more than a year's worth of honors math study every semester, so that they were able to take college courses for credit in calculus incl MVC and DiffEq before graduating. Staying in the district would have meant same child would probably not have even been able to take calculus in high school, which would have damaged their higher education prospects. You have no idea how stressful it is for a really bright kid to be constantly held back and bored.

There is no earthly reason that we need to waste these kids' time and hurt their opportunities. If people are worried that parents push kids into classes, or feel stressed by comparisons, making independent study opportunities available where students can work at their own pace should solve that.

Our students are amazing. This took a lot of guts and a lot of efforts on their part, and I am so proud of them.
PAUSD - please listen to the students!!!! Blocking kids from achieving their potential is harmful to their mental health.
And a separate thank you to Palo Alto Online for running this. It is very important local news, and our community as a whole needs to know about this.

Equality of results will one day be thought of as the most condescending form of racism. Stop it now.

I encountered, or observed, varying degrees of resistance to my son's math acceleration. The worst situation would be SFUSD. Followed by PAUSD. SUHSD not ideal either. Private schools can be slightly better, but are by no means a panacea.

My son's private school does require testing in, to accelerate e.g. by taking AP Calculus AB over the summer, then skipping a year into AP Calculus BC. But they offer MVC, and linear algebra, in alternating years. They have about 50 or 60 kids per graduating class. This year it's linear algebra, and there are 14 kids in the class, half juniors, half seniors. By alternating the advanced class, the juniors will then have the option of MVC next year.

All the "humanities" kid are at a disadvantage in this district.

When I was hired by PAUSD in 1994 the message from my superiors was, “Get creative and engage your students. They are very bright and need to be challenged”. I was coached regularly by competent educators who understood the stakeholders. It was not Shangri-La, but teachers were fostered and allowed to bring unique talents and skills to the classroom.

Enter Don Austin. His push is “alignment”. That is code for “every student gets the same experience, no matter the teacher”. McDonalds. Supposedly, if every teacher within a given subject is reading from the same script, then equity is achievable. The problem is that teaching and learning become as boring as a Big Mac with fries and the brain begins to feel the ill effects of the fast-food education.

Scripted learning is appropriate in some settings, but usually not in Palo Alto. Teachers who stray from the Austin regimen, just like these brave math students, are marginalized, stigmatized as “not being team players”, and encouraged through subtle and overt intimidation to leave the district.

If you need a symbol of Austin’s philosophy, just look at the PAUSD websites. They used to be unique to each school, but now they are all formatted the same. Mr. Austin wants that in the classroom too, all in the name of equity. The board must want the same thing, or they would not have renewed Mr. Austin’s contract.

If the benefits of alignment are tangible, then they should be manifest by now. If equity is attainable, there should be clear benchmarks to show targets being met. Changing grading scales and eliminating D’s and F’s does not count. Lowering standards and expectations is not a path to equity. Ignoring students who want to achieve more and pushing out teachers who divert from the script is not a path to equity.

Competent instruction from experts in their field helps. Strong teacher coaching helps too, but PAUSD gave up on that a long time ago. Conformity and intimidation are the current norms.

Kids today are entering college with extensive backgrounds in AI and data science, many are even publishing papers. And PAUSD is nickel and dimeing over calculus? How is the cradle of innovation so deficient at producing the future leaders of the technological tomorrow? How are there not AI and DS departments in the schools? Data is the new oil, people! It’s so bad I’m beginning to worry the people in charge are saboteurs trying to destroy Palo Alto with all their anti STEM decisions.

Personally I think there should be classes in business.

However, the way these students used 25 x 1 minute to make one coherent point shows that the students know how to deal with getting their message across, so kudos to them. Perhaps next time there is a contentious topic at school board or city council, this idea should be copied.

Getting 25 similar comments is not helpful, but using 25 minutes to make one well written argument speaks volumes.

For all the people talking about how PAUSD is so STEM centered, I would like to offer a few facts to consider:
- Both Gunn and Paly have all the English AP classes offered by The College Board - AP Lit and AP Language. There are only 2
- There's more non-STEM APs at both high schools than STEM APs because non-STEM APs include Language, Art and Music APs.
- More Social Studies APs at the high schools is completely possible. In fact, Ms. Dibrienza and her posse talked about it during the campaign last year. Dharap's brought it up every time he's run but has made no progress in all these years.

What Dibrienza and her posse don't say is that it FIRST takes teachers willing to teach the classes. In Math, there've been teachers willing to teach advanced classes and work with Foothills to offer more. Not so in the English and SS depts.

The issue here isn't that it is not fair to kids not interested in STEM, it's that Austin and Dibrienza simply don't want kids (majority Asian and Indian) in advanced math. DiBrienzia and Austin have continued to targeted math and students who love math with tired old stereotypes:
"The parents are forcing them to take math" - The students have proved over and over these last 6 months that they want the advanced classes, not just their (Asian) parents
" There is too much focus on Math and not other areas" - rather than restrict math, they could actually do the work with teachers and school admins to offer more non-math, non-STEM advanced classes.

As for Ms. Ladomirak's constant dog-whistle on "toxic stress" whenever math comes up - the students have been quite clear that math classes or parent pressure is not the cause of their stress. PAUSD Board members and a Superintendent that have not listened and have lied to them for 6 months is much more toxic for the students.

Ms. Ladomirak - if toxic stress really concerns you, support these students. And, please address the toxic stress in high school athletics.

@One Town Over, Foothill College was offering MVC at NO COST to PAUSD. They get paid by the state. So it wasn't even nickel and diming. They told FHC that they did not want MVC ever again and under no circumstances. PAUSD even paid for lawyers in their fight against MVC. They paid $$ in order to not get something for free.

@Jimmy, I think PAUSD is now the worst. SFUSD's new superintendent Matt Wayne has admitted that their Jo Boaler math program has failed and widened the gap. They have accepted the outcomes of the data and are taking a fairly intellectually honest approach now. They don't seem to have an agenda of holding back kids like we do in PAUSD. There are a few vested stakeholders in their math leadership who are still trying to sell the Boaler koolaid, but they appear to be sidelined. When they got sued (encouraged by the PAUSD math lawsuit), they very quickly reversed some policies that prevented kids from advancing. They even opened up geometry for all during the summer, removing the previous caps on seat. They found funding to do so, even as they are nearing bankruptcy. They are now considering how to bring back Algebra to 8th grade, the main considerations being logistical. SFUSD even encourages dual enrollment as a means to supplement their offerings.

Admittedly, it is a change from the previous SFUSD leadership after SF voted to recall 3 of their board members. PAUSD is overtly hostile to the math kids, throwing many obstacles in their way. I feel SFUSD is actually trying to help their students.

PAUSD is the worst, by intention.


Speaking of SFUSD, their math lawsuit hearing will be tomorrow at 9AM
Web Link

I found this story very interesting and signed up at the Midpeninsula Post to receive their weekly online student publication. The students were creative in their use of public comment at the first school board meeting of the school year to present their grievances about the mathematics program in PAUSD.

I believe, though, that the editor should have reminded readers who clicked on the link to the Midpeninsula Post piece to read the Weekly’s own article on the meeting to learn what its reporter felt the community needed to know as PAUSD embarks on a new school year with new challenges and opportunities.

It’s disappointing to see an argument that consumed so much attention last year continue into the 2023-24 school year with no new arguments but lots of aggrieved energy directed, it would seem, at next year’s school board election.

Re the comment: "All the "humanities" kid are at a disadvantage in this district."

The context wasn't specified, but looking at the 2023-24 Course Catalogs, here's the number of Honors (H) and AP Courses (AP) offered at each high school, grouped by "Humanities" vs "Math/Science/CS".

Paly:
Humanities: (H) 21, (AP) 16
Math/Sci/CS: (H) 7, (AP) 9

Gunn:
Humanities: (H) 11, (AP) 17
Math/Sci/CS: (H) 9, (AP) 12

“the current Board members serve themselves and their personal agendas to the detriment of the…”
Excerpt from @ Forever Name

Umm, no, a lot is the policy, dictates of the state of California, regrettably
(not all choices, policies, requirements rest on the shoulders of PAUSD BoE; they must implement these)

This STATE’S public education (overall) has been dumbed down, especially in Mathematics

And I recall the old CAHSEE - a basic exit test, to graduate HS in CA, which was removed when certain groups, despite three attempts allowed and free tutoring couldn’t pass this simple test.
Therefore, a HS diploma from a CA public HS currently doesn’t even demonstrate passing the simple low bar CAHSEE.
Therefore, a HS diploma from a CA public HS means very little mastery of academics

@Anonymous - The removal of MVC was a PAUSD Board decision. There was no state of California policy that required them to remove it and not offer it on campus. [Portion removed.] Los Altos and Saratoga both still offer it to students (LA through Foothills) so it is NOT anything to do with state policy. [Portion removed.]

@Jerry Underdal - It is very fortunate you do not have a child in high school being denied a class they are eager to take because of the personal bias of a Superintendent and Board member. [Portion removed.]If you did, you might feel differently on how important this topic is.

For all Palo Alto residents - we live in Silicon Valley. The majority of folks here are employed by the tech industry. Our students are exposed to tech from an early age and of course many would become interested in it.

Advanced math underpins all technology (AI, Cleantech, autonomous vehicles, etc...) so the students want to pursue math to further explore their passions. There is nothing bad or wrong with that in spite of the condescending moral judgements made by some Board members regarding students who enjoy math and their families.

In Palo Alto, all parents want their students to have a well rounded education in high school - which they do b/c students take 4 years of math, science, english and SS. But the reality is that the biggest job growth will be in tech related fields.
PAUSD is doing all of our students a disservice by capping math courses rather than tutoring kids that are not at grade level. Capping courses to make metrics look better is just lazy, dishonest and a disservice to our students.

There is a reason enrollment is declining in PAUSD and neither of our high schools make the top 100 high schools in the USA anymore.

@Anonymous

It has been demonstrated over and over that PAUSD, under Mr. Austin, believes that it is above state and federal law. From teacher evaluations to math placement tests, to the treatment of a man that had all charges against him dropped with prejudice, to the disregard of Ed. Code unless it serves their purposes, 25 Churchill has shown a disdain for the law at all levels.

The state did not tell PAUSD to get rid of MVC. The courts found PAUSD in violation of the law with its math placement procedures. Furthermore, an innocent man sits at home fighting for his career and reputation whilst the superintendent smears him in this very publication. Some administrators no longer do proper teacher evaluations as specified by Ed. Code, and some administrators, with Austin's blessing, break basic complaint protocols in a shady effort to intimidate teachers.

It wasn't always this way in PAUSD. It is now under Austin because he believes he is the law, and the board, other than Shana Segal, stokes his hubris.

Teachers are physically attacked in classrooms, food handling protocols are ignored, special education families are shuffled from school to school without proper notification, and young students are injured on campuses because either there is a lack of training, sufficient personnel, or just a general fear that one mistake may end a career. Worst of all, well-meaning students are marginalized and ignored.

[Portion removed.]

PAO limits the number of links I can post, so will post in pieces. Here are other occasions where students and community members addressed the board re math policies. This was not the first time, but this was the largest purely student-organized address.

June 2021
Open forum - middle school math placement:
Web Link
6th grader:
Web Link
toxic leadership-supporter calling 6th grader "sad" for his choices:
Web Link

March 28, 2023

Open Forum (on the MVC fiasco)
MVC cancelation response (Open Forum):
Web Link

Paly grad:
Web Link

I appreciate that these kids feel like they have a legitimate grievance, but community college math courses are an option. Most h.s. math couess, including AP, lack the rigor of college-level math classes and 9 times out of 10 you end uo retaking calculus in college, at least at the UCs. I think these kids don’t aporeciate the opportunities they have that equally talented kids in less well-heeled districts have anyway.

@cat STEM colleges *expect* incoming majors to have already taken calculus and hit the ground running. For those whose high schools don't offer calculus, the colleges may offer catch-up courses before classes begin. Kids without calculus are at a distinct disadvantage and may waste a year and have to pay extra tuition to get to that baseline. Don't think that that disadvantage goes away as soon as they hit college. Top STEM programs have first-year math tracks that *assume* the students have already gotten a 5 in AP BC Calculus and start from there. They are not re-learning the material from scratch. Perhaps if you get a low score on the AP you would have to take the basic offering again. PAUSD brags that even its C students in BC Calculus get 5's on the AP. It is indeed a rigorous offering.

The argument that the students are going to have to retake calculus could be applied to high school English: the kids are going to have to take English "again".

In this case, MVC was offered at PAUSD but was taken away in response to the district losing the lawsuit. As to the rigor argument, MVC *is* a college class, but offered as dual enrollment during the bell schedule, on campus. Most of our neighbors offer dual enrollment MVC. Our neighbors at lower-socioeconomic Sequoia have it in their course catalog. The fact that not all high schools offer MVC is not a reason for PAUSD to stop offering it. The district is comparing itself to underprivileged districts and arguing that we should be more like them.

Finally, having advanced math is not a socio-economic "privilege". Math is a great equalizer. Palo Alto has a surprising number of kids dependent on free lunch programs. Low SED (socioeconomically disadvantaged) kids are among the the accelerated kids expecting to take MVC in their senior year, about 10% of them. To take it away from the "privileged" kids is to take it away from underprivileged kids.

@Cat I am not sure where you are getting your information on the APs and community college courses. Students at UC Berkeley and UCLA that took AP BC Calculus and scored a 5 get full credit for the course. Most public colleges accept AP scores that are 4 or 5 depending on your major.

These students are not all privileged. Many have immigrant parents that worked incredibly hard to make it to the US and scrimped and save to move to Palo Alto to send their kids to top schools. There is nothing wrong with working hard and becoming successful and wanting more for your family. This does mean you don't care about others, it means you appreciate the opportunities you have made for yourself and want to take advantage of them.

These kids are willing to take difficult math classes to further their knowledge, they are not asking for fancy equipment or parties. Also, lets be clear that PAUSD can offer the class on campus as they did before with no additional cost to the district. They are not taking away any resources from anyone else.

It is time to stop throwing out the word privileged every time there is no real argument left and when you don't know the backstory of the students you are talking about.

@Resident10 @Retired
Ok, sorry I didn’t specify the MVC issue IS a local PAUSD issue.
I see it as part of a bigger problem.(sorry, my children are grown but I care about students in this district.)

In that regard, I have previously posted that PAUSD should benchmark with successful, comparable peer districts and schools: Los Altos, Saratoga, Fremont Union (Lynbrook High). It doesn’t have to be that complicated: a basic chart with course offerings and notes. Opportunities should be quite similar here and if they are not, let’s return it a situation where it IS comparable, not just for competitive reasons, but for common sense and to aim high..

I stand by my comments that the *overall unfavorable Math situation*which we currently have at all grades here stems from the state of CA and pressures for “equity” - whatever that means, one never gets specifics.
Math appears to be a focal point to these pressures, dictates, policies, requirements from the state.

@Anonymous Thank you for your clarification. Yes, the MVC debacle was completely the doing of Austin and DiBrienza (with support of [portion removed] Dharap and Ladomirak). They are ones who have wasted precious time and resources to keep this class away from students. Yes - they are actually spending more money to deny students a learning opportunity that it would have cost to run the class on campus.

Benchmarking- yes that has already been done and presented to Austin and the board, but they ignored it. Apparently everyone in Palo Alto should pay a lot of money to live here but should no longer aim high or they are accused of being privileged and told to go to private school. So the ask of the community is to pay the taxes and ask for nothing in return for our own kids [portion removed.]

The unfavorable math situation is not due to the state, it is due to the flawed policies of PAUSD leadership. They LOST a lawsuit regarding middle school math placement because they could not justify their arbitrary and ever-changing rules to the judge. The State of California is not perfect but PAUSD leadership can't pin the mess they have made regarding middle school and high school math on the state [portion removed.]

The community should really be looking at the money PAUSD has had to shell out in legal fees to defend their terrible policies, decisions and behaviors (and they have still lost). Is this the leadership Palo Alto needs? What are the metrics of the last 6 years? Other than higher legal fees, what has it gotten the community - better student outcomes? Nothing - that is why the metrics keep being changed or numbers manipulated (as they were caught doing in June).

Here are more links to PAUSD board meetings with math-related comments.

March 28, 2023

On the agendized issue of middle school math placement. The first time that the board imposed a 30 speaker limit. Many not heard and leadership stacked speakers with recruited supporteers, forced all MS math ILs to speak.

Students:
Web Link
Here out this 7th grader:
Web Link

County Health Officer debunking "wellness" narrative:
Web Link

April 18, 2023

HS students and community members speaking out (re MVC fiasco, evolving lies):
Web Link

Toxic board-leadership-supporter:
Web Link

Interesting related article: "Achievement gap in Berkeley schools has long been among the nation’s very worst. BUSD has spent decades striving to close the gap between Black and Latino students and their white and Asian peers but has yielded only limited success."

Web Link Click through on the first graph in this article to the Stanford study and an interactive chart.

Meanwhile, SFUSD and PAUSD have hit upon a genius idea to close the achievement gap: suppress the high achievers... gap narrowed.... problem solved...

@Anonymous

You hit the nail on the head. "Things don't have to be that complicated".

Unfortunately, 25 Churchill thrives on making things complicated. Doing so makes those folks look busy and it justifies the ever-swelling administrative ranks at the District Office. Re-inventing the wheel then breaking it keeps people in positions with titles that were unheard of just a few years back. Create problems, find short term sexy fixes that sound enticing, never follow up or evaluate, and then repeat the process.

Where students factor in here is hard to pinpoint, but as long as they keep showing up to class 25 Churchill will continue to employ the same ineffectual process. When it runs its course, people like Mr. Austin will lash out at others, and then ride off to another job after a nice golden handshake. Just the way it is unless courageous folks, like the outspoken students apply some pressure to break the cycle.

Might "toxic achievement culture" play a role here? Wouldn't it be interesting to do a community read with Jennifer Breheny Wallace's "Never Enough"?: "Drawing on interviews with families, educators, and an original survey of nearly 6,000 parents, she exposes how the pressure to perform is not a matter of parental choice but baked in to our larger society and spurred by increasing income inequality and dwindling opportunities. As a result, children are increasingly absorbing the message that they have no value outside of their accomplishments, a message that is reinforced by the media and greater culture at large."
I am a parent of PAUSD recent graduates and an educator.

Chris, there are children who love music, there are these that adore theater. Those that want nothing more but to spend their lives with their noses in a book, those that love writing stories and these that love drawing. And those that love mathematics, because it is wonderful and fun. I know this for a fact - I was one of these kids. Why is love of math the only one being questioned as being genuine?

@Chris K - The article states that the students wrote and presented their speech at the board meeting themselves. No parent input or help. How many children do you know that will take time from their summer break to do something like this unless it was for something they themselves love?

Please stop perpetuating the same stereotypes that have been going around in Palo Alto for years. There are students that love math and love the topics that math let's them access - all kinds of technologies. I have PAUSD students too and they love math. Our family has a number of engineers and scientists in it so my kids were surrounds by discussions of tech and science. Math was always looked at positively and our kids gravitated to it. That is likely true of many families in Palo Alto.

As an educator, you should know kids are all different with different interests. And repeating outdated stereotypes about these particular students and parents you do not know is unfair and unhelpful.

As for the overall culture of "pressure to perform" it does exist, but it exists for all classes and all subjects due to the nature of college admissions. And, it very much exists for middle school and high school athletics as many parents and students have voiced. But PAUSD leadership's focus on reducing "toxic stress" is to take away accelerated math option for students that have said - in their own voices, time and again they want to take the class. PAUSD leadership has not even attempted to looked at athletics even though parents and students have voiced for years that it is stressful and requires tons of outside training and money.

Cherry-picking what to focus on while railing about stress makes it clear this is not really about stress but about old standing biases against families that might have a different perspective, interests and priorities. PAUSD and the overall community need to walk their talk and actually be inclusive to all families.

@CalAveLocal-- The students who love music, art and reading are not demanding (nor are their parents) a course above and beyond what is offered in any other subject matter. No one is dominating school board meetings demanding a course offering beyond AP Music Theory, for example. The students who want an offering beyond that are simply seeking it out elsewhere.

I'm not opposed to a deep discussion about what advanced offerings should be offered and what the terminal course in each subject matter should be. However, the comparison to other areas of passion, including sports, is a failed argument. I've yet to hear of a prodigy soccer player demanding something beyond Varsity soccer at Gunn/Paly because those programs aren't sufficient to advance them.

@Mom of 2 lets be clear on the situation here - the class was offered, on campus for many years. The math departments at both high schools were fine with the class as were all families and students in it. It was costing the District absolutely no money!

Austin and DiBrienzia chose to take it away from the students. [Portion removed.]

First they said the state would not let them offer it anymore - debunked!
Then they claimed it was never offered on campus before COVID - debunked!
Then it was Foothills can't offer it - debunked (because Foothills told the parents they could and still runs the Los Altos high school class).

[Portion removed.]

If any other program, athletics or class was taken away in this manor - [portion removed] refusing to have a discussion with parents (Austin) or forbidding any PAUSD staff from discussing solutions with students and parents (Austin), any other group of students and parents would be furious too. So this is not about asking for or demanding something that was never there, it is about taking something away for absolutely no reason other than the personal biases of district leadership.

[Portion removed.]

Today it is MVC, but if what is offered at the schools can be changed on a whim or based on personal biases of leadership without clear reasons or any conversations, then what might they target next? The manner of their behavior in this should concern every parent in the district.

@Mom of 2 - did you actually listen to the kids speech? And have you really been following what is actually going on?
No-one is demanding a course above and beyond what is offered. MVC was offered before, and is offered in EVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT around us, but PAUSD decided to cancel it. Students are asking to have a normal class brought back.
But more importantly, they are advocating for younger students NOT to be held back when they are ready and interested in doing more advanced math. Your example of a prodigy soccer player is deeply flawed, because they are not prodigys (well, most of them anyway), they are just a little bit further ahead, and they are being held back for no reason at all. An equivalent of what is happening would be taking kids that completed the Mandarin or Spanish immersion in elementary school - and putting them into Spanish 1A or Mandarin 1A. That would be silly, and would be a waste of time, wouldn't' it. Well, this is what is being done with math right now. It's not being done with anything else.

@CalAveLocal--

Funny you bring up Spanish Immersion kids as a better example. Sure. At least historically, those kids were not allowed to take AP Spanish as 9th graders. They could take Spanish H as 9th graders, AP Spanish as 10th graders and sometimes, when it was available, AP Spanish Lit in 11th grade. After that....nothing during the school day. If they want to continue their Spanish studies, they are on their own (oh no! so sad! so unfair! the school is trying to prevent world language learners from excelling!).

Oh...are math advanced kids being forced to take Algebra 1A as 9th graders?? That would indeed be silly....and, it's not happening. It's the hyperbole that is discrediting. Removing MVC aligns the math offerings with the offerings for all other subject areas. I personally don't have strong objections to it being offered...I really don't. But let's stop pretending that it's not an offering above and beyond what is being offered for any other subject area.

LA Times news story
Some food for thought
8th grade Algebra referenced

Web Link

<sigh>
Are Spanish Immersion kids being forced to take Spanish 1A in middle school? No, they are not. They have an SI bridge program they attend. And if they qualify, they can take AP Spanish as 9th graders now. No-one is holding them back and forcing them to sit through a class that they have mastered years ago. Thats the big difference.
No-one said that kids are being forced to take Algebra 1A as 9th graders. Not a single person. All the kids are supposed to take Algebra1 in middle school now, aren't they, in 8th grade? The issue is there are kids, a good large number of them, who are ready to take Algebra1 in 6th grade. They are forced to repeat the classes they have already mastered. Which leads to them being bored; possibly acting out; and teachers having to deal with that instead of working with the 30% of kids who are in that Algebra1 class who are absolutely not ready for it. So who the hell is benefiting from this exactly?

PAUSD is/was violating California law by its extreme pattern of holding back students' placement in math. As determined by a liberal judge. PAUSD is under court supervision to remedy.

Does that make it simple enough? They continue to pretend it's more complicated than that, but it really isn't.

You can't force a kid who has already mastered Algebra 2 (by ANY of the normed standards, not just the "opinion" of the district or a parent) to sit through a class that's a waste of everyone's time. That's just common sense.

The spin from this Don and this Board just has to stop. It's hurting everone.

From a parent perspective over a number of years, there are some PALY and Gunn students that can read the calculus book, learn the concepts, do the homework and know more than the teachers in a very short time. Palo Alto has very smart kids that can excel in challenging subjects so the role of the PAUSD administrators must be to challenge all students to excel intellectually especially those with the unique ability to embrace calculus at a high level.

The request by the students to have multivariable calculus class during the daytime schedule sees very reasonable. The current narrative of equal outcomes has to be set aside so the students can excel and challenge their brains to get to the next level. Multivariable calculus is the basic part of advanced calculus which they will be taking later.

It is not fair to label any student as an Einstein but by age 14 Albert Einstein had mastered integral and differential calculus. Challenge our students to excel!

@ Ocam's Razor

You don't even have to challenge some students to excel, but if enough want to, then they should be allowed the opportunity, especially from the #1 Niche Ranked school district in the country. That ranking is like a Gold Medal to Mr. Austin, but this is no time for him to rest on his laurels. Nearby districts offer MVC during school hours and if he persists in his obstinacy, he may lose his big prize. That would hurt his ego. So, for his own selfish reasons, he should re-consider his stand. It would be a win-win. Students would be challenged, and he can claim the credit.

@ S. Underwood - You are absolutely correct. A friend recently said, "Unfortunately, we live in a society that says be your “authentic self,” but only if it’s comfortable to me."

In Palo Alto i's okay to follow your passion as long as it does not make others feel uncomfortable or feel like their own privilege is being threatened or diminished as with kids loving and/or excelling in math.

But here is the hypocrisy - there is nothing equitable about public high school coaches telling families to get private trainers to make the athletic teams. Or only well-to-do families being able to have their kids play expensive club sports in middle school to get on the high school teams. Where is the outrage here??

Our students have been talking about stress and lack of equity in athletics for years:
Web Link
Web Link
Web Link

If the math policies were really about reducing stress or increasing equity, then PAUSD and its self-anointed "Equity Warriors" would have looked into athletics a long time ago. So we know this push on math is not really about stress or equity at all.
For Stress - PAUSD leadership is not even willing to listen to the lived experience of the students asking for the classes.
For Equity - Holding back opportunities for these students will not improve the math skills of other students in any way.
It is, as author Natasha Warikoo points out - simply about racism and fear of losing privilege.

@Chris K. - Here are a few alternative suggestions for parent education in PAUSD. Wouldn't these be interesting reads and conversations for the community to have:
"Race at the Top" by Natasha Warikoo
"Take Back the Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids' Sports--and Why It Matters" By Linda Flanagan

@CalAveLocal-- The current course catalog for Paly/Gunn still says that AP world languages can not be taken until 10th grade, after level 3 or level 3H is completed.

@Resident 10-- Yes, I understand that MVC was previously offered on campus. Perhaps that was the problem and they never should have offered an advanced math course that didn't align with any advanced course offered in any other subject matter to begin with. It is indeed difficult to take things away once they are offered. I'm not a person who was concerned that MVC was offered previously....nor am I outraged that it was removed. There are other courses at the high school level that were previously offered to 10th graders and have since only been offered to 11th and 12th graders. I'm sure this was disappointing to some. In fact, had it still been offered to 10th graders, my kid would have availed themselves of that opportunity. Instead, my kid found something else to do for 10th grade. In fact there were TWO classes (oh the outrage) that had previously been offered to 10th graders which had shifted by the time my kid got to 10th.
Resilience and adaptability are life skills.

@ Mom of 2 - yes, resilience and adaptability are important life skills that these students have shown over and over. They have been resilient in the face of months of false statements being made regarding why the class is no longer being offered. They have been resilient in the face of stereotypical attacks on them and their parents because they have a passion for math and not the things some people are comfortable with.

I think they showed they can adapt quite well by finding a clever way to get heir message across to a Superintendent and Board that don't want to listen - they found a way to coordinate together and unite for one message.

In addition to resiliency and adaptability, empathy, effective communication and problem-solving are life-skills too. The students have shown all of them. PAUSD leadership has not worked to solve the problem with little or no disruption - they chose to make public false statements in Board meetings (documented via video). They have not shown empathy for these students, they have chosen to ignore student voices and lived experiences while drone on about "toxic stress" and ignoring the students completely.

"Resilience and adaptability are life skills".

Self-advocacy and challenging entrenched powers are life skills too.

Can anyone really honestly explain why the course was taken away, especially when there are enough students to fill at least two classes?

I don't expect any authentic answers from Mr. Austin or his subordinates. Just more of the same party line, like, "Be adaptable and resilient". Two qualities I have yet to see in him or 25 Churchill. It is simply code for "we aren't going to listen, no matter what, so get over it".

@Mom of 2
I guess I don't understand why a math course (or other course) should "align" with another subject that it's not related to or required for. Seems like a whaddabout argument; shouldn't each course stand on its own? In this case, since it was offered before, and pretty much all our peer districts offer it, I don't understand why we wouldn't offer it.

Utterly despicable that children are persecuted for expressing their love of math by spending their time going to a school board meeting to demand credit for their love of math.

You know, I’ll just say it: Why do we even have English classes? You know how to read, why do you need an instructor to walk you through Shakespeare? Not like there’s an expertise needed unlike math.

@ Mom of 2 You and Austin talk about resilience and how others need to practice it. Let's discuss Dr. Austin's resilience and behavior.

Here is a link to text messages Austin sent one of his bosses, Board member Shana Segal. (note these were sent right before the Board President extended his contract).These texts are in the pubic domain as they were obtained by a PRA request by a concerned parent.
Web Link

So Austin supporters want to lecture students on being their version of resilient in the face of clearly unfair and cruel policies but want to give a pass to grown adults for lying, bullying, and covering up bullying?

Reminds me of supporters of another Don - they will look the other way on anything he does as long as he protects their privilege.

@Resident 10-- I support students advocating for what they want. However, at some point, resiliency and adaptability mean pivoting to a different solution-- not continuing to bang on the same closed door.

Also, I have zero issues with the student presentation at the board meeting. But these kids didn't invent the strategy they took. Collectively stringing together the amount of time given to individual speakers into a much longer, cohesive message has been done many, many times. It's effective, but certainly not novel or particularly clever.

@One Town Over-- Your comment implies that PAUSD values instruction for English classes but not for Math classes. Sorry, that just doesn't add up. If a student excelling in English wants to take an instructor lead college course on Shakespeare, they have to go outside of the school. There is nothing available to advanced English/Social Studies students that isn't available to students who are excelling in math. Nothing.

@Mondoman-- I think it always reasonable to discuss alignment. For example, a reasonable argument could be made for aligning the 9th grade offerings. Right now, 9th graders can take an honors designated class for math and science. They do NOT have this option for 9th grade English or History. There's a lack of alignment there. Directionally, this lack of alignment is certainly advantageous for STEM focused students.

@Mom of Two - again I will point out that lack of honors offerings in Social Studies and English is a situation that can be easily addressed if the departments and teachers want to offer them. Ms. DiBrienzia and Mr. Dharoup both talked a lot about doing this last year at election time and have done nothing. They need to work with the Social Studies and English departments to make this happen. Because these departments are resisting does not mean Math or Science departments should be held back from offering classes they are happy to teach and/or support. Your argument does not stack up at all. The issue is squarely with the English and Social Studies departments. In fact, parents and students have asked for more weighted options in these subjects for many years, but the departments refuse to add them. Other school districts have them.

Should we get rid of all athletic teams on campus because not everyone can be on them?

It makes sense to offer honors courses in the humanities starting in junior year. History is not like math and history teachers, at least the ones I knew in PAUSD, always had options for students who wanted more. I even had 8th graders reading the Federalist Papers, or other history classics if they requested. Few did, but the option was there.

The gentleman who teaches AP U.S. History at PALY is a legend. My daughter said it was the toughest, yet the best class she took at PALY. I spoke with this instructor recently, and he let on that he was under a lot of pressure to make his course "easier". That sounds like Austin and his loyal administrators more than the Social Studies Department. [Portion removed.] Trust me, I've seen it with my own eyes on many occasions. He is neither resilient or agile when it comes to bending his agenda. An agenda that seems to have had very little positive impact on students, parents, or teachers.

@ Mom of 2 - I would also like to point out that until about 2016, there was English 9, 9A and 9H available to students. The English departments decided to get rid of 9H. The departments have the ability to offer it if they choose. And Social Studies can add more AP classes anytime they choose to.
For all the parents complaining that the advanced offerings are too STEM focused in our schools, you need to lobby DiBrienzia and Dharap to keep their promises and work with the schools to get more offerings in English and Social Studies. Having advanced offerings in Math or Science is not stopping the other departments and should not stop you from advocating for your students or Board members from keeping their campaign promises.

One would assume that if the demand for honors humanities classes was great enough, departments would consider the offerings. However, I doubt Mr. Austin would support such offerings (forget agility or resilience here). It goes counter to his "equity at all costs" agenda. It also goes against his revelatory mental health agenda as well because he will assume that it is not students who want the courses, but overly competitive parents. [Portion removed.]

@Resident10-- Wow, you really are a piece of work. My perspective has absolutely nothing to do with Don Austin. Your assumptions about me are wrong headed and ridiculous. I don't take my parenting cues from Don Austin-- I'm teaching my students to be resilient and adaptable regardless of what a teacher, superintendent or former president may or may not model. Grouping people into two distinct categories-- supporters of Austin or otherwise (as though these are the only two possibilities) is exactly the kind of divisiveness we really do not need more of.

I'm not sure if you were specifically referring to a decision to remove MVC as "cruel" but if so, you have clearly lived a charmed life and lack perspective. Best of luck to you.

@mom of 2 - I appreciate your desire to stop the divisiveness. However, I disagree with your analysis of the situation. This institution is in serious trouble. Read the text messages between the Supe and Board Member Shana Segal from last Spring.

Web Link

This exchange took place while the MVC debate and other things were happening. If you read closely, you will see that the BOARD KNEW this exchange happened and still voted to extend the Supe's contract. Right after this text exchange happened. Further, if you read the text exchange you will see some strong language around "an army" of supporters for the Supe - although mostly comprising his paid subordinates - who will come to his defense in his time of need. So, @Mom of 2, divisiveness is in fact bad. But so is unilaterally believing that if we just stop being "divisive" that everything will return to some sort of balance. We have a Board that condoned this attack on one of their own. We have a Supe who considers his subordinates as some sort of shock force to be called upon when needed to help him personally. (all those folks are YOUR employees - not his). We have a leadership style that is allergic to transparency, allergic to compromise, allergic to compassion, allergic to empathy. There are sides to this debate. You may disagree with my framing of the situation, but like it or not, a choice is being made by our electeds. Where do you stand on that?

@Mom of 2
You write "For example, a reasonable argument could be made for aligning the 9th grade offerings." but don't actually make any argument supporting alignment. I don't see any inherent value in alignment -- what is the benefit you think it provides?

It has been 6 months and the school district still hasn't produced a coherent explanation for why MVC was canceled. The statements made by PAUSD board members and the updates sent out by the superintendent were riddled with inaccurate information and the stories did not add up. I don't think it is fair to ask students to be resilient and adapt to decisions which PAUSD themselves cannot explain. The kids are correct to question things that seem suspicious.

The most likely explanation I have seen has nothing to do with logistics of offering the class. Rather, I believe there is simply a group of people (PAUSD board and superintendent included) that want BC calculus to be perceived as the highest math class. In their view, if some students take MVC on campus or receive a grade on the high school transcript, it sets a new bar and makes other students look worse. To quote a Don Austin email, there is a "philosophical question of offering a PAUSD course beyond AP Calculus BC in the future". It appears to me that the logistical issues are not real but rather just a distraction.

I think this is a dangerous line of reasoning. How do you decide which courses and programs stay and go? Who decides? What is the benchmark? Plenty of other schools in the area offer MVC, many with a HS grade. Should Paly have such an extensive journalism program? Not all other schools have as many publications. Is the intensity of Campanile or Verde acceptable for high school?

As parents and educators shouldn't we give kids as many opportunities as possible and let them chart their own path? In this case, MVC is not at the expense of any other program. It doesn't even require any of PAUSD's funds since the college covers the instructor. Why are they tying their own hands?

@Mom of 2 - So sorry I hit such a nerve. Austin has talked a great deal about resilience - even chastising our students and parents in a Board meeting about it. [Portion removed.]

The petition pointed to many issues within the district where Austin has behaved cruel. Austin's text messages to Shana Segal point to the consistent pattern of behavior parents signed the petition about. Its much more than MVC.

Sure, let's both agree life skills are important for all students to learn. But given the focus on life skills and values like honesty, let's also agree Austin and current Board leadership have not shown integrity or compassion in their treatment of students, parents or Shana Segal.

@Jeremy: You are correct. At one of the Board meetings, Gunn and Paly math teachers implied that they did not want kids taking MVC since MVC would be perceived as the new "bar". If that's the real reason the District should just be transparent about it. In reality, this is only one of several examples of dishonesty from District leadership (arguably skewed/misleading reports of literacy gains, ignoring the discriminatory impact of special ed program closures, etc.) and we should keep focused on next year's Board elections. We need a change in Board leadership. I hate to say it, but right now the Board meetings just seem like a charade and echo chamber replete with cries of equity and slides celebrating "achievements" without any objective, statistically significant results.

[Portion removed.]

On May 18th text messages from Austin to Shana Segal said "I would like to know your views publicly. I will have an army watching. 100 PAMA members will be tuned in..."

On May 18th Austin goes on to write, "Let's meet w our board president. That is in process. I'll invite her for Tuesday"

On June 7th, Jennifer DiBrienza, Board President, tells this newspaper that
"Austin "has a habit of specifically not escalating conflicts by answering questions as calmly as clearly as possible and moving on to the next topic... No one has ever brought forth a specific claim of retaliation by Dr. Austin, and if there is a specific example anyone has, the board is very interested in hearing about it. "

Threatening to have "an army" watching is not resilience. Gaslighting the community is not consistent with the life skill of integrity or values of honesty and transparency

[Portion removed.] Cherry-picking one particular life skill, like resiliency, in order to get folks to stop advocating for themselves is just another devisive tactic too.

The devisions will only go away when we have leadership that themselves shows the life skills they want our students to adhere to - honesty, integrity, compassion, empathy and resilience. For that we need a change in 2024.

As I wrote earlier. This institution is in serious trouble. @jeremy and others are searching for answers. It's all about culture, and governance. The board has endorsed a management style where compromise is a dirty word, and where intimidation is encouraged. On what planet is a contract renewed given the content of those text messages? The supe bullied one of his bosses? And the rest of the Board of Trustees basically voted in favor of it? Clearly they all assumed the text messages would never see the light of day. They voted in favor of the contract extension in spite of what happened to their colleague AND in spite of a petition with hundreds of names on it. Is anyone suprised that MVC is getting no traction? Why would anyone - the board, or admins - listen to the stakeholders? They won't even stand up for a fellow board member.

On June 7th, Jennifer DiBrienza, Board President, tells this newspaper that
"Austin "has a habit of specifically not escalating conflicts by answering questions as calmly as clearly as possible and moving on to the next topic... No one has ever brought forth a specific claim of retaliation by Dr. Austin, and if there is a specific example anyone has, the board is very interested in hearing about it. "

I have specific examples of retaliation and harassment if this publication or the board is interested. Mr. Austin has his loyal principals carry out dirty deeds against staff who speak up, and those principals get away with Ed. Code and ethical violations on a regular basis under Mr. Austin's tutelage. Ms. DiBrienza is either being fooled, or is part of the corruption. Why would anyone need an army if they "don't escalate" and why is there so much confusion and frustration if someone handles things "calmly and clearly as possible"? It just doesn't add up.

[Portion removed.]

The community should give a hearty congratulations to one of our eloquent MVC student speakers, Agastya Goel, current Gunn student. He was part of the 4 person team representing the US at the Informatics Olympiad in Hungary. Agastya and the whole team won gold medals.
Web Link

Incredible achievement!! Support ALL students in their passions!!

[Portion removed.]

@Resident 10-- [Portion removed.] My perspective on resilience has absolutely nothing to do with our current superintendent. Our parenting community lacks resilience and this gets passed down to the kids. I've seen this in action long before the current superintendent took office. At the elementary school level, large numbers of parents try to game the system because they just have to have that one specific teacher for their precious child. Later, it becomes much worse, with incessant whining about how harsh the grading is, bizarre demands to have AP exam score replace a grade (but only when it means the grade will increase), outrage over outside courses not being counted into high school GPA, etc etc. Not infrequently, parents reach out to teachers directly, pressuring them in an attempt to try to get a grade changed on behalf of their student. Parents routinely call their kids in sick on test day, in order to buy their kid extra time on the exam, also knowing that their kid will be asking other students what was on that exam. When students are caught cheating on exams in the most egregious of ways (ie taking and distributing photos of exams), the community rises up to defend these students, because "they must be so stressed." This is not to say that all parents are behaving this way, but it is a frighteningly large percentage. All of these behaviors pre-date our current superintendent. I don't care what the super is saying or doing....it doesn't change the fact that many members of our community are demonstrating severe lack of resilience (and passing this on to our children) and have been for years.

And no, we do not need to wait for a leadership change to minimize division. We each can take responsibility for that right now. We can have respect for perspectives that don't align 100% with our own. [Portion removed.]

@Mom of 2 - [Portion removed.] I have given facts that may contradict your opinions but that does not make them untrue or not relevant. And yes, we have different completely different perspectives on things.

I think talking solely about students learning resilience while ignoring lack of integrity, honesty and transparency from elected leaders and PAUSD employees is frankly, ridiculous. Students will not learn from words alone, they will learn from the actions of the adults they see. As a community we should expect the elected leaders to show these traits they talk about.

You talked a lot about what parents are doing in the district and some of this is may be lack of resilience, but again, it is also integrity and honesty. I am sure many parents feel they are not getting integrity or honesty from the elected officials, the superintendent or admins in this district. The culture of the school system needs an overall and when parents feel like there is fairness and listening in the system, maybe they can be taught to follow the example set by the leadership for them.

Lecturing parents on their behavior while exhibiting exactly the opposite behavior is a formula that has never worked. We need leadership that walks the talk. We do not have that here.

[Portion removed.]