By Egan students adjust to life at new camp school

Photo by Monique Schoenfeld, Town Crier

Town Crier Staff Report

Despite major ongoing construction at Los Altos’ two public school districts, students began classes last week with little disruption, leaving students, parents and educators giddy with optimism.

Brenda Dyckman, principal at Egan Intermediate School, said reviews were “excellent” on the new 32 classroom portables comprising what Los Altos School District officials call a “camp school.”

“They were comfortable and air conditioned,” Dyckman said. “I give them a big thumbs-up.”

The mood was equally buoyant in the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District, where Superintendent Rich Fischer said the back-to-school transition was “the smoothest in years, in spite of the construction.”

Los Altos and Mountain View high schools are getting new multipurpose rooms, libraries and theaters, to be finished by “this time next year,” Fischer said.

The $58 million project, which went overbudget, has received a needed shot in the arm, $9.3 million from the state that guarantees completion without compromising plans.

The Egan camp school will house more than 400 students this year while construction starts on the school’s permanent facilities, the first step in a five-year, $94.7 million bond construction project for the Los Altos School District, approved by the voters in 1998.

Not everyone is happy with the camp school project on Egan’s 20-acre campus. Egan neighbors organized under the name of the Los Altos Park Association, are pursuing a lawsuit against the district over the loss of open fields and a concern that the district will keep finding uses for the portables for years to come.

However, Superintendent Marge Gratiot has said the district intends to make good on a promise to keep the camp school only for the duration of the construction project.

Assistant Superintendent Dick Liewer marveled over teachers’ quick adjustments in moving to the new site and being ready for the first day of school, which has come earlier because of new state requirements for a longer year.

Other than a lack of hot water at the camp school site during the first week, Liewer pronounced the transition a success, or as he put it, “95 percent of the problems were not there because of good planning.”

He was also “amazed” at the preparation by teachers all over the district, along with the camaraderie among instructors and mentors and the willingness by parents to help out.

In the fourth year of state class-size reduction, the district welcomed 50 new teachers on board.

“I had at least three new teachers stop what they were doing and come up to me saying, ‘I feel so supported in this district,’” Liewer said.

Meanwhile, Fischer had high praise for new Los Altos High School principal George Perez, who has been an early hit with students and parents.

“He really has the kids’ best interests,” Fischer said. The high school district has hired 25 new teachers.

Both districts reported enrollment mirroring expectations. The Los Altos School District offered a total of 3,965 - 115 more than the end of last year. The district budgeted for 4,005 students.

Los Altos High School first-day attendance was 1,366 with 94 no-shows, while Mountain View High School had a count of 1,315 with 43 no-shows. Alta Vista High School had 88 of its projected 127 students attend class on the first day, but attendance jumped to 100 by the second day, Friday.