School News

Zoe Morgan/Town Crier

The Los Altos School District is planning for two scenarios: one where the county stays out of the highest risk tier and an accelerated reopening is possible, and the other where the county backtracks into the most restrictive tier and LASD must rely on its waiver.

The Los Altos School District is hoping to speed up students’ return to campus, while still bringing back groups part-time and in phases, if Santa Clara County is able to remain out of the state’s highest COVID-19 risk tier for two weeks.

Marie Godderis/Town Crier

Schools have set largely empty since the coronavirus pandemic forced classes online in mid-May. Now, the Los Altos School District is preparing to bring students back to campus.

Students won’t begin returning to campuses in the Los Altos School District on Monday as planned. The district is pushing back the start of its reopening by one week.

Local schools may be allowed to broadly reopen next week, as the state has downgraded the COVID-19 risk level in Santa Clara County.

The state moved the county into the “red,” or “substantial,” risk tier Sept. 8, an improvement from the “purple,” or “widespread,” tier the county was in before.

Town Crier File Photo

Some local elementary school students are set to begin returning to campus this month. Santa Clara County approved the Los Altos School District's waiver application to begin reopening.

The Los Altos School District has received approval from Santa Clara County to start bringing students back to campus this month.

The Los Altos School District’s enrollment this fall has dropped by 260 more students than administrators were expecting, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact education.

Enrollment stood at 3,669 students when the district compiled the data Aug. 20. That’s down from 3,996 last fall and also lower than the district’s projection for this school year of 3,929 students.

Zoe Morgan/Town Crier

Protesters gathered today (Sept. 8) in Mountain View to protest in favor of reopening schools.

A crowd gathered at the corner of Castro Street and El Camino Real in Mountain View this afternoon (Sept. 8) to protest in favor of reopening schools.