Palo Alto Unified School District

Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD)
25 Churchill Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306 Palo Alto, California
District information
Type	Public
Grades	K-12
Established	March 20, 1893
Superintendent	Max McGee
Other information
Website	http://www.pausd.org/

David Starr Jordan Middle School
Location
750 North California Ave., Palo Alto, California
Information
Principal	Katie Kinnaman
Grades	6-8
Mascot	Jaguar

Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School
Location
480 East Meadow Drive, Palo Alto, California, 94306, USA.
Information
Principal	Lisa Hickey
Grades	6-8
Mascot	Panther

Terman Middle School
Location
655 Arastradero Rd, Palo Alto, CA 94306, USA.
Information
Principal	Pier Angeli La Place
Grades	6-8
Mascot	Tiger

The Palo Alto Unified School District is a public school district located near Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. It consists of twelve primary schools, three middle schools, and two high schools.

The district itself was founded on March 20, 1900, with the first school opening in September of that year. Enrollment grew until it reached a peak of 15,576 students in 1967. Afterwards, enrollment declined sharply, forcing the district to close many schools, including Jordan Middle School. The closing of Jordan Middle School was the reason for the renaming of Wilbur Junior High School as Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School in 1985. Enrollment was at its lowest in 1989 with only 7,452 students. Jordan Middle School was reopened when enrollment increased again. Barron Park Elementary School was added in 1998, and Terman Middle School was reopened in 2001. In 2013 the district had 12,268 students.

Palo Alto High Schools received national attention in 2009 after five of its students committed suicide over a span of nine months, mainly by walking in front of trains at a local crossing. As a result, steps have been taken to limit access to the tracks. Attempts have since been made to try to improve the emotional health of students attending the schools. As of 2015^[update], cluster suicide has remained a problem in the district's high schools.

In February 2016, a team of suicide prevention specialists from Epidemiologic Assistance (Epi-Aids) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) paid a two-week visit to the area to determine risk factors. In July 2016, the Epi-Aids team released preliminary findings.

Henry M. Gunn High School is one of two public high schools in Palo Alto. The school is named after Henry M. Gunn (1898–1988), who served as the Palo Alto superintendent from 1950-1961. During his tenure he saw the district expand from 5,500 students to 14,000, adding 17 new schools, and is credited with the establishment of De Anza College and Foothill College, two local community colleges. In 1964, the Palo Alto Unified School District announced it would name its third high school after him. Its first class graduated in 1966. The mascot of the school is Timmy the Titan. The student newspaper is The Oracle, part of the High School National Ad Network. There is an internal student-run television news show called the Titan Broadcast Network.

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