Superintendent Kevin Skelly listens to a report on the differing guidance counseling systems at Gunn High School and Palo Alto High School. The author of the report, Kelun Zhang, found that “Paly spends some amount more than Gunn on guidance counseling related activities.”

– Jeffrey Lu

Editors’ Note: New updates will be posted periodically during the event. The most recent updates will appear at the top of this page.

The Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education will discuss a recent report on the different approaches to student guidance at Gunn High School and Palo Alto High School during its regularly scheduled meeting tonight. Check back here for live updates throughout the meeting.

8:26 p.m.: We’re done!

8:26 p.m.: Zhang: We did not delve into how much total time each student spent with a TA or other counselor at school.

8:18 p.m.: Zhang: In terms of dollars, “Paly spends some amount more than Gunn on guidance counseling related activites.”

8:17 p.m.: Staff at Paly generally spend more time on guidance counseling. 18.63 full-time equivalent at Paly, 12.28 at Gunn.

8:16 p.m.: Zhang: Paly could use a greater “holistic approach” to guidance counseling.

8:15 p.m.: Zhang: “Meaningful sources of feedback” also needed at Paly. “Important to reap the benefits” of the TA model.

8:13 p.m.: Zhang: “College and career advisers at Paly provide a great deal of individual, one-on-one planning.” Students feel well-prepared in terms of academic planning at both Gunn and Paly.

8:12 p.m.: Zhang: “Strong culture of trust” at Paly.

8:11 p.m.: Zhang: “Guidance team at Gunn can benefit from more sources of meaningful feedback. More forms of student, parent, community feedback.”

8:08 p.m.: Zhang: Average caseload of 325 students per counselor at Gunn is high relative to national averages. “325 versus 250 is a big difference.” More staff an option, but “there are ways to use existing time more efficiently.”

8:06 p.m.: Zhang: Gunn guidance model structured to look at students holistically.

8:05 p.m.: Zhang: “More can be done to identify at-risk students in both [high school] communities.”

8:02 p.m.: Zhang: Similarities of both schools point to collaboration.

8:01 p.m.: Zhang: “The bones are there — a strong foundation of student-focused guidance teams at both high schools [are there]. What comes across is a student-centered perspective.”

7:58 p.m.: Zhang: “At Paly, counselors specialize in specific domains: academic, post-secondary and social-emotional. … Students have the opportunity to work with Teacher Advisers in smaller sessions. The goal there is to establish deeper relationships at school.”

7:57 p.m.: Gunn student to guidance counselor ratio: 325:1. Gunn has six guidance counselors that serve the entire student body.

7:55 p.m.: Zhang: “In focus groups, students do report that they rely more on peers and siblings than on adults on campus.”

7:54 p.m.: Zhang: “The majority of students feel tremendous academic pressure.” 64% of students at Gunn, 66% of students at Paly agree with the statement “I feel tremendous pressure to achieve academically.”

7:52 p.m.: Zhang: “Both schools are serving students who, on average, achieve at very high levels.”

7:51 p.m.: Zhang: “Students at the two high school exhibit a lot of similarities, across demographics, academic achievement.”

7:50 p.m.: Kelun Zhang, author of guidance program report: “We interviewed a broad range of stakeholders. We also spent a fair amount of time doing a deeper analysis of student opinions on guidance counseling. We administered a pretty comprehensive survey with great student response rates at both high schools.”

7:42 p.m.: Skelly: “Our goal this year was to provide more specific descriptions and analysis of guidance models and consider suggested enhancements.”

7:38 p.m.: Board Member Barb Mitchell on the community’s contribution to the parcel tax: “We’re very appreciative of their support.”

7:17 p.m.: Superintendent Kevin Skelly: “I’m not interested about not hearing about CAHSEE scores. I’m just not interested in hearing about them at every meeting.”

7:14 p.m.: Members of the public commenting on the March 13 meeting regarding the realignment of high school graduation requirements. Some parents are unhappy that the meeting was held midday, during which students and parents were not able to attend.

6:50 p.m.: Palo Alto Partners in Education awards $4.4 million gift to PAUSD.