Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling impacts students

Affirmative action—p.1

language coming from colleges, which affirms their commitment to finding ways, within the context of the ruling, to continue to build campus communities that represent students from a wide range of backgrounds and identities.”

Still, the ruling has been jarring for students such as senior Amrit Joshi, who feels it exacerbates an already inequitable admissions process. “It goes to show what and who the system is supposed to help,” he said. “It’s not meant to help people of color, underprivileged people, minorities.”

Some point to the continued existence of legacy preferences as an example of this bias. The cases’ plaintiffs argued that Asian Americans lost out to less-qualified Black and Latino applicants. Yet many private universities continue to offer advantages to students whose parents attended or donated money to their institutions — students who are usually white and wealthy. One study based on Harvard University data found that 70% of legacy and donor-related applicants are white.

Several groups filed a complaint based on these statistics following the Supreme Court decision, and the Department of Education has since launched a civil rights investigation into legacy admissions.

“It goes to show what and who the system is supposed to help. It’s not meant to help people of color, underprivileged people, minorities.”

Senior Amrit Joshi

Moving forward, Fidani thinks that colleges and universities may begin to look to how the University of California schools — which have not used race-conscious admissions since 1996 — admit students. Although the number of Black and Latino students decreased following the ban, the UCs still have a relatively diverse student body: In 2022, 22.5% of enrollees were Latino, 4.5% were Black and 32.2% were Asian.

PAUSD boosts behavioral-intervention resources to address student issues

Vivien Chen Lifestyle Editor

In an effort to bolster behavioralsupport services, the Palo Alto Unified School District has hired 12 new behavioral intervention coaches to be stationed at all elementary and secondary schools. The district is investing $2 million to hire the BICs, as well as implement new staff training, create a second middle school therapeutic-services program and conduct a third-party investigation at Jane Lanthrop Stanford Middle School.

These changes follow a May altercation at JLS in which a student injured two teachers, leading to increased community concern over behavioral support for students with social-emotional and physical learning impairments. At the May 23 school board meeting, Director of Special Education Amanda Boyce noted rising concerns surrounding elementary student behavioral dysregulation in the past few years, especially after a return from remote learning.

Teachers present at the school board meeting said they had received inadequate district support on managing dysregulated behaviors when they faced similar situations in past years. Parent Steven Davis also voiced skepticism about the resources students and staff received to follow behavior plans such as individualized educational plans and 504 plans, which provide learning accommodations for students with disabilities. “When 10% of our kids are students with disabilities, yet they are 50% of our suspensions, something is basically broken,” he said at the meeting.

To address these concerns, the district launched a third-party investigation at JLS to analyze the district’s current behavioralsupport measures and find areas of improvement. PAUSD also hired additional BICs to fill the shortage in behavior staff and established the district’s second middle school therapeutic-services program, which will provide additional specialized support and counseling for students

$2M who require it according to their IEPs. This therapeutic-services program will be established at Fletcher Middle School, on top of existing programs at Greene Middle School, Duveneck Elementary School and Palo Alto High School.

According to Behavioral Support Services Manager Nestor Ramos, BICs serve to provide proper behavioral support and management to deescalate crisis situations, such as physical or mental breakdowns. “For example, if the student ran out of the classroom or they’re targeting another peer, the BIC would step in,” Ramos said. “If they’re familiar with the student, they would implement (specific behavioral) interventions for that student. If not, they would move the student to a private place, clear the area, or whatever measures are best. They are the first line of defense, coordinating everything as needed.”

BICs collect data to help create behavior-intervention plans, specific actions and goals staff can take to improve dysregulated behavior in students. “We look at possible functions for maladaptive behaviors and the reasons the behaviors are happening,” Ramos said. BICs can also teach staff how to implement behavioral strategies in classrooms.

The district is looking into creating ad hoc committees of teachers and parents for more input on implementing behavior-support measures that will meet students’ needs. According to Boyce, they are also exploring partnerships with local organizations to further inform parents whose families need behavioral support.

Currently, the district is creating new training curricula to teach staff preventative measures and deescalation techniques. On Aug. 21, they will host a district-wide training for all staff. “All staff — secretaries, teachers, custodians — can step in,” Ramos said. “We want to make sure they’re aware how they can be supportive of students in these scenarios and maybe prevent some situations.”

For senior Sophia Tilghman, this knowledge has made the Supreme Court decision less frightening. “The Supreme Court decision really does not impact me because I am intending to apply to the UCs and Cal State schools, which don’t use affirmative action,” she said.

As applicants navigate an altered landscape, they are seeking proactive approaches to come to terms with the ruling and ensure successful admissions. “I would talk to college admissions counselors and officers and ask them what they are looking for, and look around at what your peers are doing and find encouragement from others,” Joshi said.

Fidani also recommends exploring all resources the Gunn counseling team provides during the application process, including parent nights, PRIME offerings and individual meetings. “We want to encourage students to step into those and to ask questions,” he said. “It’s a big process, and there is so much unknown, so please, share thoughts and opinions. Let’s talk and try to work them out together.”

Crews continue construction on new A- and B-buildings

Construction—p.1 this year, Sedqi hopes that the work will be less disruptive. The asphalt between the quad and E-building has been replaced with concrete, and fences will be pushed closer to the construction site, opening a corridor for students to walk to the southeastern portion of campus without cutting through the quad.

“It could be a learning opportunity for a lot of different classes — one where they could take tours or learn more about the construction process.”

Student Body President senior Nathan Levy

Looking ahead, Principal Wendy Stratton is working with new Assistant Principal Mycal Hixon, who will be overseeing construction, and Associated Student Body President Nathan Levy to make the process more transparent and accessible. Stratton believes student involvement is key, since students are important beneficiaries and the project was funded through taxpayer dollars. On his part, Levy has formed a new Student Executive Council committee that will attend construction meetings and share relevant updates in a new monthly newsletter.

Levy hopes that classes can take advantage of the ongoing work. “It could be a learning opportunity for a lot of different classes — one where they could take tours or learn more about the construction process,” he said. As an example, Levy pointed to how students in Advanced Placement Environmental Science classes could focus on the steps construction crews are taking to minimize damage to the environment and create greener buildings.

Source: May 26 Superintendent Update

Sedqi also expressed a desire to work with students who are interested in architecture, construction or engineering. “I’ll be more than happy to get them involved in this — just to see the progress, how we are doing the work, what’s happening,” he said.