news Alma-Churchill safety reforms
T
he Alma-Churchill intersection will undergo safety modifications in 2022, according to the Palo Alto City Council. The Federal Railroad Administration rated the intersection as one of the most dangerous in the state. The changes presented at a City Council meeting on May 3 by the Office of Transportation include: adding a presignal for eastbound traffic on Churchill, widening the pedestrian gate onto the tracks, expanding the pedestrian queuing space between the tracks and Alma street, and improving the connection to the Embarcadero Trail that runs parallel to the school. The OOT also proposed adding high-visibility yellow striping along the cross walks, green markings for bike lanes and stop lines for cars. “This project is really meant for near-term safety improvements,” Chief Transportation Official Philip Kamhi said. “It’s envisioned that there will be a more significant project that will occur at Churchill regarding grade separation.” by AVERY HANNA
BRISK BIKER — Sophomore Phela Durosinmi bikes away from the Alma-Churchill crossroads, an intersection that is usually filled with both cars and bikers. “It’s always pretty scary when there are so many students in a rush to get across,” senior Hope Morita said. Photo: Anushe Irani
10 JUNE 2021
SCHEDULE SWITCH — Junior Celia Frahn and sophomore Arati Periyannan work side by side in Palo Alto High School’s Media Arts Center. These students, along with others, will be adjusting to PAUSD’s bell schedule plans for next school year, which will include a later start and end time. “The later ending time likely means people will not have as many chances to pursue extracurriculars,” Paly sophomore Ethan Boneh said. Photo: Meena Narayanaswami
Bell schedule set for next year
T
HE PALO ALTO UNIFIED School District will adopt a modified block bell schedule for 20212022 school year. The new schedule includes all seven periods on Mondays and 90-minute block periods from Tuesday to Friday, for both middle and high schools. For high school students, school will begin at 9 a.m. everyday and end at 3:50 p.m. on Mondays, 4:10 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 3:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays. Many students are looking forward to the 9 a.m. start time because school begins 40 minutes later than it did during the 2019-2020 school year. The later start times will ensure students are able to get sufficient sleep each night, but one consequence is the later end times each day. “It will be a big scheduling change, and I know that lots of people are concerned about extracurriculars conflicting with school hours, but I’m positive it will work out,” sophomore Rebecca Helft said. “I think what we often forget is that any time there’s a change, even for the better, it
takes a little time for everything to follow suit as well. Because most, if not all, extracurriculars are directly serving kids and teens, they will follow the shift in school hours.” Middle schools are slated to have a seven-period schedule on Mondays. However, middle school will start at 8:30 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m. on Mondays, 3:15 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and 1:45 p.m. on Fridays. Middle schools will have a block schedule for in-person learning for the first time, which will be an added challenge for teachers. “It is hard for me to predict what any challenges will be with the longer blocks as I have yet to teach block periods in any other format than on Zoom,” Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School teacher Elizabeth Lewis wrote in an email to Verde. “Personally, I will be thinking about how to break up the blocks into smaller activities in order to maximize student learning.” by MEENA NARAYANASWAMI
