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Palo Alto Unified School District Henry M. Gunn High School 780 Arastradero Rd Palo Alto, CA 94306
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New bell schedule shortens school day Ezra Rosenberg In-Depth Editor PAUSD has implemented a new bell schedule at Gunn and Paly for the 2026-27 school year and both schools have reduced passing periods from 10 to seven minutes. Brunch and its attached passing period will remain 15 minutes long, while lunch and its passing period together are now 37 minutes long instead of 40. Gunn students will also attend both a Study Hall and SELF class every Friday, rather than alternating between the two every other week. According to Principal Erik Olah, digital attendance is still in effect, but staff will be more lenient on tardies early on in the year as the community adjusts to these schedule changes. He also said that due to the removal of the portables colloquially known as the Village, the passing periods should be more manageable. “We had some people (time) how long it’s going to take, and seven minutes was plenty of time at Gunn, especially since we don’t have the portables,” he said. PAUSD Public Information Officer Lynette White cited recapturing instructional time for student-athletes as a key factor in the push for this new schedule. She notes that Gunn’s process for reaching the schedule change included input from some student leaders, though it was primarily staff-driven. While it has generally received wide support from staff, both Gunn and Paly administrators are aware of student concerns over the new schedule and will gather
additional student input after the first month of the school year to determine future steps. Paly senior Leilani Chen started a petition on Change. org to bring back 10-minute passing periods. With over 1,120 signatures, the petition contends that the trade-off of gaining a slightly reduced school day is not worth students getting less time to talk to their teachers after class, having to run across campus to be in class on time and not being able to use the bathroom. Chen acknowledges that admin intends for the passing period to mostly be for getting from class to class. “I think the admin team has made it clear that the passing period is for passing, not for socializing or for talking to teachers,” she said. “It’s understandable. Students are going to have to prioritize just getting to class on time and not pausing to talk to friends or teachers.” Social studies teacher David Bisbee has experienced multiple changes to school schedules in his career and predicts that this change will go smoothly, just like the others. He is curious to see how students will be impacted by the new schedule not running solely on 5s and 0s, but is confident people will adjust. “I’m fine with the bell schedule change,” he said. “In my career, I’ve dealt with it multiple times and there’s never been one that’s been awful for the students or the teachers. My recommendation would be to take a picture of the schedule, have it in a place that you can get to it really quickly. I think that will help make (the schedule change) less disruptive.”
Thursday, August 13, 2026 Volume 64, Special Edition
780 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306
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New policies launching in 2026
District, site launch leadership, technology initiatives Athena Gao and Emma Chen Sports Editor & Reporter The PAUSD Board of Education announced new superintendent Dr. Jason E. Glass on June 13, after a turbulent four-month search. This marks just one change out of many for the coming school year, including new district and site leadership, new transparency and mental health initiatives, a new bell schedule and e-bike and technology restrictions.
Superintendent Appointed in a unanimous vote at a special PAUSD Board meeting on May 31, Glass’ term officially began on July 1. Early on, he intends to meet with community members to hear their stories and understand both the history of the district and what it needs moving forward. “We’ve gone through a lot of change and shifting over the past several months,” he said. “Right now, I think what we need is (for) things to steady out for us (in order) to have a really good beginning to the school year (and) for me to spend a lot of time listening (to) and understanding students, the community and our staff. Then, we talk together about where we go next.” Glass has ser ved more t han eight years as a superintendent, most recently at Laguna Beach Unified School District in California (2025-2026). He has also worked as Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Education (2020-2023), and as a social studies teacher at Hazard Independent Schools in Kentucky (1996-1998).
Transparency A mid communit y concerns of lack of distr ict
transparency and several leadership changes this year, Glass emphasizes the importance of administrative clarity and communication. While the Board has legal requirements around posting its materials, Glass intends to go further by sending regular communication and creating formal opportunities for the community to understand new initiatives and give input, including board meetings, committees and task forces. He also aims to form a superintendent student advisory panel that meets regularly, allowing students to discuss issues at their schools and advise him on how to build a better system. Glass believes his past work has taught him the importance of involving students in the decision-making process. While the student advisory panel will be one way he works with students, the same principle of active listening will apply to all collaboration to elevate the voices of those directly impacted by his decisions. “If you work with people, you don’t come in with all the answers,” he said. “You don’t come in and say, ‘Here are the things that we’re going to work on, and here’s what we’re going to do.’ (Instead, the answers are) developed together. That makes sure that we’re working on the right things.”
New site leadership In an email to PAUSD staff on May 21 on behalf of Acting Superintendent Espiritu, PAUSD Public Information Officer Lynette White announced that former Gunn principal Dr. Wendy Stratton would move to the PAUSD district office as Director of Secondary Education, and that former Assistant Principal Erik Olah would become the new interim principal. This transition followed several recent departures in the district that left three administrative positions vacant. Olah’s goal as interim principal is to continue building opportunities for students to discover their passions.
“My general philosophy with working at a high school and working with high school students is that ‘belonging’ piece,” he said. We have so many opportunities for students at Gunn. My role is to help foster those (opportunities), guide students towards their passions and be a part of all that as it’s happening.” Olah plans to continue direct communication with students, parents and administration through hosting “Principal’s Coffees”, periodic morning meetings with parents to discuss school updates and answer questions, and participating in Titan Town Halls, a Q&A session between site and district administration and students. Additionally, he plans to create a principal’s student advisory group to meet once a month and provide student feedback on multiple initiatives that launch at Gunn. Alongside Olah, two new assistant principals, Ryan Lundell and Janeen Malatesta, as well as Administrative Teacher on Special Assignment, Latrice Bennett, will join Gunn site leadership.
Mental health program PAUSD is introducing the Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Education Initiative, which provides mental health training to all secondary students and staff. Gunn and Palo Alto Middle College, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing worked with district and site wellness teams to design two programs: Teen Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid Teen Mental Health First Aid teaches students coping strategies and methods to support peers with mental health challenges. This year, the program will run during underclassmen’s second-semester P.E. classes. Juniors will have a special schedule designed to include this program on four Mondays in the first semester, and seniors will attend it New administrators—p.2