Students at TIDE balance optimism, disappointment

“Everyone already knew, but after hearing the announcement, I remember the room got quiet; it was weird,” senior Marcus Burke said. 

Rick-Kennel, TIDE staff and student leaders made sure the day after the anticipated board’s vote would be light and receptive to whatever students may be feeling or need. 

Students had an extended lunch and participated in community circles during their advisory period to process the decision, sophomore Mikaela Scheel said. 

“It was strangely productive, given how teenagers usually react when you tell them they should talk about their feelings,” Scheel said. “I’m still disappointed, but it helped to talk it out as a community.”

In addition to the vote to close TIDE Academy, the district’s Board of Trustees also voted to transfer the academic program provided at TIDE to Woodside High School. Trustees shared their desire for the program to continue, with incoming cohorts of students entering in ninth grade, but this is contingent on projected enrollment numbers. 

“It’s been a very emotional journey,” board President Amy Koo said. “Our highest priority activity to do, we have to get a good sense of where the students would go. That will indicate how many teachers we need.”

New classes of TIDE students, on Woodside’s campus, would need at least 60 students enrolled to be sustainable, Superintendent Crystal Leach said previously. Part of the district’s job now is convincing current TIDE students to transfer together, and recruit rising freshmen to still choose a program inside of a large campus. 

As a senior, Burke will be a part of the final class of TIDE Academy students to graduate on the Menlo Park campus — and last to graduate with a degree from the school. Although Burke does not have a heavy decision to make like younger classmates, Burke feels for them. 

The closure of the campus still hits hard, Burke said. 

“It feels really sad knowing in five years I can’t go back to TIDE, if there’s reunions, they won’t be at the building,” Burke said. 

Scheel, who will graduate in 2028, is considering going to Middle College — a program that allows SUHSD juniors and seniors to take high school and college courses at  Cañada Community College — or Menlo-Atherton High School.

Many students have expressed they are not convinced about going to Woodside, for one reason or another, Scheel said. For some, it’s simply the campus is a much farther commute, and for others, they’re nervous of the social environment. 

Konstantin Edunov, a sophomore, is hesitant to go to Woodside after hearing stories of bullying from friends, but that could change if enough students and staff from TIDE Academy plan to transfer together.  

“I care about the kids at TIDE, and especially the teachers,” Edunov said. “If they can do it, I may be willing.” 

A sense of mistrust was evident at recent public meetings the Sequoia Union High School District has held to discuss TIDE’s closure. Edunov, and others, have said the decision felt rushed, making faith in future decisions weary. 

“I’m worried that if they couldn’t plan this properly, I don’t trust the board to plan the Woodside move properly, most kids aren’t confident in that either,” Edunov said. 

TIDE Academy’s closure was first mentioned to the public in November 2025, and will be official eight months later. The final vote, made Feb. 4, was deeply emotional for students’ families attending the board meeting. 

At the meeting, students described trustees as cowards, and parents said the board was unwilling to work hard to find a different solution. Burke said seeing classmates, parents and teachers crying was “gut wrenching,” and Scheel said “everyone felt unanimous in being pissed with the way everything unfolded.” 

Though the weight of the decision was felt the day after on campus, there was already an adjustment from students who are trying to find the silver lining. 

Bea Coombes, a junior, will likely not transfer to Woodside for personal reasons, but is looking forward to going to a new school. Being optimistic is the only thing you can do, Coombes said. 

“I’m just using this as a way to get excited about something new,” Coombes said. “I’m just going to take advantage of the situation.”

Burke reminded TIDE students with a decision to make to remember “community can be built anywhere.” 

“It would be hard to find a school where there are zero supportive figures,” Burke said. 

Though Rick-Kennel is feeling all of the mixed emotions following the decision to close the school she has led since 2021, the principal said the main thing she feels is pride in her students. 

“Sometimes we forget how resilient teenagers are. It was actually a really positive day, bringing us together,” Rick-Kennel said. “It’s a testimony to the school community we built here at TIDE. As a principal, that’s very validating and rewarding.” 

What students and staff are so saddened to lose is exactly what will get them through this transition. 

“One of the important parts of TIDE is it’s so community oriented, and that’s what is getting us through the hard part of it closing right now,” Scheel said. 

While district leaders and Woodside High School staff figure out the logistics of offering a cohorted program that can operate on a campus of approximately 1,700 students, Rick-Kennel and TIDE staff are focused on their own. 

“This will be a great semester at TIDE,” Rick-Kennel said. “We have a class to graduate, we have courses to offer. We’re going to make it the best semester and give students all the care and attention they deserve.”