What’s in the water in Palo Alto? Or, better yet, what are the factors affecting the community’s gene pool? We’d like to know because that city continues to produce top National Merit Scholarship applicants by the Lexus-load. It was ever thus.
The latest bumper crop of 2025 semifinalists for the coveted award, announced earlier this fall, numbers a whopping 64 seniors from the community’s two public high schools, Gunn and Palo Alto.
Maybe it’s the proximity to all those big brains and extensive resources at nearby Stanford University; or, perhaps, it is a function of being associated with so many visionary Silicon Valley enterprises that, happily, often have deep and lasting relationships with that renowned bastion of higher learning.
In any event, Gunn and Palo Alto appear to be a premier pair of public secondary institutions that most can only envy.
For some local perspective, the three big public high schools in the city of San Mateo (Aragon, Hillsdale and San Mateo) have a total of 17 seniors reported on the new list.
Even more striking, the 17 public high schools in San Francisco have a grand total of six. Apparently, geography is destiny. Go figure.
A STANFORD FINANCIAL NOTE: Stanford’s endowment continues to grow inexorably. Over time, that has become the norm.
As of the end of the recently-completed fiscal year on Aug. 31, the university’s mammoth investment portfolio, including stocks, bonds, real estate and other valuable assets surged to $37.6 billion, an increase of roughly $2 billion from the prior fiscal year, according to the school’s official financial report.
The net return on investment was reported to be 8.4%. Of that amount, $1.8 billion was disbursed to the school’s variety of programs and personnel; in addition, financial aid packages for students were funded.
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Stanford’s endowment continues to be one of the largest among all U.S. universities. Harvard University, as it has for decades, leads with a whopping $53.2 billion stash.
GOODBYE TO JEFFERSON GYM: A Daly City building that dates back to the grim days of the Great Depression and the administration of FDR is scheduled to be razed when the current school year concludes. It’s finally time for an upgrade.
The ancient Jefferson High School gymnasium is due to be replaced by a new, modern structure. The facility, with all seating perched well above the playing floor (hello, “Hoosiers,”) is one of the last of its kind in the West Bay region.
The building was constructed as a federal public works project, one of many during the difficult 1930’s. It opened in 1937, according to Jefferson’s affable athletic director, John Falabella. He noted that the structure’s swimming pool will also be replaced.
The 2024-25 basketball season will be the last hoops hurrah for the venerable arena.
A BRASS BAND BONANZA: Weary of what passes for popular Yuletide music in some cultural quarters these days? We may have an agreeable option for you during the holiday season. The novel Fort Point Garrison Brass Band will perform in concert at 1 p.m. Saturday at the San Mateo County History Museum, located on Broadway in downtown Redwood City. The band — formed in 2005 — will offer up its unique versions of a variety of 19th century Christmas carols on brass instruments over a century-old. The performance will be free and open to the public.
AN IOWA PAIR OF CORNHOLE CHAMPS: Iowa is the heralded corn capital of the United States. It’s the nation’s number one producer of this important agricultural staple. So maybe it’s fitting that two guys originally from the same high school in the Hawkeye State, John Dugan and Brad Reinders, won the recent cornhole competition presented by the San Carlos Parks and Recreation Department. The San Carlos duo, who refer to themselves as “The Cornholios,” outlasted 22 teams to capture the coveted crown.
PAR 3 REMAINS SHUT DOWN: Municipal authorities in San Mateo report that work to reopen the Par 3 restaurant at Coyote Point’s Poplar Creek Golf Course is continuing. The city’s latest newsletter does not specify when that might occur. As of Monday, the popular dining/imbibing spot had been closed for nearly seven weeks due to a persistent plumbing problem and related issues. Golfers and others who frequent the establishment are less than pleased.
John Horgan, who has been writing about San Mateo County’s since 1963, can be contacted by email at johnhorganmedia@gmail.com.
(4) comments
That Jeff gymnasium was like a time capsule. Cold, drafty (I'm sure it was warm when filled, but it never was any time I was there), but full of nostalgia. That said, the kids deserve newer, safer facilities.
In Palo Alto, wealthy Indian, Asian and White families put a great deal of emphasis on education. The Darwin theory gene pool kicks in, smart woman marries smart man, who make good, responsible decisions which are perpetual. The opposite happens in communities in which couples don't marry, they have little to zero education and they make irresponsible and poor decisions, this is perpetual as well.
The three most segregated school districts on the Peninsula are
- Redwood City (RCSD)
- San Mateo (SMFCSF)
- San Francisco (SFUSD)
In all three rich Democrats have sabotaged public Education through a concept called "Schools of Choice", which is comparable to the Republicans version called "School Choice". No matter the name, School Choice, Schools of Choice or Choice Schools, they always lead to School Segregation and financial failure. The worst school districts like SFUSD, LAUSD, OAKUSD also get the most funding and still provide the worst education - and the reason is "School Choice".
In these districts people aren't investing much in "their" school, they are always shopping for the next "better" school and start jumping around. Their kids have anxieties and mental health issues due to the constant changes and money issues of these schools.
But these school districts also have enrollment issues, so the people that can afford it leave the district and pay for private schools. So you can assume the smart kids in RWC, SM and SF are in private elementary and high schools.
Palo Alto USD has mostly favored the Neighborhood School model and you have local people invested in the quality of their schools much more. Their problem is that the competition is pushing these kids to the limits, which also causes mental health issues for their kids. There is a happy medium somewhere in between.
And the incoming Trump administration is looking to punish the elites by taxing those endowments.
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