The race is on for students requesting a transfer between
Gilroy’s two high schools.
The race is on for students requesting a transfer between Gilroy’s two high schools.
This fall, about a quarter of Gilroy High School’s enrollment will migrate north to Christopher High School. The majority of these students already know who they are: they’re the ones living north of the boundary that divides the district along Leavesley Road and down the center of Mantelli Drive, including the neighborhood just south of Mantelli and west of Santa Teresa Boulevard, near Luigi Aprea Elementary School.
But CHS Principal John Perales anticipates about 75 to 100 additional transfer openings at his school.
CHS will open in August 2009 with freshman and sophomore classes. The school will add juniors in 2010 and seniors in 2011. Students zoned for CHS wishing to attend GHS or vice versa may complete a transfer request and return it to the district office by 4:30 p.m. Feb. 11 for consideration. CHS will accept transfer students until the school’s capacity of 600 students is reached, Perales said. If he receives more transfer requests than the school can accommodate, the district will hold an enrollment lottery.
In the meantime, all eligible applicants wishing to transfer to or remain at GHS may.
Transfer eligibility is based on the following criteria: students wishing to participate in a specific or specialized program offered at only one of the high schools, students attending GHS who wish to remain until they graduate, students living nearest the attendance boundary, children of high school employees, siblings of current students and the classic catch-all – “special circumstances,” which will be heard on an individual basis.
Since GHS has more established and myriad academic and athletic opportunities, Perales expects the majority of applicants seeking a transfer to CHS will be attracted to the school’s proximity or performing arts and digital media career path.
Some of the brightest and most athletic students zoned for CHS will probably opt to remain at GHS, Perales said. In its infancy, his school will not offer the menu of Advanced Placement courses and varsity sports teams available at GHS. The academic and athletic offerings will grow with the school and Perales hopes to raise the academic bar, aligning graduation requirements with college admission requirements, he said. Currently, a gaping void separates bare bones graduation requirements in Gilroy from the prerequisites for a California state school. He also envisions a more traditional daily schedule – with all six subject periods scheduled Monday through Wednesday and block periods on Thursday and Friday – as opposed to GHS’s block schedule.
But until the class lists are finalized, CHS staff won’t be able to work out a complete roster of programs and clubs, said Roger Cornia, district enrollment coordinator, who has been working closely with Perales on the transfer process. For programs like band and choir, Perales hopes Choral Director Phil Robb and Band Director Greg Grant at GHS will be able to split their time between the two schools.
“Determining the specific programs is kind of a Catch-22 – we won’t know what to offer until the kids show up,” Cornia said.
In terms of sports, “it’ll be great for the kids, having a two sets of sports teams,” Perales said. “It will double their chances of getting on a team.”
Parents and students who value the advantages of a small high school will take a second look at CHS, he said.
“Parents understand the power of a small high school,” he said. “When I was principal at Mount Madonna, we had 200 kids and I knew every one of them by name. I could tell you who impacted our test scores, how they impacted them and what their attendance was.”
According to district data, CHS students have a slight socioeconomic advantage. Demographic projections show 10 percentage points separating the socioeconomically disadvantaged students at the two schools, but Perales said the difference will probably even out during the transfer process, based on conversations he’s had with other principals who have been in his shoes.
“I’ve received more calls from parents wanting to send their kids to Christopher,” Perales said. “But also from some who do want to stay at GHS.”
Most calls are about sports and the school colors, he said.
“Yes, we will have cheerleading,” he said with a laugh.
“We were nervous at first,” said Sherri Laveroni, the mother of an eighth grader at Brownell Middle School who’s headed to CHS next year. “But once I found out that Christopher High will be offering most of the same clubs and academics, I’m very happy with my son going there.”
After talking to Perales and Darren Yafai, the school’s athletic director, Laveroni said she was completely comfortable with the idea of sending her son to CHS.
“They sold everyone,” she said.
What you need to know about transferring
Request forms will be mailed to every parent of an eighth or ninth grader in the district and are due by 4:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Gilroy Unified School District Office, 7810 Arroyo Circle
Schools will not accept transfer requests
Parents will be notified before March 7 of their child’s placement
