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Published on 08/04/1999 All articles from this issue

Foothill installs traffic light on campus

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By Linda Taaffe / Town Crier Staff Writer

Schools Roundup

CUSD's Mandarin program

The Cupertino Union School District's Mandarin Chinese program got a boost for the upcoming year from the Chinese-American International School in San Francisco.

The International School is working with the Cupertino district to develop curriculum and provide teacher training for the alternative program, which will expand into a dual-immersion program and will include an additional grade level this fall.

"I'm really excited," said parent Lynette Eng, who campaigned for the establishment of the Mandarin program last year. "People are paying thousands of dollars to go to (private schools) offering the same program. We're very fortunate."

After much public debate, board members voted to launch the Mandarin program in one kindergarten class in May 1998 as part of the district's alternative education program.

The program operated as an enrichment class last year. Students learned primarily in English and were exposed to Mandarin through art, singing and other types of activities.

The board agreed last spring to expand the pilot program into grade one and to make the pilot program a two-way dual immersion class, in which children will be taught equally in English and Mandarin.

Possible LAHS pool delay

Students at Foothill College will be seeing red this fall - the campus is scheduled to have its first on-site traffic light installed at the footbridge by the end of this summer.

John Schulze, director of facilities, operations and construction management, said the signal is a precaution for the public buses that must merge into traffic from the designated drop-off area. Buses had previously used a drop-off area on the opposite side of the road before the school converted the two-way campus road to one way.

Schulze said electronic coils in the pavement will enable only buses to trigger the signal to stop traffic.

Schulze said he doesn't anticipate any traffic delays due to the signal. Only one to two buses an hour use the pull-in area, he said.

"In the busiest time, there might be a little stop. It's a short signal, so (the delay) shouldn't be any worse than the average pedestrian crossing," he said.

Work on the signal, which began last May, is scheduled to be completed by the start of fall classes, Schulze said. He said its installation cost is about $125,000, including some concrete work.

He said the school is also installing elevators at the footbridge and emergency phones in every campus parking lot.

A "tough bidding environment," as Superintendent Rich Fischer put it, may delay construction of a new pool at Los Altos High School.

Fischer said the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District board received two bids for work - one too high and another that was later withdrawn.

The board took no action last week as district officials seek to lower costs with the remaining bidder.

Going out to bid for other contractors, Fischer said, could delay pool work until next March.

Fischer was hoping work would be completed by the end of winter of 2000.

IN BRIEF: The De Anza Auto Tech team at De Anza College recently won the statewide auto competition.