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AWARDS & ACCOLADES
Join us in congratulating Elaine Choi, Middle College Student of the Year.
MVLA April Students of the Month
James Taylor, LAHS
Click the image above for the full write-up on James.
MVLA is proud to recognize James Taylor as the April Student of the Month. James stands out for his consistent commitment to giving back. As Secretary of MVLA Youth Mentors, he tutors students and teaches engineering at the elementary level. A varsity soccer standout, he helped lead the team to a league championship and earned First Team All-League honors. His growth from "Most Improved" to team leader reflects the dedication and character that define him.
Bao Ngan "Sarah" Dang, MVHS
Click on the image above for the full write-up on Sarah.
MVLA proudly recognizes Sarah Dang as the April Student of the Month. Sarah brings energy and heart to everything she does—competing in Cross Country and Track and Field, serving as Vice President of the Japanese National Honor Society, and volunteering through Youth Community Service. Whether organizing cultural events, supporting teammates, or teaching kids at community festivals, Sarah leads with compassion and joy. With plans to pursue nursing, she embodies service, connection, and genuine care for others.
MVLA Spotlight Award: Archana Upadhyay
MVLA is proud to recognize Archana Upadhyay as the April 2026 Spotlight Award recipient. Archana's dedication to students is visible across the district—from supporting campus events to bringing her therapy dog, Mocha, to schools throughout MVLA. A five-year leader with the MVLA High School Foundation, she also served on the Measure E Committee and chairs the Board of the Girls Middle School. Her passion for education and community makes her a truly deserving honoree.
MVHS Boys Soccer CCS Champions
The Mountain View High School boys varsity soccer team had a remarkable 2026 season, finishing with a 19-4-2 record—the second most wins in school history. They captured their second CCS championship in four years, reached the NorCal semifinals, and were ranked #7 in California and #28 nationally. Key players included league MVP Cyrus Shafie, Offensive Player of the Year Nicco Garzino, and several all-league honorees, highlighting the team's depth and talent.
MVLA congratulates LAHS Senior, Jayalakshmi Raffill, for earning the Battelle Scholarship from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
On April 22, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) released the names of the first group of winners in the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Approximately 700 distinguished high school seniors have won corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship awards financed by about 115 corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations. Also included in this category are awards supported by several foundations and individual donors who have established endowments with NMSC. Scholars were selected from students who advanced to the Finalist level in the National Merit Scholarship competition and met the criteria of their scholarship sponsors. Corporate sponsors provide National Merit Scholarships for Finalists who are children of their employees, who are residents of communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage. (excerpted from original NMSC text)
So many student art awards...
Please help us in congratulating the our incredibly talented art students across the district.
Two LAHS students won Best in Show/First Place and Second place in the Young@Art Contest sponsored by The Rotary Club of Los Altos.
Emilia Chen, Grade 11: Best in Show and First place
Ariana Yurchenko, Grade 12: Second Place
As well, LAHS had eleven visual art students accepted into the New Museum Los Gatos Juried High School Exhibition.
ArtNow 2026's theme is Before / Between / Beyond.This year, ArtNow received 600+ submissions from 53 high schools across Santa Clara County. ArtNow 2026 will feature97 fantastic works by high school artists from 36 different high schools.
As well, we congratulate Emma Wing and Makayla Horton at MVHS.
Emma Wing was awarded Best in Show for the 2026 Young Artist Showcase by the Santa Clara County Office of Education.
Makayla Horton’s artwork has also been accepted into ArtNow 2026 (referenced above).
Board Agendas, recordings, and summaries are always available here.
We encourage members of the MVLA community to watch board meetings on our YouTube channel. Meetings are streamed live and recordings are posted the following morning and sent out in each of the BoardBriefs the following week.
California Department of Education visits MVLA
In late March, a representative from the California Department of Education visited MVLA to observe our English Language Development (ELD) program firsthand. After conducting walk-throughs across several classrooms, she came away impressed with the work our staff does every day to support students.
Her observations highlighted strong district-wide coherence in curriculum and student experience, a calm and welcoming campus culture, and a clear commitment to the Constructing Meaning framework. She also praised the strong relationships between teachers and students and the effective modeling of academic language throughout instruction.
We are proud of the dedication our teachers and staff bring to this work — and grateful for the opportunity to share it with our state partners.
MVLA CTE teachers collaborate with Campbell Union and EnCorps
MVLA’s CTE Program Specialist, Dr. Amber Woodward, and Campbell Union High School District’s Senior Coordinator of College and Career Readiness, Ms. Bari Sholomon, partnered with EnCorps Executive Director Angel Beamer to design and deliver a unique and impactful professional development session.
The event brought together over 60 CTE educators from more than seven Bay Area high schools across MVLA and CUHSD to strengthen CTE pathways through collaboration and real-world alignment.
Teachers were grouped by CTE industry pathway and engaged in hands-on unit planning, shared effective instructional practices, and connected with industry professionals through a panel discussion to better integrate career-connected learning into their classrooms. The session highlighted the power of cross-district collaboration, deepened pathway alignment, and reinforced a shared commitment to preparing all Santa Clara County students for postsecondary success and an evolving workforce.
Building on this success, the three educational leaders plan to expand the professional development opportunity next year by inviting an additional Bay Area district to participate.
Annual AVID PEAK and Alta Vista Mock Career Fairs a resounding success for students
On March 25, approximately 170 students participated in MVLA's 8th Annual AVID PEAK and 3rd Annual Alta Vista Mock Career Fairs — and the energy was electric! Students stepped into a realistic professional environment to practice elevator pitches, share their resumes for feedback, and explore diverse industries and career paths.
Nearly 40 organizations — from local small businesses and nonprofits to government offices and international corporations — joined us to share their expertise and invest in the future of our students. The enthusiasm on both sides was a powerful reminder of what's possible when community and schools come together. Thank you to everyone who made this day such a success!
MVLA Family Partnership Council (FPC) concludes the year with discussion of proposed bell schedules and LCAP
At the final meeting of the 2025-2026 school year, the FPC discussed and provided feedback on priorities for proposed changes to the bell schedule for next year and reviewed updates to the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). The potential bell schedule adjustments will be finalized through the official labor-management bargaining process. Based on negotiation outcomes, District staff may forward recommendations to the Board for approval.
The purpose of the FPC is to provide an opportunity for parents/families and district staff to:
build capacity for staff and family engagement in student learning
listen and learn from one another in a spirit of open-mindedness and respect,
examine issues from multiple perspectives and engage in collaborative discussions on issues impacting student learning,
co-create an ongoing feedback loop within the community of educational partners,
work together to promote equity for all students in the district,
develop stronger connections, continuity, and communication throughout the community
establish a consistent process for parental engagement in district-wide initiatives
with the explicit intent of improving learning outcomes for all students in the district.
If you are interested in joining the FPC in the 2026-2027 school year, you can learn more about its purpose and scope here.
MVLA FOUNDATION
Thank you for your donations that make the Programs and Services possible! Look for the survey results in your inbox and on the MVLA Foundation website MVLAfoundation.org
GALLERY
MVHS Tech Interns Yash Maheshwari and Sophia Zhang participate in Common Sense Media Summit
It was a really big day on a big stage with lots of big names in the mix (Former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and Former First Lady and Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton). We are so proud of our MVHS Tech interns who presented at the annual Common Sense Media Summit in a session on Kids and Families.
MVHS gymnast, Alexa Geist, places first overall in state championship
Congratulations to the MVHS gymnast, Alexa Geist for her incredible accomplishment in placing first at the Visalia state championship. This first-place win elevated her to the State championship team, where she then competed in Las Vegas, placing first in the Regionals. Way to represent MVHS, MVLA and California, Alexa!
MVHS Wrestling: A Season of Excellence
LAHS Spanish, French, Mandarin, and Latin students participated in an exciting celebration of cultural exploration and language learning hosted by the LAHS World Language Department.
This initiative, generously funded by the MVLA Foundation, brought authentic cross-cultural experiences directly into the classrooms. Each world language student participated in two different cultural activities during their regular class periods, exploring and sharing various aspects of diverse cultures through art and sports.
LAHS ASI students compete
Los Altos High School delivered an exceptional showing at the 2026 Synopsys Championship, earning an Outstanding School Award and celebrating the achievements of 38 student award recipients supported by six dedicated faculty mentors. This year’s projects spanned cutting-edge work in the biological, physical, and computer sciences reflecting the school’s strong culture of inquiry and innovation. A full list of winners is available at this link. Special congratulations go to the students selected to advance to the California Science and Engineering Fair (CSEF), taking place in Los Angeles on April 11–12: Mihika Kamat, Cyrus Ghaffari, Mark Beliaev, Riya Mehrotra, Amanda Wang, and Cassia Dyer Seem. (from Eagle News)
Iwata Japan delegation visits MVLA
Starting in the early nineties, MVHS has participated in a cultural exchange with their sister school, Iwata Minami High School, in Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The schools alternate visiting and this year it was MVHS' turn to host the delegation. In addition to a welcome ceremony, assembly and participating in a variety of campus classes and activities at MVHS, the delegation also got to visit and spend time with Freestyle students and staff.
Mr. Volta reads The Very Hungry Caterpillar at Adult School Childcare Center
The parents and students at the MVLA Adult School Childcare center got a very special treat when Superintendent Volta dropped by to read the beloved classic children's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It's very hard to say who enjoyed it more!
Katie Byon wins prestigious award from California Language Teachers' Association
LAHS Mandarin 4 student Katie Byon was named the 2026 CIEE/CLTA Student of the Year, recognized by the California Language Teachers' Association and CIEE for excellence in world language study. This award highlights top language learners in California. She's been awarded a $5,000 scholarship to study abroad this summer.
Here's Katie's speech at the Awards Luncheon held in Sacramento. This is the second time LAHS students have been recognized for their excellence in language learning.
NAHS students mural project
A team of LAHS National Art Honor Society students participated in a volunteer mural project for a farm animal rescue, Rancho Roben Rescues. Students painted murals on two shade fences, three chicken coops, and toolshed door panels.
Los Altos students did all the work from looking at the sites, designing the murals, choosing colors, purchasing materials, and learning how to paint murals. View the beautiful photos of finished murals as well as progress photos here.
MVLA Summer Academic Programs
In-Seat Summer School assignments were mailed home mid-April but all students may view assigned summer courses in Aeries as counselors assign courses from February through May.
Summer School will be held at Los Altos High School, June 10-July 9. Students who did not receive a summer school letter and want to sign up to make up a D-grade, please visit or email your counselor by the end of April.
The Online Health summer application and registration is open March 2026. Orientation information will be sent to the student's email and posted on the Online Summer School website in May. Go to the MVLA Adult School Online Summer School page.
DATEBOOK
BOARD MEETINGS:
Regular Board Meeting - May 4, 2026 - 7pm, District Board Room
Regular Board Meeting - May 18, 2026 - 7pm, District Board Room
