The school has a population of about 1,300 and classes can be as large as 35 or even larger in some extreme cases.
By contrast, in Los Gatos, only a 10-minute drive away, are private schools like Fusion Academy and the School for Independent Learners (SIL), private schools that allow students to receive the same credits and have few or no other students in their classes. The two schools have the same goal of student academic achievements, though they provide different environments.
The Fusion Academy is an accredited private middle and high school with several branches that provides students with one-to-one instruction, much like SIL. Students who find the regular public school environment difficult get the chance to learn in a slower-paced option, with grades that can be transferred directly to their transcripts.
It’s little surprise that the schools are pricey, costing over $3,000 to enroll in a course for a semester. A class at Fusion or SIL is more focused on students, however, because it only is the tutor and the student in the class.
A student who said she was helped by this environment is senior Sophia Crolla, who attended SIL in her junior year to take Trigonometry/Precalculus Honors.
“I took it because I’m not very good at math in general so I figured a one-on-one class would be much easier for me,” Crolla said.
These schools also bill themselves as an opportunity for students who may not be satisfied with their grades in a class or prefer to study at their own pace with tutors who typically hold university degrees in the subject.
Along with Fusion Academy, schools like Halstrom Academy have the same programs that give students credits for courses outside of their high schools.
Crolla had decided to attend the school after her older sister took a class there and liked it.
“I’ve never done as well in a math class as I did at SIL; my teacher was very accommodating and I could go at a pace that was easy for me,” Crolla said.
While Fusion Academy has six branches in the Bay Area, SIL is only based in Los Altos. Crolla found the location to be the hardest part of the experience due to the time-consuming commute.
To finish the course, Crolla spent a year at SIL. She attended the classes less often than she would have at SHS, although she missed a few classes while she was injured during her lacrosse season. Crolla said that she would consider taking another math class at SIL.
Senior McConnell Gou had a different reason for attending SIL: He wanted to accommodate his competitive fencing schedule.
Gou decided to take AP Biology, US History and even Latin, a SIL course that is no longer offered at almost all public schools.
Since Gou finished his freshman year courses at SIL at around the same pace as he would have had he taken them at SHS, he continued taking classes there for the next three years. He took the rest of his classes, including English and math, at SHS. Every week, Gou spent one day at SIL and the next at SHS to make his schedule work. He is currently enrolled in Calculus, US Government and Economics at SIL.
Junior Connor Reyes also had a positive experience when he took Algebra 2 at Fusion Academy for five weeks during the summer, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. every day.
“I really liked Fusion because it’s one-on-one and you can’t really dilly-dally in class,” he said. “There is no using your phone without getting caught, so you learn the material much better.”
Reyes said that he learned most of the content that he would have learned during the school year, and he was also able to delve deeper into the subject.
Despite the glowing reviews from students like these, the validity of classes like those offered at Fusion and SIL remain a question. While the grades are transferred directly to a student’s transcript, some feel that specialized schools like these give students an unfair advantage because they assume classes are easier.
Reyes, however, stands by Fusion, saying that the only reason for the controversy is due to the school’s lack of name-recognition.
“I think it is sort of hypocritical and a double standard,” Reyes said. “People can take courses at St. Francis High School for credit, but nobody bats an eye if someone is getting their credit from any outside place. St. Francis, Mitty, all have that name appeal, whereas people may not think of Fusion as that.”
