As junior Julius Woods cautiously stepped out of his car and walked onto the Los Altos High School campus on the first day of school in the fall of 2014, he was in an unfamiliar place. It was his first as a sophomore there, and he was both excited and nervous to meet new people and see what this change would bring him.
When his dad moved away two summers ago after a divorce, Woods also moved to Los Altos, leaving his friends behind. Once Woods transferred, he lived with his dad on the weekdays and stayed with his mom on the weekends at her place in Santana Row. Wood’s dad now lives back in Saratoga.
Because Woods had attended schools in Saratoga since elementary school, he said the transfer “changed so many things within such a short period of time.”
This year, Woods has returned to Saratoga High because he wanted to return to a stable group of friends. After the break from being with the same group of people for 12 years in Saratoga, Woods was able to perceive various differences between each school’s culture.
For example, the academic standards at Saratoga High pressured Woods, and he said he did not receive much help in understanding the concepts from his classmates. At Los Altos, he found that while students were less academically focused, the overall environment was more enjoyable.
In addition to a less intense academic atmosphere, Woods said that Los Altos students had more school spirit. Many more students dress up for spirit weeks and attend rallies. Still, despite the higher attendance at Los Altos rallies, Woods mentioned that he “personally [likes] Saratoga’s rallies better because of our crazier and more entertaining rally commission.”
Woods also said that Saratoga night football games are a highlight of the school’s appeal. Los Altos does not have night lights on the field, lessening attendance. Complaints from neighbors have kept the school from installing them, he said.
“I always look forward to football games [at Saratoga] because you forget about the stress while hanging with friends as you root for your school and watch your friends play,” Woods said.
Woods also noticed that Los Altos provided students a wider variety of classes. Those include cooking, painting, dance and architectural design.
“Classes like these are really important to have at schools like Saratoga because people can find their passions in these classes,” Woods said. “[Many] students are forced to do things that they do not love or like, and if they can take these classes, they can pursue their passions at school.”
His passions include producing music and DJ-ing, courses that are rarely provided in high schools.
After experiencing the academic stress at Saratoga High, he came to prefer the more relaxed and helpful environment of Los Altos because of the teachers’ slower and more in-depth lessons for each topic.
“The schedules I had at Los Altos and Saratoga were pretty much the same, but I found that Los Altos really helped me understand the material better,” Woods said. “Teachers [at Los Altos] were more at my pace and helped individuals who weren’t able to learn as fast, like me.”
Even though he liked the academic side of Los Altos much better, he decided that he wanted to transfer back here to be with his longtime Saratoga friends.
“Coming back was a homey feeling because I grew up with everyone and it’s nice to come back to my family of friends at Saratoga,” Woods said.