Paly junior Julia Curtis launched a petition calling for an immediate reinstatement of paid, trained Caltrains crossing guards and eventual permanent closure, following a recent tragedy in the student community. The petition has garnered over 3500 signatures since its launch on Feb. 4.
The ultimate goal is permanent closure or grade separation — such as underpasses or overpasses — at the Churchill crossing, though the petition acknowledges that those solutions are complex, costly and time-consuming. The city responded by approving a one-year, $1.7 million contract with Orion Security — split with PAUSD — for 24/7 paid monitors at all four Palo Alto crossings, with guards now in place.
District Assistant Superintendent Yolanda Conaway said the district also supports the goals of the petition, although she noted that the district lacks jurisdiction over the crossing.
“Our role is to advocate strongly — as you saw the superintendent do, which I believe was a brave and very necessary move to make,” Conaway said.
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Suicide is often the result of complex, treatable mental health conditions, rather than a single event or reaction to a tragedy. Conaway said the district is focused on building sustained connections between students and adults as a core element of prevention, alongside sensitive handling of communications after a death to minimize risk.
“When students feel like they’re seen, supported and valued by adults, we know the risk decreases,” Conaway said. “We’re not looking at prevention as this one program. It’s a relationship. The district has to attend to things like contagion and the triggering factor, so we’re being very careful. Sometimes that careful translates into too careful, meaning the conversation is not happening. We are not talking about help-seeking behaviors. We are not talking about suicide, and we need to talk about these things. We just have to be careful in the immediate post-vention phase how we do that.”
The district is enhancing its training efforts, making annual suicide prevention sessions more interactive and adding a mandatory school-wide focus on supporting LGBTQ+ youth, which occurred on Feb. 17.
Curtis emphasized the importance of fostering an environment where students feel comfortable seeking support. “It’s okay to talk about it, and you don’t have to be ashamed of mental health,” Curtis said. “It’s something that a lot of people struggle with — almost everyone does.”
Curtis said they also explored adding more in-person mental health resources modeled after existing consent education presentations in PE, along with teacher training and targeted check-ins for students showing warning signs.
“Even though we have some required online forms, kids are much more likely to open up to a real person than a screen,” Curtis said. “When someone is actually concerned about you and is showing that they care about your well-being, people are a lot more likely to open up.”
Curtis said she has received widespread encouragement and support from the community, including city officials, Austin, parents assisting with outreach and students sharing positive feedback.
“I realize that there’s so much help, and everyone wants to help this become a reality,” Curtis said. “Seeing how many people care about it is really crazy. It’s really amazing to me.”
City Council member Julie Lythcott-Haims said the partnership between the city, school district, and Caltrain feels very rewarding.
“When a community is suffering, often people splinter and fracture, and it makes it hard to come together,” Lythcott-Haims said. “This time around, it feels like we’re in coalition with each other and that feels really good.”
Conaway said student input plays a critical role in shaping the district’s safety and mental health policies.
“Students should and have to be our first advisors,” Conaway said. “The more students can mobilize and speak up — and I truly encourage it — the more we learn. And once we learn, we can do better too. We put an adult lens on things. We put in a professional educational lens. We rely on research. But none of that matters if it’s not really addressing the needs of our students.”
Curtis said launching the petition reshaped her view of who can drive change.
“Anyone can advocate for what they believe in — whether it’s just an email, Instagram story, or a petition, or if you just call your representative or the city — there’s no rules for who can advocate. Anyone can do it. I never would have thought that I could have done this because I’ve never done anything like this before,” Curtis said. “If you believe in something, no matter what, you can speak your mind and advocate for what you believe.”
Please contact the following resources if you have safety concerns or need immediate help:
Call 911 and request a C.I.T. (crisis intervention team) trained officer to assist you
Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741-741 to connect with a volunteer Crisis Counselor
The Trevor Project (LGBTQ+ Youth): Call 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678
Bill Wilson Center Youth Hotline: Call 408-850-6125 for local 24-hour crisis support in Santa Clara County
Trevor Lifeline LGBTQQ+ Crisis Support: 1-866-488-7386
Paly Wellness Center: Located on the 2nd floor of the Tower Building. Open school days for walk-in support and check-ins.
Andi Barker, Mental Health Specialist: Reach out via email at [email protected]
allcove Palo Alto: Integrated mental health and wellness support for ages 12–25. Located at 2741 Middlefield Road.