The Sequoia Union High School District Board (SUHSD) of Trustees unanimously agreed to close the Technology, Innovation, Design, and Engineering (TIDE) Academy, leaving its students scrambling for next steps.
Founded in 2019, TIDE primarily serves underrepresented students, especially neurodiverse and socioeconomically disadvantaged (SED) students. In 2025-26, its students were 61% SED, almost two times the district rate of 33%. Compared to the district average, it also has almost twice as many students whose parents did not graduate from high school.
Its appeal stems from programs such as industry-recognized Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways, dual enrollment with Foothill College, and a well-developed Wellness Center.
“The combination of all of these factors allowed our school to offer students a truly incredible package — we offer excellent support to catch struggling students via small class sizes, individualized support systems, and our unique Wellness Center, while simultaneously offering ample opportunities for exceptionally motivated students who want to reach for more via our CTE pathways and dual enrollment,” said sophomore Christopher Chang, a TIDE student who is a member of his school’s leadership and the district Student Advisory Council (SAC).
However, financial concerns due to TIDE’s specialized model began to be raised at the district level last year. Closing TIDE was proposed as a solution, preferred over layoffs or pay cuts, to the district’s budget deficit, which in 2025-26 is $6,139,766.
Enrollment decline across the district led to the question of closing TIDE Academy finally being brought to the council in November 2025. Carlmont was the only school in the district that did not see lower enrollment numbers from 2015 to 2025, despite the lower birth rates and increased enrollment in private schools.
“The thought started being, well, with Woodside’s and TIDE’s decreasing enrollments, you take two small things and put them together. You have a slightly bigger thing,” said Molly McNinch, a Carlmont math teacher.
Trustee Mary Beth Thompson stated during the Nov. 12 board meeting that, “we have a duty to look honestly at our overall financial picture, including our structural deficit and the costs of operating very small schools, and ask whether we are creating the best possibilities and opportunities for all of our students, including those currently at TIDE.”
This was followed by a request for Superintendent Crystal Leach to develop potential plans for closing the 200-student school and informing the community.
“The strongest arguments for closure focused on long-term sustainability and the operational realities of maintaining a small-school model, including staffing and scheduling constraints that do not scale down proportionally. The strongest arguments against closure reflected student experience, including TIDE’s sense of belonging, trusted relationships, and the concern that some students may struggle in a larger environment. The Board weighed both perspectives and approved a plan that includes a cohort approach to support continuity,” Leach said.
Many community members were shocked by the process and its apparent abruptness.
“The TIDE community received no preamble or steps leading up to the closure — it was simply announced as a possibility one day without discussion of potential other, less drastic solutions. The overall process has taken less than three months — a concerningly brief period given the gravity of the issue,” Chang said.
According to Chang, the decision involved several Board meetings, a few informational nights, a study session, and only one SAC meeting, adding that the December SAC meeting was canceled and the January one was postponed.
“Less than 12 hours before the singular remaining meeting was scheduled to occur, I was notified that it had been rescheduled to fall after the final board meeting prior to the decision, meaning SAC trustees would not be able to formally return input to the Board before the decision. During that singular SAC meeting, students were given a total of 35 minutes to account for over two months of events — and district communication had been so poor that most SAC members weren’t even aware of the TIDE issue until it was raised at that meeting, over two months into the three-month process,” Chang said.
On Feb. 4, the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to close TIDE Academy, effective at the end of this school year. TIDE students will be automatically placed at Woodside High School at the start of the 2026-27 school year, in a plan estimated to save the district $14,512,400.
Students and families are concerned about the transition from a small to a large school and the loss of dedicated services and an established community. Such concerns were raised in deliberations, but ultimately discounted.
“Contrary to the results posed by district analysts, TIDE students and families know that they will not have the same experience at a large school. Many, especially those who have attended the district’s large schools before, do not believe they will receive equitable and healthy treatment there,” Chang said.
For neurodivergent students for whom the small size of the school formed an unwritten but very beneficial aspect of their accommodation, or for students with mental health challenges that were addressed at TIDE, there is no other district school that has equivalent support systems.
“Our Wellness Center is staffed by experienced therapists and counselors, and due to the nature of our small campus, students can be excused from their classes and end up seated with trained professionals in under a minute with no delays or complications. Our small size allows us to do this with ease — personal and individualized support is automatically the norm,” Chang said.
Additional arguments from the community against closing TIDE revolved around its newness. They suggested that being less than a decade old and having many of its first years during a global pandemic accounted for the unsatisfactory enrollment numbers, which were beginning to turn around.
TIDE was constructed using $50 million in bonds, leading some to also see its swift shutdown as a waste of taxpayer money.
Now, families are deciding whether to move to Woodside with the remainder of the program, or to find their own path: switching to a different nearby district school, entering Middle College, or enrolling in a private school. Many seek a balance between small, specialized classes and low costs, as was available at TIDE.
“The cohort approach at Woodside is intended to preserve what students most valued, including relationships, belonging, and coordinated supports, while also expanding access to comprehensive high school opportunities. We will build clear structures around advising, scheduling, and student support so students do not have to navigate a large campus alone. The goal is continuity plus increased opportunity, not starting over,” Leach said.
Some believe that this support will be sufficient and that the switch will not be a great struggle for TIDE students.
“The transition might be slightly difficult, but I don’t think the jump is too big comparatively. For example, my elementary school had 500 students, then my middle school had 1,200, and now my high school has around 2,600. I don’t think the transition was too difficult for me,” said Leher Kawadia, a Carlmont junior.
However, it’s not the size alone, but the combined factors of additional support at a smaller school and less attention at a bigger school that others feel may make the transition difficult for the TIDE students who remain with the district.
“The people who I’m most sad for are the freshmen at TIDE, because they went in with this hope of having a specific environment to really work and thrive in. And now there’s the possibility that they’re going to be essentially pushed into this huge community, and there’s more of an opportunity for them to get lost in the shuffle,” McNinch said.
She also noted the presence of academy-like programs in other district schools, which, in some ways, replicate TIDE’s small-group structure. For example, Carlmont’s Biotechnology Institute, Woodside’s Green Academy, and Sequoia’s International Baccalaureate.
These programs share some similarities with TIDE in terms of size and emphasis on CTE, but may not provide the same level of intervention for SED students and those with mental health issues.
“Our students found success and safety here, where they might have been crushed underfoot anywhere else — and now that TIDE is closing, our students will be incredibly vulnerable,” Chang said.
