Palo Verde Elementary School

Palo Verde Elementary is the public elementary school at the center of south Palo Alto's Palo Verde neighborhood, a quiet area of Eichler homes and cul-de-sacs between Middlefield Road and US 101. The neighborhood took its everyday name from the school, not the other way around. In 2025 to 2026 the school enrolled 344 students, according to the California Department of Education, which puts it near the middle of PAUSD's 12 elementary schools by size.

This page goes beyond our overview of all 12 PAUSD elementary schools. It covers the campus history the district documents, the name change people still ask about, programs the school and its PTA publish, the 2026 to 2027 bell schedule, attendance and child care. We do not rank schools or report test scores. For official data, use the California School Dashboard.

Location and campus

The address is 3450 Louis Road, Palo Alto 94303. Louis Road is the main north and south street through the Palo Verde neighborhood. The school sits roughly halfway between Loma Verde Avenue and East Meadow Drive. PAUSD's 2018 facilities plan says the site is reached from Louis Road in front and from a residential street at the back. Houses border the other two sides.

The plan describes six permanent single-story buildings arranged in an elongated L around a central playground and field. Two classroom wings face the play area. Like other schools of the era, their rooms have long walls of windows, high ceilings with clerestory windows and doors that open under a deep canopy. Picnic tables under the canopy work as outdoor learning space.

In 2018 the site also had six relocatable buildings: four used as classrooms and two as day care space. The library, a building of about 3,000 square feet that opened in 2004, includes one classroom. The district judged it adequately sized.

History and name

The campus dates to the early 1950s. The facilities plan says the original classroom wings and administration building were built in 1953. A multipurpose building and a relocatable that held the library followed in 1955. That timing matches the postwar building boom in south Palo Alto. The Eichler tract nearby, which Joseph Eichler marketed as Faircourt, went up in 1957 and 1958. Our Eichler homes history tells that story.

The school has not always been called Palo Verde. Wikipedia's list of PAUSD schools says it was named Sequoyah from 1976 until 1982. That year it merged with Los Niños Elementary, which had been the Elizabeth Van Auken school on Amarillo Avenue. The merged school went back to the name Palo Verde. The Amarillo campus later became home to Ohlone Elementary. The school's own site does not tell this history, so treat the details as the commonly reported version.

The biggest recent project came in 2004, when the Building for Excellence program added the new library and renovated the classrooms and administration building. Crews modernized flooring, lighting, power and data and added drainage. The 2018 plan noted that much of the original single-pane glass remained. It also said the multipurpose room, at about 2,700 square feet, was too small for the school's planned capacity. The kindergarten rooms had been designed for half-day classes, before kindergarten became a full-day program.

A school that fills up

The same plan said Palo Verde had been oversubscribed for several years, with some new students overflowed to nearby campuses. It proposed a new multipurpose building, administration space, nine classrooms, a learning center and enrichment labs. Those were proposals for future bond funding. Check the district's facilities pages for what has been approved or built since.

Programs and school culture

Palo Verde's vision statement describes a community committed to lifelong learning in an environment that is academically, socially and emotionally supportive. Its mission is for teachers, staff and families to work together to educate the whole child. Programs the school and PTA publish include:

• Project Cornerstone. The school's partner for social and emotional learning. Parent volunteers in its Asset Building Champions program read chosen books in classrooms and lead activities. The program runs on a three-year cycle, with each year given its own theme.
• Noon Art. A lunchtime art program the PTA lists among the classroom support it funds.
• Science Fair and Math Night, both supported by the PTA.
• Library funds and classroom technology, also paid for in part by PTA donations.
• District programs. Like every PAUSD elementary school, Palo Verde receives staffing funded by Palo Alto Partners in Education (PiE), which the school lists among its partners.

Palo Verde is a neighborhood school with no choice program or immersion track. Families who want Mandarin or Spanish immersion or the Ohlone or Hoover models apply through the district lottery. Our choice programs guide explains how.

Bell schedule for 2026 to 2027

School starts at 8:15 a.m. Monday through Friday for every grade. Dismissal depends on the grade and the day:

On early release days all students leave at 12:15 p.m. The school lists September 4, October 30, November 20 and December 18, 2026, followed by April 2 and June 1 to 3, 2027. Always check the Palo Verde daily schedule page before planning pickups.

The school calendar for November 2026 shows the first trimester ending November 6 and no school on Veterans Day, November 11. Thanksgiving break runs November 23 to 27.

Attendance area and next schools

Palo Verde serves a neighborhood attendance area in the southeast part of the city. Palo Alto Online neighborhood guides have listed Palo Verde Elementary for the Palo Verde neighborhood. A 2019 profile also listed it for parts of Midtown. Lines follow specific streets, so the only reliable answer comes from the School Finder on PAUSD's school placement and transfers page.

Guides for this area list JLS Middle School and Gunn High School as the next steps. Because the school has been full in recent years, register early. If a grade is full, PAUSD may place a new student at another school in the same cluster and add the child to the Palo Verde waitlist. Our enrollment guide walks through registration and the documents the district requires.

PAUSD also lists Palo Verde as one of seven transitional kindergarten sites. TK placement follows the cluster, not the neighborhood school, so TK children here may come from several attendance areas.

Walking, biking and drop-off

The school is frank about parking. Its getting to school page says returning families already know how limited parking is and asks everyone to walk, bike or scoot when it is safe. It links suggested routes from the city's Safe Routes to School program.

The neighborhood helps. Palo Verde's curving streets carry little through traffic. Louis Road and Ross Road are the main north and south routes through the area. A few tips for drivers:

1. Arrive a few minutes early, since parking near the school is limited.
2. Park on a nearby street and walk in rather than waiting in line on Louis.
3. Do not block driveways on the narrow residential streets around the campus.
4. Remember that Wednesday pickup is an hour earlier for most grades.

Nearby green space includes Ramos Park and, across East Meadow Drive, the larger Mitchell Park with its Magical Bridge Playground.

PTA and community events

The Palo Verde PTA describes itself as an association of parents and teachers that raises money and volunteers time to support classrooms, communication and community spirit. Communication runs through its eNews and the Palo Verde Voice. Events it lists include a Harvest Fair, a school ice cream social, an International Fair, an ice skating party, morning coffees and parent education nights.

Fundraisers include a school auction, restaurant nights and note card sales. The PTA notes that it cannot pay for staff, which is why staffing donations go to PiE. It is a tax-exempt group and suggests checking whether an employer will match a gift. In past years it has also paid for things like morning recess supervision and assemblies.

After-school care and classes

Two child care providers run on campus. Palo Verde Kids' Club, operated by Palo Alto Community Child Care (PACCC), offers permanent and drop-in care with snacks, homework time, crafts, games and outdoor play. Hours run from dismissal to 6 p.m., plus full days from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Right at School runs from 2:20 to 6 p.m., or 12:15 to 6 p.m. on early dismissal days. It offers snacks and homework support.

Fee-based classes are run by outside businesses and nonprofits that rent campus space. The school says the principal, not the PTA, approves them. Programs must fit the school's philosophy, offer something not easy to find elsewhere and carry insurance. New programs must offer scholarships or reduced fees. Programs focused only on competition are not considered. Single-gender programs generally are not either. See our after-school programs guide for the district picture.

Frequently asked questions