District guide
Palo Alto Unified public schools
Parent-focused district context for Santa Clara County, CA: school list, grade pathway, enrollment scale, profile links, and the local checks to make before using the district in a housing decision.
Direct answer for parents
What Palo Alto Unified tells you before choosing a home
Palo Alto Unified is listed with 19 public schools and 10,285 reported students in the current NCES file. Treat this as a district-level research page: it helps you understand scale, grade coverage, and school records, but it does not confirm the school assigned to a specific address.
The current district file lists 12 primary, 3 middle, 2 high, 2 other schools. Verify transition grades, feeder patterns, transfer policies, and program eligibility with the district.
19 district schools are associated with Santa Clara County in the current file, about 5% of listed county schools. Confirm address-level assignment locally.
Grade pathway
District school mix by level
Use this section to separate elementary, middle, high, and other school records before comparing commute, programs, and assignment rules.
12
4,196 reported students
3
2,266 reported students
2
3,779 reported students
2
44 reported students
Parent checks for Palo Alto Unified
These are the local questions that matter after the public data narrows the field.
Confirm the assigned school
Use official attendance-zone or address lookup tools before assuming a school serves a home.
Check transition grades
Elementary choices can split into different middle or high school paths, especially in large districts.
Verify choice-program rules
Charter, magnet, virtual, and transfer options can require applications, lotteries, or eligibility checks.
Compare similar schools
Compare schools at the same level before treating enrollment, grade span, or school type as a quality signal.
School records
Largest listed schools in Palo Alto Unified
Sorted by reported enrollment. Profile links appear where SchoolsByCounty has generated an individual school page; listed-only records still preserve NCES grade, type, city, and enrollment fields.
| School | Level | Grades | City | Enrollment | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto High Regular | High | 9–12 | Palo Alto | 1,992 | Profile |
| Henry M. Gunn High Regular | High | 9–12 | Palo Alto | 1,787 | Profile |
| Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle Regular | Middle | 6–8 | Palo Alto | 996 | Profile |
| Frank S. Greene Jr. Middle Regular | Middle | 6–8 | Palo Alto | 755 | Listed only |
| Ellen Fletcher Middle Regular | Middle | 6–8 | Palo Alto | 515 | Listed only |
| Ohlone Elementary Regular | Primary | KG–5 | Palo Alto | 463 | Listed only |
| Escondido Elementary Regular | Primary | KG–5 | Stanford | 447 | Listed only |
| Fairmeadow Elementary Regular | Primary | KG–5 | Palo Alto | 403 | Listed only |
| Herbert Hoover Elementary Regular | Primary | KG–5 | Palo Alto | 386 | Listed only |
| Palo Verde Elementary Regular | Primary | KG–5 | Palo Alto | 382 | Listed only |
| Lucille M. Nixon Elementary Regular | Primary | KG–5 | Stanford | 358 | Listed only |
| Duveneck Elementary Regular | Primary | KG–5 | Palo Alto | 346 | Listed only |
| Addison Elementary Regular | Primary | KG–5 | Palo Alto | 331 | Listed only |
| El Carmelo Elementary Regular | Primary | KG–5 | Palo Alto | 317 | Listed only |
| Walter Hays Elementary Regular | Primary | KG–5 | Palo Alto | 294 | Listed only |
| Juana Briones Elementary Regular | Primary | KG–5 | Palo Alto | 258 | Listed only |
| Barron Park Elementary Regular | Primary | KG–5 | Palo Alto | 211 | Listed only |
| Greendell Regular | Other | KG–12 | Palo Alto | 34 | Listed only |
| Packard Children's Hospital/Stanford Regular | Other | KG–12 | Palo Alto | 10 | Listed only |
Communities in the district file
NCES city fields are directory fields, not attendance boundaries. Use them to orient the district footprint, then verify the exact home-to-school assignment.
County coverage
Some districts can include records associated with more than one county. The route is anchored to the district's primary county record in the current data.
Palo Alto Unified FAQ
What schools are included for Palo Alto Unified?
Palo Alto Unified includes 19 public schools in the current NCES district file. The current district file lists 12 primary, 3 middle, 2 high, 2 other schools.
Does this Palo Alto Unified page show exact attendance zones?
No. SchoolsByCounty publishes district and school records from public data. Attendance boundaries, transportation, transfers, magnet eligibility, and charter rules must be confirmed with Palo Alto Unified or local assignment tools.
Is Palo Alto Unified ranked as the best district in Santa Clara County?
No. This is a district guide, not a recommendation or ranking. Use it to understand the district's listed schools, grade spans, enrollment scale, and available school profiles before verifying local fit.
How many Palo Alto Unified schools have detailed profiles?
3 schools in this district currently link to detailed SchoolsByCounty profiles. Other schools remain listed with NCES directory fields.
Data Sources
Education data sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data and School District Finance Survey. School scores are derived composite metrics based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance signals.
Data is informational only. Coverage varies by county and reporting year. Not for use as the sole basis for educational decisions.