Juana Briones Elementary School

I’m just going to tell you right up front — I am 54 yrs old. This was my elementary school, Loma Vista. I too remember the monkey bars, the talent shows, 4 square, tether balls, loved rainy day lunches it was so homey at Loma Vista, eat in class room & play in class, that is, if I didn’t walk home for lunch, yes… back then us wee folk could walk to & from school without the fear of who might snatch us, we even left our front doors unlocked — — that was then and this is now. I remember when the «OH» Unit was being built. I had to practice & earn my Wheelchair License which gave me the permission to push a child in a wheelchair around. Now I have a gorgeous granddaughter who is a special needs child. I have had soooo many fears about where they will place her and how the kids will treat her. Then they moved to Palo Alto and live less than a mile away from what is now known as «Juana Briones Elementary School» and they still have this integration of the special needs children
with the other school children and all of a sudden, the tears I have shed in fear of all this for the past year! ALL GONE! I remember how great & special it was to know & get to play and interact with these kids. I remember that we were being brought up to know that it was ok not to be afraid of them or say bad things about them and to accept them just as I would accept you. Oh and btw — I remember when «Juana Briones Park» was just built! That’s how far back I go! Fav teacher… Mrs. Au — eh Jac?

Briones is one of 12 great elementary schools in the Palo Alto Unified School District.
Wonderful staff & dedicated, talented teachers.
Great programs in music, art, technology & science.
Briones also provides special services for the students that attend this school that have physical limitations. Students in wheelchairs, walkers, etc are main streamed in to the general classes… that is a beautiful thing!
Preschool program for students with physical limitations is also at this campus.

I happened across JB on Unilocal and had to say a quick word. While I haven’t worked at any other elementary schools I still feel it’s worth saying this is a terrific school.
The children are great (as all are I presume) and they come from many different cultural backgrounds. There are seven different languages spoken in my classroom, which is great for other children to learn to accept and appreciate our differences.
The staff at JB are a great crop. The teacher’s really enjoy their students and the office staff are also warm to children and parents. The principal takes the time to visit classrooms, attend parent-​teacher conferences, and even walk the playground greeting children while they play.
Of course I have to reiterate that this is the only elementary school I’ve worked at AND I could be impartial in my nostalgia for the good ‘olé days of childhood carefree — but even beyond my biases I’m quite sure JB is a safe, fun, and nurturing school.

This was Loma Vista Elementary School in 1952 when I started kindergarten. I lived down the street on Georgia Avenue and went to Loma Vista to play on the jungle jim, roller skate and meet my friends. There was a wonderful teacher who taught 5^th/​6^th grade, Mr. Cleveland. This was a great school and a great community in the 1950’s.

Recess, 4-​square, tetherball, tag, scraped knees, gold stars, field trips, art contests, school plays, spelling bees, lifetime friends and my very first crush in kindergarten, Adam. This used to be Loma Vista Elementary School when I went to school here… now its called Juana Briones. Then again, I was in elementary school a very LONG time ago so a few things were bound to change. I went back to visit recently and everything looked soooo tiny. It seemed so gigantic to me back then. The playground, the classrooms, the whole school just shrunk. I have great memories of going to school here though… well, except for that first terrifying day of kindergarten, I was scared-​silent and couldn’t speak. But I got over that by the 2^nd day… and now I can’t seem to shut up.

If I could just go back…