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Parents seek answers after freshmen denied access to Mountain House High engineering pathway
Summary
A parent told the board that no freshmen were placed into the high school's engineering pathway this year, called for transparency about capacity planning and accountability for whether the decision was made at the site or district level; superintendent asked staff to follow up.
Pritam Deshpande told the board his son and all freshmen who chose the engineering pathway did not receive placement in the program, and he urged the district to explain whether this was a one‑year issue or a systemic change.
"None of them who opted for engineering pathway, who dreamed of being becoming an engineer and wanted to start off fresh with the right learning, they lost that opportunity," Deshpande said. He asked for three items: full transparency about why freshmen were not admitted into the pathway, clarity about who is accountable for capacity planning (site or board), and a plan to fix the issue so future cohorts are not denied the pathway.
Chair said staff would follow up because the public comment item was not agendized; Superintendent Dr. Nicholas agreed to have a staff member work with the parent. The board did not vote or adopt any policy at the meeting.
Next steps: staff to contact the parent and report back with details on enrollment capacity, counseling placement practices and whether this represents a procedural change affecting freshmen access to the engineering pathway.
