Gunn High School is an exceptional public school. Along with our fantastic teachers and staff, a major reason behind the high caliber of a Gunn High School education is the funding that we, the parents, provide to both the PTA and to Palo Alto Partners in Education (PiE).

Every Gunn family is asked to make two donations: one to the Gunn PTSA and one to PiE. Whether you can give the full suggested amounts or not, we encourage you to give what you can. Every child benefits and every dollar really does count!

Gunn PTSA

PTSA pays for Stuff (e.g. Programs, Materials & Events). Your donation to the Gunn PTSA helps create a robust education for all students, in an engaging and safe environment. We support programs for Parents, Teachers, and Students.

• Parent: We organize community communications, and volunteer and events coordination through our e-news Gunn Connection, PTSA website, and an online directory. We provide community forums and education through our parent networks and parent education programs. We communicate and advocate legislation to benefit our students through our local, state and national advocacy programs.
• Teacher: We provide for our teachers through our school capital grants, staff grants, and school program support with donations and volunteers. We provide funds for teacher development and materials across departments.  We organize many staff appreciation programs.
• Student: We provide event organization, volunteers and food for Back to School, Homecoming, Turkey Feast, finals snacks, dances, student scholarships, career speaker series, student clubs, student events, Grad Night and Senior Picnic and more.  We help communicate and organize volunteers for a wide range of school needs.  We also support ReCycled, a way for students who need bikes to get donated repaired bikes from teacher Karen Saxena.

How to Contribute to PTA

Suggested Contribution per Student: $300
Make Your Gunn PTSA Donation Online Here.
Or by check, payable to Gunn High School PTSA and drop it off in the main office.

Partners in Education (PiE)

Palo Alto Partners in Education (PiE) raises money from parents and the community to provide all Palo Alto Unified School District students an educational experience beyond what is possible with public funding. PiE’s volunteers, in partnership with parents, schools, and the community, ensure every student in the Palo Alto Unified School District experiences an enriched and fulfilling education. PiE provides donations which Gunn uses to hire additional staff, including instructors, aides, and counselors.

PiE dollars make up about 75% of the flexible funding that PAUSD principals can spend at each school for school-specific support and enrichment otherwise not funded by the district. PiE distributes funds on a per-pupil basis at each school.

For the 2021-22 school year, generous donations to PiE have provided Gunn with $735,138 to pay for additional staffing that impacts every student at Gunn. At Gunn specifically, your PiE donations help reduce electives class sizes by offering additional choices to help students find their passion, from engineering and music support, to biotechnology, hybrid online classes, and other exciting science and arts courses. Donations to PiE also pay for additional counselors, making counseling support more accessible to all students. And PiE pays for staffing to help improve College and Career advice, helping to staff programs that help college applications go smoothly and ensure college readiness for all students. Contributions to PiE also fund Paly and Gunn programs for incoming 9th graders, as well as outreach efforts for all.

PiE funds are used at Gunn in:

• Innovative Learning Programs: PiE gifts help fund Gunn’s innovative BEAM program, Orchestra and Broadcast Media. PiE dollars are funding Gunn’s science lab tech to ensure that all students have a great experience in lab science. By supporting these electives and programs, PiE donors help Gunn offer students many opportunities to pursue and hone their interests, and reduces the class size in all electives classes
• Supportive Guidance Staff: Donations to PiE fund Gunn’s general counseling time, CASSY counseling, the Yes! program, SELF program, and Focus on Success.
• College and Career Counseling: PiE funds double the resources available to help students with college counseling and post-graduation pathways. PiE contributions to general counseling help make counselors available to support all students’ post-high-school plans

How to Contribute to PiE

Suggested Contribution per Student: $1,200
Make Your PiE Donation Online Here
Or by check, payable to Palo Alto Partners in Education and drop it off in the main office.

Donations to PTA and PiE are 100% tax deductible and eligible for company matching gift programs. PTA California Congress of Parents Gunn High School is a 501 (C3) Corporation, Tax ID Number:94-6172239. PiE is also a 501 (C3) Corporation, Tax ID Number: 77-0186364