The Cupertino Union School District currently maintains four alternative programs. The Board of Education is committed to offering parents residing in the District a choice of schools in which to enroll their children, and to providing parents diverse educational options from which they may select a program that best meets their child’s needs. The four alternative program choices in the District are:

• Faria Elementary School – A structured teacher-directed program placing emphasis on the basics in a traditional classroom environment.
  
  
• McAuliffe School – A progressive Kindergarten - Grade 8 parent participation, experiential program based on a developmental education philosophy that emphasizes the needs of the whole child.
  
  
• Murdock-Portal Elementary School – A program in which students are grouped in open, multi-age villages with teams of teachers using a balance of basic skills and project-based strategies.
  
  
• Cupertino Language Immersion Program (CLIP) (Elementary | Middle) – A Mandarin language immersion program for Kindergarten through Grade 8 students. The program provides core curriculum in English and Mandarin.