Gunn High School

Gunn High School is one of two public high schools in Palo Alto, California. The school is named after Henry M. Gunn (1898-1988), who served as the Palo Alto superintendent from 1950-1961. During his tenure he saw the Palo Alto Unified School District expand from 5,500 students to 14,000. He also oversaw the expansion of 17 new schools, and is credited with the establishment of De Anza College and Silent Foothill College, two local community colleges. In 1964, the Palo Alto Unified School District announced it would name its third high school after him. The first graduating class was the Class of 1966. The school is also home to the Spangenberg Theatre.

The mascot of the school is Timmy the Titan. The student newspaper is Oracle, part of the High School National Ad Network.

Freshmen are tricked into believing that there is a pool on top of Spangenberg Theatre.

Academic reputation

Gunn High School is well known for achieving outstanding academic results. It is listed as the 7th best public school in California based on the Academic Performance Index (API), and among the best public high schools (13th in 1998 and 50th in 2002 Newsweek's rankings. Newsweek rated Gunn 70th out of the one hundred best high schools in the United States in 2005. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7723397/site/newsweek/" target="_blank" >^*

Enrollment is currently in the 1700-1800 student range.

The average SAT score for Gunn hovers around 1320-1400, on the "old" 1600 scale.

Education in mathematics and computer science is particularly strong. In 2004, 5 students qualified for the USAMO out of around 250 nationally, and during the 2004-2005 school year 5 out of the approximately 35 American students in the Gold Division of the USACO were from Gunn.

Campus Traditions

Senior Pranks

In 1988 some students hijacked the school's public address system and for a period of a few hours broadcast various humorous recordings and rock music. School administrators were initially unable to turn off the recordings and many classes were disrupted. Many teachers just took their students outside and had their students do independent study on the grass. The prank was picked up by local news and became a minor news item.

Issues

With one vehicle entrance to the main parking lot and drop off areas, Gunn has always had a traffic problem. To curb traffic, the administration raised student parking permit costs to $150 for single drivers and $100 for carpools. The price hike has encouraged some students to pursue alternative modes of transportation. The revenue subsidizes student bus passes.

In 2005, Gunn's award-winning Gunn Robotics Team withdrew from regional competitions due to internal problems. Two students filed restraining orders against two other students during the six-week build period; as a result, the program was shut down. The 05-06 GRT team was reformed and is again active in FIRST Robotics competions.

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of Gunn High School include:

Zoe Lofgren, Class of 1966 - Elected 5 times to the United States House of Representatives.
Stanley Jordan, Class of 1977 - Jazz guitarist
Stephan Jenkins, Class of 1983 - Lead singer of Third Eye Blind.
Rick Porras, Class of 1984 - Co-Producer on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
Shemar Moore, Class of 1988 - Actor, formerly of the NBC soap opera The Young and the Restless
Brian Martin, Class of 1992- 2-time Olympic medalist in doubles luge (1998- bronze, 2002- silver)
Jessica Yu - Director of Oscar-winning short documentary Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien ^*
Jonathan Richard Cannon, Major League Baseball Player.

Trivia

The host of Stanford Chinese School, the only major chinese school in the area
Hosts many talent shows and stage performances from nearby schools in Palo Alto, Mt. View, and Los Altos.

External links

High schools in California | Palo Alto Unified School District