Ellwood P. Cubberley High School
| Ellwood P. Cubberley High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
|
Palo Alto, California United States | |
| Coordinates | 37°25′04″N 122°06′27″W / 37.417874°N 122.107544°WCoordinates: 37°25′04″N 122°06′27″W / 37.417874°N 122.107544°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public high school |
| Opened | 1956 |
| Closed | 1979 |
| School district | Palo Alto Unified School District |
| Grades | 9–12 (1975 – 1979); 10 – 12, (1956 – 1975) |
| Athletics conference |
SPAL CIF Central Coast Section |
| Team name | Cougars |
| Newspaper | The Cubberley Catamount |
| Communities served | Palo Alto |
Ellwood P. Cubberley High School (1956–1979) known locally as "Cubberley", was one of three public high schools in Palo Alto, California. The site of the closed school is now named Cubberley Community Center and used as a community center and used for many diverse activities.
History
Opened in 1956, Cubberley High was located at 4000 Middlefield Road.[1] The high school was named after Ellwood Patterson Cubberley, the Dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Education and pioneer of educational administration.
The school was finally closed in 1979 as a reaction to declining enrollment and decreased revenues following Proposition 13.[2] The other local high schools Gunn High School and Palo Alto High School had been created on friendly land transfers from Stanford University and if educational use was to be terminated, the land would revert to the university for the value at the time of transfer. The Palo Alto Unified School District board, requiring an infusion of cash, determined Cubberley could be sold at more contemporary rates. Later it was discovered that it could only be sold to a non-profit organization. That has resulted in part of the campus being converted into the Cubberley Community Center, on an annual lease from the school district to the City of Palo Alto.[2] The larger remainder of the site has been leased since 2002 to the Foothill-De Anza College District for the Middlefield Campus of Foothill College.
The Cubberley Cougars competed in the SPAL of the CIF Central Coast Section.The school won its only CCS Championship in track and field in 1979, just days before it would close forever.[3]
Cubberley was the scene of The Third Wave (experiment) by teacher Ron Jones in 1967, which was an elaborate social experiment to better understand Fascism.[4] The experiment was later portrayed in a film and television.
A KQED (TV) special program from 1970 features a three-day teaching conference at Cubberley High School that focused on ecology and population issues.[1]
According to Palo Alto Online, current enrollment projections done by Palo Alto Unified suggest that Cubberley may need to be reopened as a fourth middle school by 2015 and ultimately be reopened as a third high school by 2021.[5]
Notable alumni
This list is in alphabetical order by last name.
Athletics
- Bill Green (Class of 1979), Olympic sprinter[6]
- Art Kuehn (Class of 1971) Football Center[7]
- Tom Melvin (Class of 1979), NFL coach[8]
- Tom Ritchey (Class of c. 1974), mountain bike pioneer and founder of Ritchey Design[9][10]
Arts and entertainment
- Donny Baldwin (Class of 1969), drummer with Elvin Bishop, Jefferson Starship, Cold Blood, Jerry Garcia Band
- Michael Finney (Class of c.1974), ABC 7/KGO television and radio consumer reporter [11][12]
- Željko Ivanek (Class of 1975), actor[13]
- Jon Jang (Class of 1972), jazz musician
- Gregg Rolie (Class of c. 1965), musician, founding member of both Santana and Journey
Authors and journalists
- James Gurney (Class of 1975), illustrator and author
- Neil Howe (Class of 1969), author
- Michio Kaku (Class of c. 1964), theoretical physicist and author
- Wendy Lesser (Class of 1969) critic, novelist, and editor
Business
- Brendan Eich (Class of 1979), creator of JavaScript, co-founder of Mozilla
Law
- Bruce Fein (Class of 1965), constitutional law attorney
Religion
- Gerrit W. Gong (Class of 1972), general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Notable faculty
- George Hurley, NFL offensive lineman, Cubberley football coach, taught wood shop, and driving
- Ron Jones, creator of The Third Wave social experiment
See also
References
- 1 2 "Teach-In at Cubberly (1970) - San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive". The San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive. San Francisco State University (SFSU), Academic Technology, DIVA. 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
- 1 2 Bowling, Matt (2007). "Archived copy "The Cubberley Closing: A Tough Call"". The Palo Alto History Project. Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
- ↑ "Bill Green was more than just a remarkable sprinter". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
- ↑ Klink, Bill (1967-04-21). "'Third Wave' presents look into Fascism". Cubberley Catamount News. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
- ↑ Kenrick, Chris (2011-08-26). "School district opens doors on new year". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
- ↑ "Bill Green was more than just a remarkable sprinter". Retrieved 2017-06-29.
- ↑ "Art Kuehn Statistics on JustSportsStats.com". Retrieved 2017-06-29.
- ↑ "Tom Melvin - The Pro Football Archives". www.profootballarchives.com. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
- ↑ http://www.ritcheylogic.com
- ↑ "How cycling pioneer Tom Ritchey got back in the saddle". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
- ↑ "Michael Finney | ABC7 KGO News Team". ABC7 San Francisco. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
- ↑ Somers, Janet (29 July 2005). "Michael Finney is rolling along, right by 'Your Side'". The Chronicle.
- ↑ "Around Town". Palo Alto Onlie. 1996. Retrieved 2017-06-29.