Carlmont High School
| Carlmont High School | |
|---|---|
 Entrance sign to the high school | |
| Location | |
1400 Alameda De Las Pulgas , California 94002 United States | |
| Coordinates | 37°30′23″N 122°17′24″W / 37.5063°N 122.2901°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public high school |
| Established | 1952 |
| School district | Sequoia Union High |
| NCES District ID | 0636390[1] |
| NCES School ID | 063639006194[1] |
| Principal | Gay Buckland-Murray[2] |
| Teaching staff | 114.48 (on an FTE basis)[1] |
| Grades | 9–12[1] |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Enrollment | 2,360 (2023–2024)[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 20.46[1] |
| Campus size | 42 acres (17 ha)[3] |
| Campus type | Suburban |
| Colors | Blue and Grey |
| Mascot | Monty |
| Accreditation | Western Association of Schools and Colleges[3] |
| Publication | Scot Scoop[4] |
| Newspaper | The Highlander[4] |
| Yearbook | Vistas |
| Website | www |
Carlmont High School is a public high school in Belmont, California, United States serving grades 9–12 as part of the Sequoia Union High School District. Carlmont is a California Distinguished School.
Carlmont was founded in 1952 as "a school within a school" at Sequoia High School, with four hundred fifty freshman and sophomore students.
Name
Its name derives from the campus straddling the two adjacent cities of San Carlos and Belmont (thus the portmanteau of San Carlos + Belmont). Because this hilly area is referred to as "the highlands", the school team was named "The Scots", and the mascot is a kilted Scottish highland warrior, named Carl Monty. The Carlmont campus was built on 42 acres (17 ha)[3] at a cost of about $2.5 million. Carlmont students come from Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City, Redwood Shores, and East Palo Alto.[3]
Dangerous Minds
The novel My Posse Don't Do Homework by LouAnne Johnson and subsequent movie adaptation Dangerous Minds (1995) were based upon her experience as a teacher at Carlmont in the 1990s.[5] In the film, the school was named Parkmont. Most of her students were African-Americans and Hispanics bused in to Carlmont from East Palo Alto, a town at the opposite end of the school district from Carlmont.
With the closure of Ravenswood High School in East Palo Alto in the late 1970s, instead of the school district complying with the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and Mendez v. Westminster (1947), 2 US Supreme Court rulings that a student is legally required to attend the closest school to their home, the predominantly African-American, Hispanic and Pacific Islander students were forced by the District to be bused to other high schools in the Sequoia High School District, including Carlmont, which had a predominantly white population at the time.
Controversies
In May 2020, a Change.org petition was started by Carlmont student Dylan Wain, which claimed Vice Principal Jennifer Cho had been involved in inappropriate relationships with male students at the school for the past decade, and demanded action be taken.[6] As a result of the petition an investigation started, and Cho was relieved from the school later that month and reassigned to work at the Sequoia Union High School District office, where she was soon placed on administrative leave pending the investigation's outcome.[6] After the petition reached 5,400 signatures, the school district met on the matter, and officially recommended on September 2, 2020, Cho be fired.[6] Later in September, district superintendent Mary Streshly stepped down from her position, with improper handling of this case cited as one of the main reasons for this decision in a vote of no confidence against her.[7]
Transportation
Carlmont can be accessed by walking, driving, and Samtrans bus routes 60, 61, 62, 260, and 295. There are also bicycle lanes next to Carlmont.
Demographics
- 2,360 students: 1,191 Male (50%), 1,169 Female (50%)[1]
| White | Asian | Hispanic | Two or More Races | Black | American Indian / Alaska Native | Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,022 | 784 | 366 | 129 | 33 | 15 | 11 |
| 43.3% | 33.2% | 15.6% | 5.5% | 1.4% | 0.6% | 0.5% |
As of the 2023-2024 school year, 208 (8.8%) of students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, although as of the 2025-2026 school year all students regardless of economic qualification are eligible for two free meals daily through the school's distribution.
See also
- San Mateo County high schools
- Tierra Linda Middle School (located across the street from Carlmont High)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Carlmont High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ "About CHS: Administration". carlmonths.org. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Carlmont High School" (PDF). carlmonths.org. 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
- ^ a b Newspaper section
- ^ Guthmann, Edward (August 11, 1995). "Teacher Role Hokey, But It Works for Pfeiffer". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 7, 2008.
- ^ a b c Toledo, Aldo (September 3, 2020). "Carlmont vice principal investigated for inappropriate conduct with male students". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on September 3, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
- ^ Toldeo, Aldo (September 23, 2020). "Sequoia Union superintendent resigns under cloud of controversy". The Mercury News. Belmont, California. Archived from the original on July 17, 2025. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
External links
