Carlmont High School is a public high school in Belmont,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
California Distinguished School
California Distinguished School is an award given by the California State Board of Education to public schools within the state that best represent exemplary and quality educational programs. Approximately 5-10% of California schools are awarded t ...
.
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
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words at a cost of about $2.5 million. Carlmont students come from Belmont, San Carlos,
Redwood City
Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a po ...
East Palo Alto
East Palo Alto (abbreviated E.P.A.) is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of East Palo Alto was 30,034. It is situated on the San Francisco Peninsula, roughly halfway between the cities of ...
.
''Dangerous Minds''
The novel '' My Posse Don't Do Homework'' by LouAnne Johnson and subsequent movie adaptation '' Dangerous Minds'' were based upon her experience as a teacher at Carlmont in the 1990s. 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 ''Mendez, ''et al'' v. Westminister icSchool District of Orange County, et al'', 64 F.Supp. 544 (S.D. Cal. 1946), ''aff'd'', 161 F.2d 774 (9th Cir. 1947) (en banc), was a 1947 federal court case that challenged Mexican remedial schools in four dist ...
(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 Caucasian population at the time.
Staff conduct investigation
In 2018, the Sequoia Union High School District discussed in a closed meeting the possibility of firing former Vice Principal Jennifer Cho of Carlmont High School for inappropriate relationships with male students. The investigation of Cho's actions emerged from a Change.org petition launched by a former student, which had gained large traction among students and families of Carlmont High School. During the investigation, Cho was placed on administrative leave. In late May, Cho was removed from her position as Vice Principal of Carlmont High School and relocated elsewhere in the district.
This incident followed Cho's previous investigation in 2017, when a former Carlmont coach reported her to the district and Child protective services after overhearing student athletes talking about inappropriate interactions with Cho in the locker room.
Transportation
Carlmont can be accessed by driving and
Samtrans
SamTrans (stylized as samTrans; officially the San Mateo County Transit District) is a public transport agency in and around San Mateo, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It provides bus service throughout San Mateo County and into porti ...
routes 60, 61, 260, and 295.
Demographics (2020–2021 school year)
* 2,309 students: 1,137 Male (49.2%), 1,172 Female (50.8%)
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 ser ...
Forbes 30 Under 30
''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 is a set of lists of people under 30 years old issued annually by '' Forbes'' magazine and some of its regional editions. The American lists recognize 600 business and industry figures, with 30 selected in twenty industries ...
defensive tackle
A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...
former
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
(NFL)
defensive line
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...
man.
*
Dana Carvey
Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, impressionist, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his seven seasons as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1986 to 1993, which earned him fiv ...
, actor and comedian.
*
Tiffany Lam
Tiffany Lam or Tiffany Lam Man Lei (, born 25 October 1980) is a former beauty queen from San Francisco. She held the title of Miss Hong Kong 2002 and Miss Chinese International 2003 runner up.
Early life
Lam was born in Hong Kong in 1980. Durin ...
, Class of 1999, former
Miss Hong Kong
The Miss Hong Kong Pageant (), or Miss HK () for short, is an annual beauty pageant organised by local Hong Kong television station, TVB. The pageant was established in 1946, and acquired by TVB in 1973.
The current Miss Hong Kong is Denice La ...
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
'' Playmate of the Month for February 2008.
* David Nelson, musician
*
Bill Ring
William Thomas Ring (born December 13, 1956) is a former NFL running back who played six seasons in the National Football League from (1981 NFL season, 1981–1986 NFL season, 1986). He was a reserve and special teams player for the San Francisco ...
, Class of 1975, played for the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...
in the early 1980s.
* Devin Wyman, NFL Linebacker for the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
.
*
Dana Leong
Dana Leong is a 2011 Grammy Award Winning multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, US Ambassador of Music, adventurer, philanthropist & entrepreneur from the San Francisco Bay Area, who is known for mixing elements of traditional instruments s ...
, 2011 Grammy Award Winning multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer
Tierra Linda Middle School Tierra Linda Middle School is a middle school in San Carlos, California, United States, founded in 1953. It is one of two middle schools within the San Carlos Elementary School District, and since 2018, has served students in grades 6–8. Due to ...