Gunn High School

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Henry M. Gunn High School is one of two public high schools in Palo Alto, California.

Video Gunn High School

History

Established in 1964, Gunn High School was named after Henry Martin Gunn, who served as the Palo Alto superintendent from 1950 to 1961. In 1964, the Palo Alto Unified School District announced it would name the district's third high school after him. The Class of 1966 was the first class to graduate from Gunn High School.

Gunn High School received national attention in 2009 after five of its students committed suicide over a span of nine months, mainly by walking in front of trains at a nearby crossing. Attempts have since been made to try to improve the emotional health of students attending the school. As of 2015, cluster suicide has remained a problem in the district's high schools.

Maps Gunn High School

Academics

Gunn offers 22 Advanced Placement (AP) classes and 8 Honors classes that count for the weighted Grade Point Average (GPA). In May 2010, 657 students took 1820 AP tests. 93% scored 3 or higher and 54% scored a grade of 5. Gunn no longer ranks students, but ranking was previously recorded by decile.

PLTW

Gunn is also host to Project Lead the Way (PLTW), an organization that promotes science, technology, engineering, and math. Courses from this program include Digital Electronics and Introduction to Engineering Design, as well as Principles of Engineering. However, in the 2012-2013 school year, only Introduction to Engineering Design will be offered. Digital Electronics was cancelled due to low enrollment and Principles of Engineering was cancelled due to funding issues.

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Statistics

Demographics

2015-2016

1,939 students: 1,006 Male (51.9%), 933 Female (48.1%)

Standardized testing

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Student groups

Gunn offers over 90 student clubs, teams, and organizations that focus on art, community action, culture, environment, politics, music, dance, journalism, and more.

Theatre

Gunn students stage three major productions every year (Fall, Spring and One Acts) and occasional staged readings.

Music

The music program consists of several music groups including a Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, Orchestra, Concert Band, Concert Choir, and Chamber Singers.

Cheerleading

The Gunn Cheer Team consists of a Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Competition team.

Robotics team

The Gunn Robotics Team (GRT), established in 1997, competes at the FIRST Robotics Competition. It is also the only FIRST Robotics team to have won the national animation award more than once, winning in 1997, 2006, and 2012. They also won best models worldwide in their 2010 animation. In 2012 The Robotics Team won the National FRC Championship Excellence in Design Award (3D Animation) sponsored by Autodesk. GRT is the only team that has won a total of three Animation awards in the history of FIRST.

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Notable alumni

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References