Ellwood P. Cubberley High School

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.

Ellwood P. Cubberley High School
Location
Palo Alto, California

United States
Coordinates37.417874°N 122.107544°W / 37.417874; -122.107544
Information
TypePublic high school
Opened1956
Closed1979
School districtPalo Alto Unified School District
Grades9–12 (1975 – 1979); 10 – 12, (1956 – 1975)
Athletics conferenceSPAL
CIF Central Coast Section
Team nameCougars
NewspaperThe Cubberley Catamount
Communities servedPalo Alto

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 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]

Numerous societal tensions played out at Cubberley from 1967 to 1969 that were the subject of Sylvia Berry Williams' 1970 book Hassling, which gave the school national attention.[5][6][7]

For many years the use of the Cubberley location has been subject to local community debate.[8] According to local news in 2011, enrollment projections done by Palo Alto Unified School District suggested Cubberley may need to be reopened as a fourth middle school by 2015 and ultimately be reopened as a third high school by 2021.[9] However these plans were delayed by the city, and the city and the school district have been in discussions.[8]

Notable alumni

This is listed in order by occupation, and listed in alphabetical order by last name.

Athletics

Arts and entertainment

Authors and journalists

Business

Law
  • Bruce Fein (class of 1965), constitutional law attorney.

Religion

Science
  • Michio Kaku (class of 1964) Theoretical physicist, futurist, science speaker/presenter.

Notable faculty
  • George Hurley, NFL offensive lineman, Cubberley football coach, taught wood shop, and driving.
  • Ron Jones, author and creator of The Third Wave social experiment.

See also

References
  1. "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.
  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.
  3. "Bill Green was more than just a remarkable sprinter". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  4. Klink, Bill (1967-04-21). "'Third Wave' presents look into Fascism". Cubberley Catamount News. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  5. "HASSLING: Two Years in a Suburban High School". Kirkus Reviews. November 19, 1970. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  6. Frzedenberg, Edgar Z. (1971-04-11). "How to Survive in Your Native Land". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  7. Kenrick, Chris. "Cubberley High, 30 years later". www.paloaltoonline.com. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  8. Sheyner, Gennady. "New Cubberley plan sets stage for tense debate". www.paloaltoonline.com. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  9. Kenrick, Chris (2011-08-26). "School district opens doors on new year". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  10. "Bill Green was more than just a remarkable sprinter". Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  11. "Art Kuehn Statistics on JustSportsStats.com". Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  12. "Tom Melvin - The Pro Football Archives". www.profootballarchives.com. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  13. "Home". ritcheylogic.com.
  14. "How cycling pioneer Tom Ritchey got back in the saddle". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  15. "Michael Finney | ABC7 KGO News Team". ABC7 San Francisco. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  16. Somers, Janet (29 July 2005). "Michael Finney is rolling along, right by 'Your Side'". The Chronicle.
  17. "Around Town". Palo Alto Onlie. 1996. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
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