Gunn High School

Henry M. Gunn High School is Palo Alto's south side public high school. It sits on Arastradero Road where the city's flat grid starts to rise toward the foothills, a short ride from Barron Park and Stanford Research Park. It opened in 1964, which makes it far younger than Palo Alto High School, but it has grown into one of the two anchors of the district.

This page covers Gunn's history, its campus and the programs listed on the school's own site. As on the rest of this site, we do not rank schools. For official performance data, use the state's California School Dashboard.

History

A third high school for a growing district

Palo Alto's school enrollment climbed fast after World War II. By the early 1960s the district needed a third high school to join Paly and Cubberley High, which had opened in 1956. Wikipedia's account, drawn largely from Palo Alto Times reporting, says the district bought the land from Stanford in 1963 for $358,641, on the condition that it could not be sold to anyone else.

Opening in 1964

Gunn opened in August 1964 with about 600 students: 300 sophomores and 300 juniors. They came from Paly, Cubberley and Terman Junior High, the predecessor of today's Fletcher Middle School. The first football game, against Cubberley, came in 1965. The first senior class graduated in 1966.

In January 1965 the school's auditorium was named for Karl Spangenberg, a recently deceased school district trustee. Wikipedia gives it 974 seats. Cubberley High closed in 1979, leaving Paly and Gunn as the city's two comprehensive high schools. The Cubberley campus is now a city community center.

Who Henry Gunn was

Henry Martin Gunn was superintendent of the Palo Alto schools from 1950 to 1961. Wikipedia credits him with guiding the district through its fastest growth, from about 5,500 to 14,000 students, with many new schools added. He also called the July 1956 meeting that led to the founding of Foothill College in 1957. The district announced in 1964 that its new high school would carry his name.

The campus

The address is 780 Arastradero Road, between El Camino Real and the foothills. Ellen Fletcher Middle School is just down the road at 655 Arastradero. The surroundings are a big part of the school's feel.

• Barron Park. The neighborhood is right next door. Barron Creek passes under the Gunn playing fields. Our Barron Park guide covers the area.
• Bol Park path. The Bol Park bike path runs from Hanover Street near Stanford Research Park down to Miranda Avenue and Arastradero Road by the school. Weekday afternoons bring a steady stream of students riding home.
• Open space. Continue west on Arastradero past Interstate 280 and you reach the Pearson-Arastradero Preserve.
• Research park. Stanford Research Park lies just to the north.

The Spangenberg auditorium, usually called Spangenberg Theatre, hosts school performances and community events.

Programs

Gunn's programs page highlights four school-wide efforts:

1. Challenge Success: a group of teachers and students that works on ways to build a more balanced life, less centered on grades and test scores.
2. English Language Learners: individual and group instruction for students still learning English, plus English learner social studies courses that the school says count toward University of California admission requirements.
3. Focus on Success: a study skills class covering time management, organization, test-taking and goal setting, with homework support.
4. SELF (Social and Emotional Literacy and Functionality): ninth graders meet in small cohorts with teacher mentors during a wellness period on Thursdays.

Academics

Gunn offers a full range of Advanced Placement and honors courses. Wikipedia describes three levels in many subjects. It has also described a dual enrollment pathway with Foothill College in multivariable calculus and linear algebra for students who finish AP Calculus early, but Gunn's 2026 to 2027 catalog lists no math dual enrollment courses. Wikipedia also notes engineering classes through Project Lead the Way. Our high school course options guide covers what the current catalogs list. Check the catalog on the school's site before planning a schedule, since offerings change.

Clubs and publications

The student newspaper is The Oracle. The Gunn Robotics Team competes in the FIRST Robotics Competition and Wikipedia records several national design awards. The math club is one of the larger clubs on campus and fields teams at regional and national competitions.

Student wellness

Student well-being has been a major focus at Gunn and across the district for more than 15 years. The SELF program and Challenge Success group are part of that work. The school's site has a wellness section with information on counseling and support. If you or a student you know needs help right away, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Athletics

Gunn's teams are the Titans. The athletics department posts schedules, physicals information and league awards at gunnathletics.com. Gunn plays in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League in most sports. Football is the exception: since 2022 it has played in a combined league of SCVAL and Peninsula Athletic League schools. Our school sports guide has the details. For 2026 the athletics site listed the boys golf team as league champions. Winter sports practices begin in early November. Games against Paly draw the biggest crowds of the year.

Who attends

Gunn serves grades 9 to 12. The California Department of Education counted 1,606 students in the 2025 to 2026 school year. PAUSD says Fletcher Middle School "naturally feeds into" Gunn. Wikipedia lists Greene, JLS and Fletcher as feeder schools, which means parts of the Greene and JLS areas also go to Gunn. Our middle schools guide explains the pattern and how to check an address.

Gunn and Paly students can also apply to Palo Alto Middle College, the district program at Foothill College that combines high school with college classes. New families register through the district office. See our enrollment guide.

Getting there

PAUSD does not run school buses for the general student population, so Gunn students arrive on foot, by bike, by car or by public transit. Bikes are the default for many. From the north, the Bol Park path and the residential streets of Barron Park keep riders off El Camino Real for most of the trip. From Midtown and the southeast, riders use the city's bike boulevards and the crossings at El Camino and Arastradero. The city's Safe Routes to School program publishes suggested routes for each campus.

Drivers should expect a line of cars at drop-off and pickup. Arastradero Road has bike lanes and heavy student traffic, so the safest plan for a quick drop-off is to choose a side street and let students walk the last block. Visitors attending an evening performance or game should check the event listing for parking instructions, since campus lots fill quickly on big nights.

For a trip to campus from outside Palo Alto, El Camino Real and Foothill Expressway are the main approaches. Interstate 280 is a few minutes west via Page Mill Road or Arastradero.

Frequently asked questions