San Carlos and Sequoia High School — So far, so good…

September 16, 2008

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If you have read previous articles on this blog, you know that the majority of San Carlos is becoming increasingly “joined at the hip” with Sequoia High School.  With the exception of a few certain extenuating circumstances, Carlmont High School is no longer an option for many residents of San Carlos.  After years of rapid enrollment increases,  that school is now bursting at the seams and is not accepting additional inter-district transfers.  And since most of San Carlos falls into the Sequoia High School boundary, it was only a matter of time before the two groups were going to converge.   Here are the additional posts on this subject:




The fact that San Carlos residents are sending their kids to Sequoia is not news.  There have always been San Carlos families at this high school — but this year's freshman class will likely represent the largest influx of San Carlos students in recent memory.  And this trend is likely to continue for years to come as Carlmont copes with its enrollment challenges.

So now that Sequoia has been back in session for a few weeks, the question I keep getting asked is…How is it going so far?  Well, based upon enthusiastic feedback from my own freshman student, as well as conversations I've had with other parents who are new to Sequoia, things seem to be going VERY well.  The recurring comments I hear are that the faculty is smart and energetic, the curriculum is spot on to prepare the kids for college, and the kids feel very safe at this campus.  Principal Morgan Marchbanks has really turned things around at this school.

But nobody cares about my opinion 😉 …  What do YOU think of Sequoia?   Do you have a student at Sequoia, especially a new freshman?  If so, we'd love to hear your opinion on how things are going so far…either positive OR negative.   Simply click the comment link below and make your thoughts known…

(A quick note on comments: you're NOT required to enter your email address, and you can use any username you wish — your opinion is far more important than your identity!)

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7 Comments

  1. 21stcenturymom on September 16, 2008 at 10:22 pm

    We like Sequoia too and I feel lucky we started high school at a time San Carlans we being “forced” to consider Sequoia. It’s great to have so many San Carlos families attending. We withdrew our request for a transfer to Carlmont once we visited SHS. My daughter preferred it and I think it offers her a realistic worldview, as well as a first-rate education. One thing we’ve learned is that Spanish is the native language of many Bay Area residents! That’s a good thing for my children to realize because being bilingual is a real advantage in the 21st century and I hope this will give them more incentive to master their Spanish.



  2. FBwalkies on September 16, 2008 at 11:52 pm

    I’m also a parent of a freshman at Sequoia, and concur that Sequoia is the best kept secret on the Peninsula, and not just for the IB students. I have a student that is taking both regular and advanced classes and is thrilled with the teachers in each class. The students feel safe, respected, and valued, and are receiving an excellent education both in and out of the classroom.



  3. FHG on September 17, 2008 at 10:37 pm

    I too am a parent of a freshman daughter at Sequoia High School this year. Not having grown up in this area, I often hear people speak about the old San Carlos High School and how terrible it is that the school was torn down. Until recently, I felt much the same way. However, in my recent coversations with my daughter, we have both shared that it has been actually a great experience to step out of our immediate community and become involved in another community with a diverse socio-economic culture and of course fresh faces and new friendships to be formed. We also value that there is a great San Carlos community attending Sequoia this year that has been extremely supportive and positive. My daughter feels safe at Sequoia and has said the students have been friendly and the teachers are very enthusiastic and helpful. She is excited about going to class! Who could ask for more from a teenager? There may be some bumps in the road ahead, but for now we couldn’t be happier.



  4. anothermammaforobama on September 18, 2008 at 1:15 am

    Chiming in with another pro-Sequoia comment. As someone who didn’t have an opinion about Sequoia one way or the other prior to last year, I can honestly say that all of the interactions that we had with the administration during the various open houses and information sessions last fall made us very quickly form a positive opinion about the school and the programs it offered. We also visited a couple of private schools, and my daughter shadowed at both Carlmont and Sequoia and her experience was far more positive at Sequoia. She has since heard from some of her friends that are attending Carlmont and they are still feeling very overwhelmed, while my daughter felt comfortable right away. I like that the teachers at Sequoia teach across a broad spectrum of students, and are not “tracked” into teaching only honors courses, and they all seem quite enthusiastic. The culture of respect that Sequoia works hard to instill there is another positive aspect of the school.

    On one hand, I want to spread the word in the community about Sequoia, but on the other hand like the fact that many of the classes are still small by public school standards and would hate to see it become “institutionalized” in the way I sense Carlmont has become. That said, we give Sequoia a big “thumbs up!” and encourage all SC residents (even those in the Carlmont district area) to give Sequoia a close look.



  5. schoollife on January 7, 2009 at 11:37 am

    Thanks for sharing the valuable information.



  6. John on May 22, 2009 at 12:43 am

    My 8th grade student shadowed at both Carlmont and Sequoia this year. Perhaps this is anecdotal, but my child reported that the classes at Sequoia were reviewing lessons already covered in 7th grade, and that the Carlmont classes were covering new ground and seemed to be much more advanced than Sequoia. This was in all of the classes. Reports that Sequoia is “turning around” and now doing better are not much comfort.



  7. Al on November 30, 2018 at 5:36 am

    For anybody who is looking for the info on Sequoia High School, here is my 2018 update. The 8th grader in my family came away with the same impression as reflected in John’s comment circa 2009: easy classes with repetitive curriculum (senior year, IB course), extreme segregation among students, barely any students graduate with IB diploma due to extensive community service hours/breath of preparation/cost of the exams.



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