Cupertino High School opened on September 15, 1958, with a school population of 694 9th and 10th graders and 28 staff members, with George Fernandez as principal. Kami Tomberlain is the current principal of Cupertino High, where the student population is currently 2,284.
Campus
At its inception, Cupertino High originally contained four classroom buildings, a school office, and a cafeteria. Other buildings weren't fully complete at the time of its opening, leaving vacant lots at the back of the school as well as its sides. New construction started in 2009 to accommodate the quickly growing student population. In the same year, the school built solar panels in the front staff parking lot in an effort to go green. In 2010, most of the athletic fields were demolished one by one and new ones were built by 2013: a rubber track and artificial turfAmerican football field, as well as a baseball field and soccer/field hockey/softball field and a swimming pool. A new building containing a weight room, a team room, and a PE classroom was also created. On January 3, 2014, the renovated school building opened to the public, connected to the original gym and theatre. It is made up of new bathrooms, a library, a new computer lab, a cafeteria, including a kitchen, and a student lounge, with seating available on two floors. A new main office and the guidance and counseling offices, as well as the career center are located in the south building. Connecting the two buildings is a glass bridge, mainly the library, but also including a media lab, computer lab, conference room, and a staff counseling office. In December 2018, they opened 2 new science buildings that include new classrooms, labs and hangouts on two floors.
Academics
Cupertino High was named a California Distinguished School by the California Department of Education in the years 1990, 1994, and 2007, and in 1996, was awarded the National Blue Ribbon Award for public and private K–12 schools that are either academically superior in their states or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement. In 2007, Cupertino High School was ranked 566th in the Newsweek Best High Schools rankings. In 2013, it was ranked 336th in the U.S. NewsBest High School rankings, 62nd in California.
Achievements
Cupertino High's 2010 graduating senior class was awarded $100,000 by Dell for a SuperProm. For four years the class decided that, rather than fundraising for junior and senior prom, they would raise funds for the Nthimbiri Secondary School in Kenya, and pledged to collect $100,000, calling the project . In early 2010, the senior class came across Dell's SuperProm contest and submitted a video to possibly win the contest and also increase awareness of Kenya Dream. The seniors competed against 200+ schools across the country and won with 32,145 votes.
