Sequoia High School

Sequoia High School sits at 1201 Brewster Avenue in downtown Redwood City, a short walk from the Caltrain station and about 5 miles from downtown Palo Alto in a straight line. It is the oldest high school in San Mateo County and part of the Sequoia Union High School District (SUHSD), which takes its name from the school. Its story is tied to Stanford from the start.

Palo Alto addresses are served by Paly and Gunn, so Sequoia is not a local option by address. Families moving to Redwood City and anyone curious about the Peninsula's oldest public high school will find the facts here: history, programs, the 2027 to 2028 enrollment calendar and state data. We do not repeat commercial rankings.

A high school for Stanford's neighbors

Sequoia's own campus history page tells the founding story. After Stanford opened in 1891, Peninsula families wanted their children to have a fair chance at getting in. On August 24, 1895, 21 citizens elected by seven elementary school districts met at the San Mateo County courthouse and organized the Sequoia Union High School, following the advice of Stanford president David Starr Jordan. Classes began on September 16, 1895 with 53 students, upstairs in the old Central School building. That site on Broadway is now the Fox Theatre.

Because it was the only high school between San Francisco and Santa Clara, the school charged a $5 tuition fee to students from outside the district. The comparison with Palo Alto is close: Paly's own roots also go back to 1894 to 1898, in the same years Stanford was drawing families to the area.

The Brewster Avenue campus

The present campus stands on land with a layered past. The school says it was part of a Mexican land grant, then a horse ranch, then the estate of cement magnate William Dingee, whose mansion was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. Architect Albert Pissis and his wife Georgia later offered the property to the city. Voters then passed a bond to buy it. Wikipedia says the Spanish Colonial Revival buildings by Coffey and Werner opened in 1924.

The 35-acre campus was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 7, 1995. Its landmarks include a bell tower named for A.C. Argo, who was principal from 1921 to 1948. There is also a Japanese Tea Garden with two metal dog statues whose origin the school itself calls uncertain. By tradition, students do not step on the school seal near the main entrance. The school colors, purple and white, date from 1925.

The school today

Sequoia serves grades 9 to 12. The California Department of Education counted 1,839 students on Census Day in 2025 to 2026. The principal named on the school's administration page in November 2026 is Sean Priest, who joined Sequoia in 2011 and served as both an administrative and instructional vice principal before becoming principal. Wikipedia lists his tenure as principal from 2014.

Wikipedia lists the main feeder middle schools as Clifford School, Kennedy Middle School, McKinley Institute of Technology and North Star Academy in Redwood City and Central Middle School in San Carlos.

Ravens, formerly Cherokees

In 1925 the school chose the Cherokees as its team name, in honor of Sequoyah, who created the written Cherokee language. Wikipedia says the school moved away from the name in 2001 after presentations from students, teachers and alumni. The teams are now the Ravens and the student newspaper is The Raven Report. The traditional rival is Woodside High.

Programs

International Baccalaureate

Sequoia is one of the few public schools in the Bay Area that offers the IB Diploma Programme, Wikipedia notes. The school's homepage lists an 86 percent IB diploma award rate and a 58.9 percent UC and CSU A to G completion rate, without naming the year for either figure. IB courses appear across departments, including IB English for juniors and seniors.

Academies and other programs

• Health Career Academy: a small learning community with academy sections of biology, chemistry, human biology and English.
• Digital Arts Academy: a second academy listed on the school's site.
• AVID: the college readiness program for students who will often be the first in their families to attend college.
• HOSA and Teen CERT: health science and emergency preparedness activities listed on the school's homepage.

In 2012 the U.S. Secretary of Education started a back-to-school tour at Sequoia, Wikipedia records, praising its Title I Academic Achievement award.

Attendance and enrollment for 2027 to 2028

SUHSD assigns a home school by address. Its School Site Locator, linked from the district's open enrollment page, gives the answer for any address. The yearly cycle for incoming ninth graders:

One exception favors Sequoia. Students in the North Fair Oaks neighborhood known as "The Avenues," bounded by Middlefield Road, Edison Way and Eighth Avenue, are inside the Menlo-Atherton attendance area but may request Sequoia through a boundary exception. Approved transfers are final and families arrange their own transportation. Sequoia's site has a page for eighth grade shadowing and open enrollment, plus campus tour sign-ups for new families.

How it compares: state data

Enrollment and student groups are from the California Department of Education Census Day count for 2025 to 2026. Test figures are the share of 11th graders who met or exceeded the standard on the CAASPP Smarter Balanced tests in spring 2025.

In the same count, about 61 percent of Sequoia's students were Hispanic or Latino and 27 percent white. About 15 percent have disabilities. Nearly half are socioeconomically disadvantaged, the highest share of the four comprehensive schools in the district. Those differences shape the test columns, so read them as context. The California School Dashboard has graduation and college readiness indicators.

Getting there from Palo Alto

Sequoia is the easiest of these schools to reach without a car. Take Caltrain from Palo Alto to Redwood City station, about 6 minutes on a typical weekday train and a two-zone fare. The campus is roughly a quarter mile from the station. By car, take El Camino Real or Highway 101 north into Redwood City. Parking near campus is tight during school hours and big games, so the train is often the better choice for evening events. Our downtown Redwood City guide covers food and parking nearby.

Frequently asked questions