Changing Technology: From Switchboards to School Loop

WHEN CUPERTINO HIGH SCHOOL opened in 1958, its technology was pretty limited, at least by modern standards. Movies came on reels and had to be carefully fed into the movie projector—a job assigned often to the most capable student. The school’s link to the outside world operated from a phone switchboard and within a few years more, the campus was wired for closed-circuit television.  In 1964, the San Francisco Chronicle proclaimed that CHS was the first school west of the Mississippi River to use videotape for instructional purposes. CHS was at the cutting edge of technology!

Closed-circuit TV with instructional video was meant to revolutionize the school’s curriculum and the way students learned. The plan called for CHS’s outstanding teachers to videotape their “best lessons” that could then be shown over and over to future students. As students watched the videos, the teacher would then be free to move around the room and provide more direct assistance to students.  The first live use of CC-TV was a frog dissection by science teacher Dick Schoenert.  Teachers began to express their concerns that perhaps they wouldn’t be needed if the school had their “taped lessons” to remember them by.  But the medium offered students a perfect opportunity like the Class of ‘66s Randy Horner to share his experiences travelling abroad as his Spanish teacher Delia Ybarra moderated the discussion.  

Ybarra and Horner in studio

The TV also connected CHS to the outside world. President John Kennedy’s assassination and its immediate aftermath was available to staff and students. Did they realize then, that a whole new world was emerging from those television screens?  Unbelievably, the events of 9/11 were followed more by radio than TV as the school’s closed-circuit television system had yet to be restored.

CHS would elect their representatives through a process in which student homerooms could monitor the “ASB Convention” from what was then called the auditorium (it’s now the Robert L. Gomez Center for the Performing Arts). It was fun for students but a lot of work for teachers and administrators.  

Bill Boggie is remembered for not only the Life Magazine covers that lined the inside of his classroom (and the numbered quiz to go with it), but also for his command of the slide projector. With several trays at his disposal, his favorite was always the school history one. Powerpoint supplanted slide shows by the early 2000’s with many teachers posting them online.

The school’s first computer lab, introduced in 1984, was stocked with Apple IIe’s from the company the school shared a city with. Floppy disks and green text dominated the room until the unveiling of the MacIntosh in 1984. The school’s newspaper, the Prospector, was converted to desktop publishing in 1987 with new advisor Alyce McNerney (later Stanwood). Where once students would type their articles and then paste them down, Aldus PageMaker (later Adobe InDesign) would produce the student’s voice. CHS would rise to the top of the  high school journalistic world within five years earning top honors in 1993. 

Teachers in the early 1990’s shared a computer in the staff lounge or department office. Attendance was still done on Scantron bubble sheets and collected daily by office aides from clips conveniently mounted on the door or inside wall. In 2002, the school went online to take attendance. Grades that were once written by hand were now kept in Excel or other gradebook software. 

Principal Barbara Nunes, a one-time business teacher at CHS, led the effort to bring CHS up to speed. This increased desire and necessity to add technology to the classroom came at quite a cost at a time when the school budgets were feeling the strain of the late 1980s-early 90s recession.  But within 10 years of taking the helm, Nunes put a computer in the hands of every teacher at CHS, with training behind it. With a mass exodus to retirement at the turn of the century, the new generation of teachers was better prepared to utilize the technology of the changing world.

Nunes

In 1995, NASA sponsored the school district’s first web server that allowed teachers to use email and search the early web. Voicemail, which had served the school for a while, was largely replaced by email and the teachers’ mailboxes didn’t fill as fast. What if George Fernandez had email? What would his legendary memos have looked like in email form?

Perhaps the most significant piece of technological advancement came in the form of School Loop which was introduced in 2004. A website designed by a former teacher, School Loop puts it all together—calendars, communication, and grade books (and eventually attendance).  For years some teachers toiled to create their own websites, but School Loop made that process easier and much more integrated into the whole school.  School Loop has transformed transparency for parents giving them access to the assignments and a real-time report for grades.  Gone were the day of waiting for progress reports to see grades.  School Loop in combination with the presence of the Internet, to some extent, extended the working hours of teachers. It is not uncommon for parents and students to reach out to teachers with desperate evening emails. Where once communication stopped at the final bell, now there is no limit. 

Today, student course selection is completed online. While this can be precarious for the Guidance staff, it clearly demonstrates the role of technology at CHS. Math teacher Byron Hansen related the past practice of punch cards being used to help schedule students. He noted that if there was an error with the card it would be stamped “reject”. It was the responsibility of the staff to remove these “reject” cards so that they can make the necessary correction. But occasionally one would slip through resulting in a traumatic realization by the student that s/he was a “reject.” Hansen recalls a student welling-up until he could explain the error. The current technology allows the school to more efficiently schedule students. Gone are the days of the clipboard, where some teachers would “save spots” for their favorite students.  Gone are also the days of the “change mill”, where students would try to game their administrators into making switches to accommodate teacher preferences, class placement in the day (quick getaways for lunch, PE after lunch, etc.) or to align classes to maximize the inclusion of their friends. 

The Internet has transformed learning at CHS. While the library has a nice number of books on hand, it is far fewer from years ago. In their place, online databases exist to assist students in their research.  The card catalogs of yesteryear are as unknown to today’s students as vinyl records (which teachers also used in the early years of CHS).  Students today are much more involved in research and collaboration as part of the daily instruction.

Today, CHS has just finished mounting all of its projectors to the ceiling and is experimenting with Smart Boards. How long will it take before every student has an iPad and downloads their textbooks? Will  teachers’ best Podcast make themselves one day obsolete?  Not if history is any indication.

BOXERAMA!

 Longtime CHS teacher Bob Sartwell is renowned for his toughness, so it should come as no surprise that he created an event that defies 21^st Century sensibilities—Boxerama. If a teacher suggested such an event today it would certainly be laughed off—no lawyer would approve it and no company would insure it.  But the 1970’s were a different and more permissive time in public education.

Sartwell

Even Sam Lawson, the revered Cupertino educator, understood that it was important for boys to “blow off some steam”. Sam’s outlet was wrestling, a sport he learned after World War II and brought to the west side of the valley. But wrestling would be tame compared to Sartwell’s pugilistic extravaganza.

Sartwell tapped into his past to bring the event to Cupertino High School. After participating in something similar in college, he brought “Boxerama” to where he began his teaching career— St Francis High School. Once he joined the FUHSD, he enlisted his teacher buddies to organize the springtime event at Cupertino. A fan of boxing, Sartwell also acknowledged that part of the appeal was to include students on campus who were athletic, but not members of any of the athletic teams. In the early 1970’s, CHS was experiencing its Golden Age of Sports, winning CCS titles (Division I) in Track (3), Boys Basketball (2), Boys Soccer (2) and Wrestling (1). With over 2,000 students on campus, the teams were full of good athletes and many talented athletes just couldn’t finda place on a team.

Sartwell, who coordinated the district’s Community School program, ran Boxerama out of his office with CHS Principal George Fernandez’ blessing. He enlisted PE coaches to train students in the evening in the Student Center (the Wagon Wheel of today) after basketball season ended. Says Sartwell, “It was like a real gym.” Boxing even crept into the PE department curriculum. If students were talking about fighting, it wasn’t uncommon for teachers to send them into the ring to “work things out”.

Boxerama featured a 12-card fight, each with three rounds of two minutes each. Professional referees were used, including nationally known Marty Sammon, whose children attended CHS. Sammon is also credited as a referee in Clint Eastwood’s boxing epic “Million Dollar Baby” as Referee #5.  The ring was loaned from Moffet Field and ringside seats were sold at a premium with the money benefitting athletics. CHS teacher Ron Pierceall electrified the gallery as ring announcer. Tryouts were fierce as many young lads looked to get in the ring. Says Sartwell, “It gave students a chance for their 15 minutes of fame. Everybody on campus was talking about it.”

The greatest of these boxers was Mike “Bubbles” Jameson from the Class of ’72. While his high exploits in the high school ring are unrecorded and since Boxerama was founded two years after he graduated, Jameson did return to fight as an alumnus. Later on, Jameson faced some of the sports greatest legends.  In 1986, he took Mike Tyson into the 5^th round—a round that Tyson had not seen by his 17^th fight. Jameson lost to the eventual champ by TKO. Eight years later, Jameson was knocked out by George Foreman, of Foreman Grill fame, toward the end of Jameson’s career (that fight was refereed by Mills Lane who went on to host his own TV show).

Cupertino’s interest with boxing coincided with the nation’s renewed passion for the sport. With legendary boxers like Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Foreman and Ken Norman, boxing took center stage in the athletic world. Coincidentally, Boxerama’s popularity rose and fell with Ali’s career. Just before Ali’s career came to a close, the district put a stop to this amazing tradition by pulling its insurance from the event.

*Note: On June 25, 1985, Marty Sammon officiated a fight won by Tino Grad Mike Jameson.

I’VE GOT SPIRIT, HERE’s MY SHOE!

For those dedicated Pioneers who made a habit of stumbling out of bed at the predawn hours to find their way to the gym before each rally—this one is for you.  It seems unlikely that Friday’s would be the day of the week throughout the year in which students would awaken the earliest—but hey, rallies are on Fridays. At 6:00 a.m., the gym opens to those intrepid souls who work to prepare their class’ section for the 10:00 rally. With about an hour and half to accomplish such a task—technique is everything.

For years now, students have painted posters outside the gym carefully ignoring the designated “paint zone” to accidently spill paint on nearby poles and benches. The paint used by the classes comes from the local big-box hardware store in somewhat of a Faustian bargain—“take it all for free, or take none of it.” This proved to be a fairly good deal for the hardware store to rid themselves of the “mistake” paint,--now public schools would assume the fate for all this paint and risk being declared a superfund site. Until recently, classes would compete to get to the hardware store first, to get the best stuff. But, when the school became less competitive on an inter-class basis, administrators breathed a sigh of relief.  The four classes sharing their paint may seem like blasphemy to the alums of the 80’s and 90’s, be that’s how Tino rolls today. This collective act of spirit and sensibility, has reduced the amount of paint that consumes the dreaded paint patio.

But painting the posters is only half the battle. On the brisk mornings of rally day, students have employed some nifty tricks to hang their creative works. As far as memory serves, students would fasten duct tape to the corners of each of their posters, carefully poking a grommet-like hole in the corner. Next, a strategically long piece of string was attached and lastly, a shoe.

A shoe? 

While some shoes work better than others, the shoe provided the needed weight to let gravity make Newton proud. Typically, the burliest of guys, or any baseball or water polo player, would be given the responsibility of hurling the shoe up and over the mechanisms that helped open vents at the very top of the gym on hot days. As their classmates cheered them on, it was expected that it would take at least “3 tries” to get the shoe over the bar and have it drop within reach of an awaiting student. Of course, many freshman classes learned their lesson about allowing for enough slack in their string. If the shoe got stuck, students would use the pole (with a hook on the end) to jar it loose and try again. That hook was the same one used to turn on the gym’s 1950’s era heaters.  The shoes served the students well for many years, but with shoes getting stuck and students climbing basket supports and the walls to retrieve them, a new way was needed. It truly is a miracle that no student was seriously hurt for the school’s first 50 years.

While it may anger some to know that the current way of hanging rally posters came from rival Monta Vista High School. It’s really an ingenious concept:  fasten a coat hanger to the ends and middle of the poster with (yes) duct tape and use poles to lift the poster into position along a wire that spans the length of the gym. The wire, positioned slightly lower than the support poles used in the past, makes the posters slightly smaller and easier to display.

The heroes of the morning are those who bring donuts, juice, and energy. Where each class may have up to about 50 participants, it is still common to have a handful of students sit and watch the others work. Call it a lack of delegation or ineffective leadership, but it could be simply explained by the aforementioned donuts and juice.  Nevertheless, they are there as are the weary class advisors assigned to supervise and find scissors.

As the 2010’s get under way, balloon arches are certainly in vogue. School colors are secondary to theme colors and the gym is absolutely packed on rally day. Most rallies start with a short video to set the scene, something that would have been impossible years earlier. The Alma Mater is performed, but it may as well be in Latin. Today’s rallies are also much less formulaic than in years past—as the ASB has opened the event to a wider variety of student groups and interests. Historically, sports has been the most common theme of rallies but are now school-based and have never been better.

As the school expects to get bigger over the next five years and welcomes an additional 400 to 500 students—will it be long before the rallies are held on the new football field?  And if so, what will that mean for our shoes?

Refer to the Podbean site for Podcast info

http://cupertinopioneershistory.podbean.com/

Episodes #1 and #2 are ready!

The first two installments of the Cupertino High School History Podcast Series are up and ready for you to access. Episode #1 is an introduction to the series, sharing a brief history of the origins of CHS and also features a Q & A session with questions supplied by current CHS students.

The CHS History Podcast series is coming soon!

The first two installments of the CHS History Podcast series are currently in production. My hope is to have these podcasts available before the end of the summer. You can also become a follower and find out the moment they are available. Episode #1 will introduce the series and briefly discuss the school's founding. It will also answer questions submitted by current students. Episode #2 will profile the Class of 2010's Kenya Dream project and SuperProm. If you have any ideas for future podcasts, I would love to hear them.