Burlingame High School (California)

Burlingame High School
Location
1 Mangini Way

,
94010

United States
Coordinates37°34′57″N 122°20′48″W / 37.5826°N 122.3466°W / 37.5826; -122.3466
Information
TypePublic Secondary school
Established1923 (1923)
School districtSan Mateo Union High School District
PrincipalJen Fong
Teaching staff80.58 (FTE)[1]
Grades912
Enrollment1,583 (2024–2025)[1]
Student to teacher ratio19.65[1]
Hours in school day7
Colors    Red and White
Athleticsnone
Athletics conferenceCIF Central Coast Section
Peninsula Athletic League
NicknamePanthers
RivalSan Mateo High School
Websitewww.smuhsd.org/burlingamehigh

Burlingame High School is a public high school in Burlingame, California. It is part of the San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD).

History

In order to meet the growing student population, the school was opened in December 1923 under the name "San Mateo High School, Burlingame Branch." Designed by architect W. H. Weeks, the school took in students from Burlingame, Hillsborough, Millbrae, and San Bruno.[2] Initial enrollment consisted of 350 students and 30 teachers. As a branch of San Mateo High School, extracurricular organizations were shared between the schools. There was a single band, football team, and other athletic teams with student members from both schools. Within 10 years the enrollment of the school increased to 494 boys and 474 girls, totaling 968 pupils, a figure close to the school's original design capacity. In 1927 the school name was officially changed to Burlingame High School.

In the summer of 1980, the SMUHSD board decided it must close one of the district's seven schools, due to declining enrollment. Following public hearings, the board narrowed the choice to either Crestmoor High School or Burlingame High School. After study and discussion, the board decided to close Crestmoor in the fall of 1980 and keep Burlingame open.[3]

San Mateo and Burlingame have been rivals since the division of the Burlingame branch, and the rivalry culminates annually in a football matchup dubbed the "Little Big Game" and patterned after the collegiate Big Game. As of November 2021, Burlingame leads the series record 58–32–4. Burlingame currently holds "The Paw" as part of a twelve-game win streak, the longest in the rivalry's history.[4]

Academics

Burlingame High School has been recognized nationally for its academic excellence. For 2013, it was ranked 280th in Newsweek's Top 2,000 Public High Schools,[5] 471st nationally by U.S. News & World Report,[6] and 490th by The Washington Post's ranking of "America's Most Challenging High Schools."[7]

As of the 2018–19 school year, the San Mateo Union High School District uses Canvas as its online platform for classrooms.

Burlingame High School has a wide array of Advanced Placement course offerings.

Statistics

Demographics

2023–2024[1]

  • 1,540 students: 795 male (51.6%), 744 female (48.3%)
White Hispanic Asian Two or more races Pacific Islander Black American Indian
647 278 384 178 7 6 0
42.0% 18.1% 24.9% 11.6% 0.5% 0.4% 0%

Approximately 11.9% of the students at Burlingame are served by the free or reduced-price lunch program.[1]

Standardized testing

SAT Scores for 2014–2015[8]
Critical Reading average Math average Writing average
Burlingame High 557 586 560
District 544 570 544
Statewide 489 500 484
2013 Academic Performance Index
2009 base API[9] 2013 growth API[10] Growth in the API from 2009 to 2013
836 870 34

Extracurricular activities

Robotics

The Iron Panthers (FIRST Robotics Competition Team 5026 and FIRST Tech Challenge Team 7316) was founded in 2013 to compete against other Bay Area high schools. In September 2017, the Iron Panthers received recognition by competing in the finals of an off-season Robotics competition, Chezy Champs.[11] In March 2018, the Iron Panthers' FTC team traveled to Spokane to compete in the West Super-Regional. In 2019, they were alliance captains at the Central Valley Regional, where they competed in the finals.[12] In the past three years, the Iron Panthers traveled to Houston to compete in the FIRST Championship and were alliance captains in the 2018 game FIRST Power Up.[11][12][13] In the 2019 game Destination: Deep Space, they were the winners of the Newton Division and the World Champions; this was the first competition that they won.[12] Their motto is "Student-Built, Student-Run."

Burlingame Robotics also has an FTC team known as the Iron Kittens (Team 20392, formerly 10336).

Notable alumni and faculty

Scenes from the film Dangerous Minds were filmed on the campus of Burlingame High School in the spring of 1994.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Burlingame High". National Center for Education Statistics. Archived from the original on November 6, 2025. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
  2. ^ "Burlingame High School". Burlingame Historical Society. July 8, 2012. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  3. ^ San Bruno Herald, San Mateo Times
  4. ^ Kassel, Ethan (November 7, 2021). "Burlingame starts hot, rolls to 12th straight Little Big Game win". Prep2Prep. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  5. ^ "America's Best High Schools 2013". Newsweek. Archived from the original on May 8, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
  6. ^ "Best High Schools-2013". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on March 20, 2016.
  7. ^ "America's Most Challenging High Schools-National Rankings 2013". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  8. ^ "SAT Report - 2014-15 District Level Scores". California Department of Education. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  9. ^ "2009 Base API School Report – Burlingame High". California Department of Education Assessment, Accountability and Awards Division. Archived from the original on December 26, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  10. ^ "2013 Growth API School Report – Burlingame High". California Department of Education Analysis, Measurement, & Accountability Reporting Division. Archived from the original on December 26, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  11. ^ a b "Iron Panthers - Team 5026 (2018) - The Blue Alliance". March 15, 2018. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  12. ^ a b c "Iron Panthers - Team 5026 (2019) - The Blue Alliance". March 6, 2019. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  13. ^ "Iron Panthers - Team 5026 (2017) - The Blue Alliance". March 16, 2017. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  14. ^ Dowd, Katie (September 2, 2018). "Celebrities you might not have known lived in the Bay Area". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  15. ^ "On The Record: Marc Benioff". San Francisco Chronicle. October 8, 2006. Archived from the original on June 24, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2007.
  16. ^ "Boys basketball: Burlingame's Frankie Ferrari having storybook season after year at Archbishop Riordan". The Mercury News. February 19, 2014. Archived from the original on January 20, 2025. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  17. ^ Saxon, Jonathan. "Val Garay: Linda Ronstadt, Kim Carnes, James Taylor". TapeOp.com. Tape Op. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  18. ^ "Burlingame HS boasts four in minor league ball". San Mateo Daily Journal. September 18, 2018. Archived from the original on December 8, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  19. ^ Walsh, Adam (December 16, 2016). "Burlingame native wins 'Survivor': Adam Klein earns $1 million for defeating 19 others on popular reality TV show". San Mateo Daily Journal. Archived from the original on December 19, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  20. ^ Brown, Steven (Winter 2000). "Zona and Ed Roberts: Twentieth Century Pioneers". Disability Studies Quarterly. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  21. ^ Mollat, Nathan (July 23, 2021). "Baseball takes 2010 Burlingame graduate D.J. Sharabi to Tokyo". San Mateo Daily Journal. Archived from the original on July 30, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  22. ^ Guthmann, Edward. "Michelle Pfeiffer Acts With Class / `Dangerous Minds' uses teacher plot well". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 15, 2026. Retrieved February 14, 2026.