By Julian Cardillo ’14
Photography by Heratch Ekmekjian
September 24, 2025
In the early 1970s, a little-known high school in working-class Sunnyvale, California quietly did what many thought impossible: It built a thriving, multiracial school community where students from immigrant, low-income and first-generation families found purpose, pride and possibility.
Karen V. Hansen, the Victor and Gwendolyn Beinfield Professor of Sociology, Emerita, and professor emerita of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, returned to her alma mater in her new book, “Working-Class Kids and Visionary Educators in a Multiracial High School,” co-authored with educator Nicholas Monroe, PhD ’21 (Bloomsbury, 2024).
Drawing on interviews with alumni and former teachers, Hansen reveals how one school offers powerful lessons for public education today.
Why did you return to the story of Sunnyvale High School now — and how did your own experience there shape you?
I’ve attended and taught at some of the best universities in the country, but Sunnyvale High School (SHS) was where I learned to think. It was a scrappy, working-class school, where not many kids went to college. SHS sparked something in me. Remarkable teachers believed in me, respected me and helped me pursue what, looking back, seemed like an improbable future.
As I thought about why the school still had such a hold on me, I realized I had to study it.
How did Sunnyvale — a racially diverse, working-class school — successfully reach its students, and what lessons from that experience have stayed with you?
The school built a culture of belonging. The philosophy was simple: Students would show up if they felt connected — through sports, music, clubs or any activity that sparked engagement. This approach gave students space to discover talents they didn’t know they had. Teachers didn’t blame students for struggling — they found ways to reach them.
The school experienced racial tensions and fights, but its strength lay in adult respect for students — their cultures, histories and struggles. And students’ respect for each other. In 1970, after a peaceful student protest, demands for an open campus, better food and multicultural education led to real change. Inside and outside the classroom, students were encouraged to talk about race, identity and difference — while also building solidarity through their shared experiences.
What should today’s educators and policymakers take away from this story?
Educators at Sunnyvale emphasized hands-on learning. The curriculum also offered multiple paths: academics, vocational training, art and athletics. It didn’t push every student toward college but dignified all forms of work. Some courses even prepared students for careers in the emerging tech industry, offering early training in fields like electronics well before Silicon Valley had its name.
Today’s schools face new challenges — underfunding, segregation and overburdened teachers — but the core principles of great education remain.
Flexibility, experimentation and strong leadership created a space where students could grow — even through failure. That kind of trust and commitment builds not just achievement, but belonging. We need to invest in that again.
Research shows that principals and inspiring teachers are critical change agents, and Sunnyvale High was fortunate to have visionary leaders who made this transformative environment possible.