It was built in 1940 on what was then a tomato field, using federal government funds with labor provided by the Works Project Administration, the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency introduced by the Roosevelt administration.

Rancho Acalanes itself seems to have been named by its Hispanic settlers after the local Native American Bay Miwok tribe called Saklan (Saclan), referred to by Spanish missionaries as Saclanes.

For the school sports mascot, they chose the Don (a Spanish honorary title).

Among the electives offered are sports medicine, digital design, auto mechanics, studio arts from beginning to AP, video production, journalism, drama, photography, Mandarin (Chinese), Spanish, French, chorus, band (four groups), and orchestra.

Its openness to the outdoors and ease of expansion were revolutionary at the time, and the format was widely copied.