In the winter of 1996, the ground was broken for Cabrillo High School on the west side of Long Beach.

Throughout the years, Cabrillo has seen tremendous instructional changes through multiple 'house' pathways or (Small Learning Community–SLC): Cabrillo Academy of Global Logistics (AGL) Cabrillo Academy of Law and Justice (CAL-J) Cabrillo Engineering and Design (CED) Specialized Academy of Compute Media, Arts & Animation (SACMAA) These SLC's are providing Cabrillo students with more options after high school—ranging from college to military (NJROTC) and career opportunities.

[3][4] Long Beach Cabrillo graduates are granted two years of free tuition at Long Beach City College, which has a dedicated Transfer Admission Guarantee resource center for transferring to the majority of UC and CSU Campuses.

[5][6] Admissions at private universities are sparse, but enrollments have occurred at USC and Cal Lutheran.

[8] During the first season of the television series Glee (TV series), the school was regularly masked as William McKinley High School.