Originally founded due to increasing enrollment across Belmont, San Carlos, and Redwood City, by 1982, the high school suffered from low enrollment due to racial protests between local students and students bused in from East Palo Alto, which led the district to close the site.

The campus was demolished in 1988, and is today the site of Highlands Park and a subdivision of luxury homes in the San Carlos hills.

Beginning in 1970, 125 African-American students from East Palo Alto were bused into San Carlos, a number that increased each year.

In 1976 and 1977, this tension escalated into continual fights between students, leading to police presence on campus and frequent intervention:"I have vivid memories of the riots.

— Bill Hayes, teacher at San Carlos High School from 1965 to 1982, as narrated in Linda Wickert Garvey's San Carlos Stories: An Oral History of the City of Good Living[1]In response, parents and community members began serving as volunteer patrols during the school day, intending to reduce violence and create an environment where students could learn once again.

Newspaper articles reported attendance of up to 1,500 students at the annual events,[5] held in the undeveloped hills of San Carlos, the Baylands, and Redwood Shores.

After several months of planning and research, on December 15, 1981, District Superintendent Harry Reynolds announced his recommendation to close San Carlos High School.

At the time, Sequoia suffered from a negative public perception, particularly due to a significant majority of low-income minority students at the school, historically low test scores, and the appearance of poverty, gangs, and violence.

As a result, a local survey documented that, annually, upwards of 40 percent of graduating eighth graders in San Carlos enrolled in private high schools rather than attending Sequoia.

[1] Although some realtors and neighborhood listings note that this perception still lingers today, since the early 2000s, Sequoia has undergone efforts to revitalize its image.

This was largely due to redistricting that brought more higher-income families to Sequoia and the introduction of the advanced IB curriculum to the school.

[10] Beyond this plaque, the only remnant of the high school is a set of concrete bleachers atop the upper Stadium field at Highlands Park.

[11] Ultimately, the district selected a site in Menlo Park for the specialized, technology-focused school, which opened in 2019 as TIDE Academy.