Initially rooted mostly in football, the simmering rivalry between the Saratoga and Los Gatos has evolved significantly in the past quarter century. As demographics of both schools transformed, the rivalry did too—now, the disparity in academics is another source of opposition.

Both schools continually perpetuate the stereotypes that Saratoga veers on academic obsession and Los Gatos the opposite. Because of this, students from both sides exaggerate the actual difference.
In terms of raw data, both schools offer 17 AP courses; while Saratoga’s mean SAT reasoning score in 2009 was 1,922, Los Gatos’ was 147 points lower at 1,775. However, 91 percent of SHS seniors took the SAT in 2008, whereas only 75 percent of Los Gatos seniors did the same year.

“In terms of general student attitude [toward academics], I think our students are imbued from a very early age with the notion that college is the target,” said assistant principal Brian Safine. “Our students here are largely guided by parental expectation, and they become familiar with the big-name colleges from a very early age.”

The ambitious academic environment at Saratoga translates clearly in the data: In 2009, 82 percent of SHS graduates went on to 4-year colleges, while only 66 percent of Los Gatos graduates did the same. However, although the general impression seems to be that the academic environment at Saratoga is more competitive than at Los Gatos, administrators agree that both schools’ high-end
outliers are similar.

“I’ve found incredible students at every site I’ve worked at—they have been amazing competitors in athletics, academics, leadership, clubs and more,” said Los Gatos’ assistant principal Valerie Arbizu, who was an English teacher at Saratoga last year. “It really all depends on the individual student.”

Students themselves agree that the stereotypes that Los Gatos students are “dumb” and Saratoga “smart” are largely untrue—the difference stems from student attitude rather than actual intelligence.

“Los Gatos kids aren’t dumb, I think Toga students are just obsessed with school,” Los Gatos sophomore Kiana Fatemi, who attended Redwood Middle School, said. “I’m not super competitive and I thought it was annoying.”

This contrast in student attitude is often manifested in extra APs, honors classes and extracurriculars from Saratoga students. Safine said he often sees students enrolled in so many honors and AP classes that they don’t have time for other activities.

“I went to Los Gatos because grades seemed to be the only thing people think about at Saratoga,” Fatemi said. “Students here [at Los Gatos] generally seem to be a lot more relaxed, I think.”