Castlemont High School is a
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the B ...
, United States, originally known as East Oakland High School. It is part of the
Oakland Unified School District
Oakland Unified School District is a public education school district that operates a total of 80 elementary schools (TK–5), middle schools (6–8), and high schools (9–12). There are also 28 district-authorized charter schools in Oakland, ...
. The Castlemont name was selected by a vote of the students.
Castlemont High School was founded in 1929 in a medieval-style building. The architecture inspires many of the school traditions, such as the sports teams being named "Knights" and "Crusaders" and the school newspaper ''Ye Castle Crier''. The motto is "''Build on and make thy castles high and fair, rising upward to the skies.''"
Its Basketball teams in, 1969, 1976, & 1979 were winners of the Tournament of Champions (T.O.C.), formerly the northern California championships, and its track team in 1975 Maurice Glass held high school indoor sprint record. In 1983, Derrick Adams took first place in the 130 lbs wrestling California State Championship, the only Oakland Section person to ever place first in his weight class.
Former School Choir, "The Castleers", whose members in the 1970s toured the world performing a variety of songs that included R&B and gospel.
Castlemont Community of Small Schools
For an eight-year period, from 2004 to 2012, the large school housed three separate smaller schools called the
Castlemont Community of Small Schools. The smaller schools were known by the names:
* Castlemont Leadership Preparatory High (10-12)
* Castlemont Business and Information Technology School (10-12) (CBITIS)
* East Oakland School of the Arts (10-12)
* Freshman Prep Academy (FPA)
A similar smaller school experiment was going on at the
Fremont Federation of High Schools.
The school opened back under the reunified name "Castlemont High School" in the fall of 2012.
Alumni
Notable alumni of Castlemont Senior High School include:
*
Carole Ward Allen
Carole Ward Allen is an American politician, professor, and political consultant. She is a member of the Democratic Party, and serves as the chief executive officer of CWA Partners, LLC. As a mass transportation executive in the State of Califo ...
, former
BART
Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc.
Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bart ...
director and Oakland port commissioner
*
Kali Muscle, American actor, author, bodybuilder, and entertainer.
*
Randy Sparks
Randy Sparks (born July 29, 1933, Leavenworth, Kansas) is an American musician, singer-songwriter and founder of The New Christy Minstrels and The Back Porch Majority.
Biography
Sparks grew up in Oakland, California, and attended the University ...
, The Christie Minstrels.
*
Larry Graham
Larry Graham Jr. (born August 14, 1946) is an American bassist and baritone singer, both with the psychedelic soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone and as the founder and frontman of Graham Central Station. In 1980, he released the single " ...
, former bass player with
Sly and the Family Stone
Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi- ...
*
Steve Howard
Steven John Howard (born 10 May 1976) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Howard was usually cited as a typical target man and renowned for his aerial strength.
Club career Early career
Howard began his career at non- ...
, former MLB player
*
Fred Korematsu
was an American civil rights activist who resisted the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Shortly after the Imperial Japanese Navy launched its attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive O ...
, Japanese Internment protester
*
Leroy Reams, Major League Baseball player for
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Cit ...
*
Joe Morgan
Joe Leonard Morgan (September 19, 1943 – October 11, 2020) was an American professional baseball second baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Colt .45s / Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, ...
(1943–2020), baseball Hall of Famer, class of 1962
*
Clifford T. Robinson (Class of 1977),
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
Small forward
*
Fred Silva
Fred Silva (October 18, 1927 – December 3, 2004) was an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons from 1968 to 1988. Silva was widely known for his coolness under fire on the football field and clapping ...
(b. 1927), NFL official from 1968 to 1988, referee for
Super Bowl XIV
Super Bowl XIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion f ...
*
Steve Reeves
Stephen Lester "Steve" Reeves (January 21, 1926 – May 1, 2000) was an American professional bodybuilder, actor, and philanthropist. He was famous in the mid-1950s as a movie star in Italian-made sword-and-sandal films, playing the protagon ...
(1926–2000) class of 1944 Most famous for his movie role of "Hercules", famous bodybuilder and actor.
*
Gary Pettis
Gary George Pettis (born April 3, 1958) is an American former professional baseball center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) and current third base coach for the Houston Astros. During his playing career, Pettis won five Gold Glove Awards ...
(b. 1958) Major League Baseball player, current first base coach of the Houston Astros
*
June Pointer
June Antoinette Pointer (November 30, 1953 – April 11, 2006) was an American singer, best known as the youngest of the founding members of the vocal group The Pointer Sisters.
Early life and career
Born the youngest of six children to minister ...
(1953-2006) American Pop/R&B singer,
The Pointer Sisters
The Pointer Sisters are an American pop and R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, blu ...
*
Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! In addition to his solo and group ...
(b. 1966), American R&B singer
*
Betty Reid Soskin—oldest
National Park Ranger
National Park Service rangers are among the uniformed employees charged with protecting and preserving areas set aside in the National Park System by the United States Congress and the President of the United States. While all employees of the age ...
serving the United States
References
External links
Official Castlemont Community of Small Schools websiteCastlemont High School Alumni AssociationSan Francisco Chronicle news article regarding small schoolsCastlemont High SchoolWhat’s Next for Castlemont?
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Educational institutions established in 1929
Small schools movement
High schools in Oakland, California
Public high schools in California
1929 establishments in California
Oakland Unified School District