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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
in
Oakland, California
Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
, 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
Castlemont High School is a public high school in Oakland, California, United States, originally known as East Oakland High School. It is part of the Oakland Unified School District. The Castlemont name was selected by a vote of the students.
...
. 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 (United States), Democratic Party, and serves as the chief executive officer of CWA Partners, LLC. As a mass transportation ...
, former
BART
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves List of Bay Area Rapid Transit stations, 50 stations along six routes and of track, including eBART, a spur line running t ...
director and Oakland port commissioner
*
Charlie Brown
Charles "Charlie" Brown is the Protagonist, principal character of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', syndicated in daily newspaper, daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. Depicted as a "lovable loser", Charlie Brown ...
(b. 1948), former
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
wide receiver for the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
*
Kali Muscle
Chuck Kirkendall (born February 18, 1975), known professionally as Kali Muscle, is an American bodybuilder, YouTuber and actor who has appeared in commercials for Taco Bell, GEICO, Snickers, Comcast, Honda, Go-Gurt and others.
Career
Kali Mus ...
, American actor, author, bodybuilder, and entertainer
*
Randy Sparks
Lloyd Arrington Sparks (July 29, 1933 – February 11, 2024), known professionally as Randy Sparks, was an American musician, singer-songwriter, and founder of The New Christy Minstrels and The Back Porch Majority.
Biography
Sparks was born on ...
, the Christie Minstrels
*
Larry Graham
Larry Graham Jr. (born August 14, 1946) is an American bass guitar, bassist and baritone singer, 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 si ...
, former bass player with
Sly and the Family Stone
Sly and the Family Stone was an American band formed in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1966 and active until 1983. Their work, which blended elements of funk, soul music, soul, psychedelic rock, gospel music, gospel, and R&B, becam ...
*
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 Ord ...
, Japanese Internment protester
*
Leroy Reams, Major League Baseball player for
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
*
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 Astros, Houston Colt .45s / Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Fran ...
(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 composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
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 clappin ...
(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 1979 Los Angeles Rams season, Los Angeles Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh S ...
*
Steve Reeves
Stephen Lester Reeves (January 21, 1926 – May 1, 2000) was an American professional bodybuilder and actor. He was famous in the mid-1950s as a movie star in Italian-made sword-and-sandal films, playing the protagonist as muscular characters ...
(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 and third base coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1982 to 1992 for the California Angels, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, and Sa ...
(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 female vocal group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. They have had a repertoire with many genres, they have sold around 50 million records throughout their ...
*
Richard "Dimples" Fields
Richard "Dimples" Fields (March 21, 1942 – January 12, 2000) was an American R&B and soul singer, popular during the 1980s.
Career
Richard "Dimples" Fields was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He attended Greenville Park School in Hammond, Lo ...
(1941–2000), American R&B and soul singer
*
Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to prominence as a vocalist and bassist for the R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, which he formed with h ...
(b. 1966), American R&B singer
*
Betty Reid Soskin
Betty Reid Soskin ( Charbonnet; born September 22, 1921) is an American retired ranger with the National Park Service, previously assigned to the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California. Unti ...
, 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