Castro Valley High School

Castro Valley High School
Location
19400 Santa Maria Avenue Castro Valley , Alameda County , California 94546 U.S.
Coordinates	37°42′13.22″N122°4′41.79″W / 37.7036722°N 122.0782750°W / 37.7036722; -122.0782750
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1956
School district	Castro Valley Unified School District
Principal	Christopher Fortenberry
Teaching staff	119.24 (FTE) [1]
Number of students	2,842 (2023-2024) [1]
Student to teacher ratio	23.83 [1]
Color(s)	Green and gold
Mascot	Trojan
Newspaper	The Olympian
Yearbook	Palladium
Website	cvhs.cv.k12.ca.us

Castro Valley High School is located in the unincorporated suburban community of Castro Valley, California, United States. It is a high school for grades 9 to 12. Named a National Exemplary School in 1984–85 and 1988–89, it was a California Distinguished School in 1987–88, 2000–01, and 2009. ^[2]

It is part of the Castro Valley Unified School District. ^[3]

Academics

CVHS ranks 1901st in high schools in America, 275th in California, and 49th in the San Francisco Metro Area. 49% of students have taken at least one Advanced Placement exam, and 41% of students passed at least one AP exam. The graduation rate is 97%. ^[4]

As a comprehensive high school, Castro Valley High School provides a wide variety of course offerings, including advanced, honors, and Advanced Placement courses. ^[5]

Demographics

Student enrollment in the 2023–2024 school year was approximately 2,842 students. Their ethnic makeup was:

• 30.5% Asian
• 25.4% Hispanic/Latino
• 22.8% White
• 9.7% Two or more races
• 4.8% African American
• 4.3% Filipino
• 0.2% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
• 0.1% American Indian or Alaska Native
• 2.1% Not reported

^[6]

Notable alumni

• Jeff Beal, Emmy Award-winning composer ^[7]
• Amy Berg, TV writer and producer ^[8]
• Mike Bordin, drummer for Faith No More ^{[9] [10]}
• Lilan Bowden, comedian, actress and filmmaker ^[11]
• Brodie Brazil, Emmy Award-winning reporter for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/Comcast SportsNet California; San Jose Sharks sideline reporter ^[12]
• Darren Brazil, editor, brother of Brodie ^[13]
• Cliff Burton, bassist for Metallica ^{[9] [10]}
• Jason Castro, former MLB catcher, selected tenth overall in 2008 MLB Draft by Houston Astros ^[14]
• Randall William Cook, three-time Oscar winner for Best Visual Effects: Lord of the Rings Trilogy, 2001-2003; Class of 1969 ^{[15] [ better source needed ]}
• Val Diamond, stage performer; starred in Beach Blanket Babylon in San Francisco, 1979-2009; Class of 1969 ^[16]
• Ryan Fleck, movie director and screenwriter; Half Nelson, Sugar, It's Kind of a Funny Story, and Mississippi Grind; Class of 1994. ^[17]
• Dale R. Herspring, political scientist ^[18]
• Bob LaPoint, professional water skier; five world slalom titles; Class of 1973 ^[19]
• Kris LaPoint, professional water skier; nine-time National Slalom Champion; Class of 1971. ^[20]
• Luenell, actress in Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan ^[21]
• Rachel Maddow, political commentator and television journalist; host of MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show ^{[22] [23]}
• Jim Martin, former guitarist for Faith No More ^[10]
• Mark Mastrov, founder of 24 Hour Fitness; partial owner of NBA's Sacramento Kings; Class of c. 1980 ^[24]
• Lourdes Pangelinan, first female director-general of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community. ^[25]
• Jonas Rivera, producer of Pixar's 2009 movie Up ^[26]
• Rick Rodriguez, former professional baseball player (Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, and San Francisco Giants) ^[27]
• Marty Schmidt, mountain climber and guide ^[28]
• Juan Toscano-Anderson, small forward for the Golden State Warriors ^[29]
• Brad Wellman, MLB player 1982–1989, Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants ^[30]

References

1. "Castro Valley High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
2. Noceda, Kristofer (April 2, 2009). "Castro Valley High in distinguished company". The Daily Review. Bay Area News Group. Retrieved April 22, 2009.
3. Moskal, Mary Kay; Keneman, Ayn F. (October 14, 2011). Literacy Leadership to Support Reading Improvement. Guilford Press. pp. 92–. ISBN   978-1-60918-490-2 . Retrieved February 21, 2013.
4. "Castro Valley High School - Overview". usnews.com. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
5. "PROGRAM PLANNING GUIDE". Archived from the original on March 24, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
6. "Enrollment by Ethnicity - Castro Valley High School (CA Dept of Education)". dq.cde.ca.gov.
7. "Dance Card: Smuin Ballet will premiere 'Oasis,' choreographed by Helen Pickett to music by Jeff Beal". April 29, 2016.
8. "Reconnect with friends from Classmates Test High School, find reunions, view yearbook photos and more".
9. McIver, Joel (July 6, 1982). Justice for all: the truth about ... – Joel McIver – Google Books. Omnibus. ISBN   9780711996007 . Retrieved October 6, 2011.
10. ""Cliff Burton Day"" (PDF). ACGOV.org. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
11. Bracy, Brittany (May 31, 2017). "Screen star Lilan Bowden returns to her roots". CVHS Olympian. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
12. "Brodie Brazil". November 8, 2013.
13. "Archived copy". www.brodiebrazil.com. Archived from the original on February 12, 2005. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
14. Michael Singer (November 2, 2022). "CV's Jason Castro Helps Astros Get to the Fall Classic" . Retrieved October 6, 2024.
15. "Randall William Cook". IMDb .
16. "'Beach Blanket Babylon's' Diamond leaves show". October 2, 2009.
17. Singer, Michael (November 30, 2022). "Hollywood Filmmaker Ties East Bay Roots into New Movie 'Freaky Tales'". issuu - East Bay Publishing. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
18. "Dale R. Herspring". Downing & Lahey. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
19. "Daily Review Newspaper Archives, Jun 12, 1976, p. 10". June 12, 1976.
20. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 8, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
21. Luenell biography, thestar.com
22. Rachel Maddow High School Graduation Speech. Retrieved June 29, 2012
23. Pompeo, Joe (July 9, 2010). "In Case You Were Wondering What Rachel Maddow's High School Yearbook Photo Looks Like..." Businessinsider.com. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
24. "Fitness mogul wants to shape up Warriors". April 27, 2010.
25. "Daily Review Newspaper Archives, Nov 13, 1971, p. 8". November 13, 1971.
26. "CVHS graduate jonas rivera". March 21, 2016.
27. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 8, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
28. Chen, Eva (April 9, 2013). "Alum Marty Schmidt shares his climbing experience". Castro Valley High School Olympian. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
29. "10 Juan Anderson". Marquette University Athletics. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
30. "Brad Wellman Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac".

External links

• Official website
• The Olympian