James B. Castle High School 45-386 Kaneohe Bay Drive, Kaneohe, Hawaii 96744 Phone: 305-0700 Fax: 233-5623 Web: https://web.archive.org/web/20040922103452/http://castlehs.k12.hi.us/ Principal: Bernadette Tyrell Athletic Director: Laynie Sueyasu Registrar: Darcy Wakayama Senior Counselor: Jordan Gross College Counselor Eric Takemoto & Ashley Kamanao
History
Castle High School was founded in 1951. The campus boasts the sculpture Spring, Summer, Autumn by Satoru Abe. Its mascot is the knight and the school colors are maroon, white and gold. The student newspaper is Na Pali O’ Koolau, while the yearbook is Kaulana. The Kaulana yearbook staff yearbook 2005-2006 had won for best yearbook in the state, and in a national competition held at Columbia University they received a silver medal and also received honors in two categories.
The Community
James B. Castle High School is located in Kaneohe, on the Windward side of the island of Oahu. Established in 1951, it is considered a commuter community with 94.7 percent of the adult population working outside the area. Once considered rural, it is now a densely populated residential area with a mix of condominiums, single-family dwellings, acre estates, five small public housing complexes, commercial businesses, and some light industry. Based on the 2000 census report, the median family income was $68,914. Six and a half percent of the community is considered poor. There are eight elementary schools and one intermediate school that feed into Castle High School.
The School
James B. Castle High School is a comprehensive four-year public high school, grades 9-12, with a current enrollment of approx. 1201 students and 85 teaching faculty for the 2015-2016 school year including a senior class of 287 students. Currently, 42% of the school population qualify for the federally assisted free or reduced lunch program. Castle High started Smaller Learning Communities in 2012 to provide a personalized learning environment of a small, focused learning community. Teachers and students integrate academic and occupation-related classes as a way to enhance real-world relevance and maintain high academic standards. All students will belong to one of the four SLCs of which approximately, 30% of our graduating seniors go on to a four-year college & approx. 50% attend a community college. Additionally, 6% go to business or trade school, 2% enroll in a military service, and the remaining 12% find employment. The needs of exceptional students are supported by Special Education and 504 programming. Castle High was accredited in 2011 by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges for a period of 6 years, and adopted School-Community-Council in place of School/Community Based Management. In 1977 The Castle High Marching Band became the first high school in the United States to play the half-time show at the annual East–West Shrine Game. The high school also has an internationally recognized performing arts program, Castle Performing Arts Center, or "CPAC" has produced multiple shows which have been the Hawaii premiere of those shows and participated in the 2009 Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. The theatre is named after Ronald E. Bright, former director at Castle and founder of CPAC.
Graduation Requirements
24 credits 4 Credits in English 4 Credits in Social Studies 3 Credits in Math 3 Credits in Science 1 Credit in PE 1/2 Credit in Health 1/2 Credit in Personal Transition Plan 2 Credits in World Lang. or Fine Arts or Career & Tech. 6 Electives 24 Total
