Castillero Middle School (San Jose, California)

Castillero Middle School is a public

Public

In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individuals, and the public is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the Öffentlichkeit or public sphere. The concept of a public has also been defined in political science,...

middle school

Middle school

Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...

in San Jose

San Jose, California

San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, USA. It is a performing arts, academic, and visual arts magnet. 1,305 children currently attend this school.

History

Andres Castillero Middle School is named after Mexican cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

captain Don Andrés Castillero, who once owned the mercury

Mercury (element)

Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...

mines then called "Le Mina de Santa Clara"

New Almaden

The New Almaden quicksilver mine in the Santa Teresa Hills in Santa Clara County, California, United States, is the oldest and most productive quicksilver mine in the U.S. The site was known to the Ohlone Indians for its cinnabar long before a Mexican settler discovered the ores in 1820...

. He had traveled to California in 1845 to visit the Santa Clara mission when he witnessed the Ohlone

Ohlone

The Ohlone people, also known as the Costanoan, are a Native American people of the central California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the area along the coast from San Francisco Bay through Monterey Bay to the lower Salinas Valley...

Indians using cinnabar powder to paint the mission's walls. He realized the value of the powder and quickly filed a claim for the land where the Ohlone had found their red powder. Because of this transaction, Andres Castillero shaped Almaden Valley

Almaden Valley, San Jose, California

Almaden Valley is an upper-class neighborhood of about 37,000 in the southwestern portion of San Jose, California, USA, roughly equivalent to the 95120 ZIP Code. The neighborhood is south east of the town of Los Gatos, west of the Santa Teresa neighborhood of San Jose and south of Coleman Ave...

and the surrounding areas.

Academics

Castillero Middle School is a Blue Ribbon

Blue Ribbon Schools Program

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States government program created in 1981 to honor schools which have achieved high levels of performance or significant improvements with emphasis on schools serving disadvantaged students. The program centers around a self-assessment conducted by the...

and California Distinguished School

California Distinguished School

A California Distinguished School is an award given by the California State Board of Education to public schools within the state that best represent exemplary and quality educational programs. Approximately five percent of California schools are awarded this honor each year following a selection...

. The 2005-2006 Math CST scores for Algebra 1 were 93%. Castillero holds an annual math Olympiad in which a few hundred children compete for the team and individual competitions. Its science program is above state average with an average score of 44%. The API score of Castillero for 2006 is 814. All students in Castillero have required courses based on their grade level.

6th/7th Grade
- 1 semester of science
- 1 semester elective
- 1 year long elective
- 1 year language arts and social studies (core)
- 1 year math
- 1 year P.E
8th Grade
- 1 or 2 semesters of science
- 0 or 1 semester elective
- 1 year long elective
- 1 year language arts and social studies (core)
- 1 year math
- 1 year P.E
Some advanced classes, such as Advanced Orchestra, Band, and Drama take place in a 00 period before school. Any classes during this time are considered to be an additional year long elective that does not take the place of the required year long elective

Demographics

Castillero Middle School:

Ethnic Group	Percent
White	46%
Hispanic	37%
Asian	10%
African American, not Hispanic	3%
American Indian or Alaska Native	2%
Filipino	2%
Pacific Islander	<1%
Multiple or No Response	<1%

Location

Castillero Middle School is in San Jose, California, on 6384 Leyland Park Dr. It is in Almaden Valley, an affluent neighborhood with a median income of $81,897.

Visual Arts

There are three teachers which teach art classes which range from introductory classes to difficult art masters classes.
- Exploratory Art 1
  - This art class is one semester long. It focuses on beginning perceptual drawing and the elements of design
- Exploratory Art 2
  - This art class is one semester long. It focuses on drawing with an emphasis on shading, proportional enlargement, painting, clay sculpture, and basic one point perspective.
- Art 3
  - Art 1 and 2 are prerequisites and this class is one semester long. The class is one semester long and it focuses on the expressive properties of design elements, the principles of design, and advanced paper-mache sculpture.
- World Class Art
  - This class is one semester long and works on projects based on cultures around the world.
- Masters Art
  - This class is one year long and requires submission of art portfolios. Students study 20th century art, paint masterpieces, portraits in drawing, sculpture in mixed media, logo design, and illustration.

Performing Arts