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Castle View High School Applies New Approach to Traditional Learning
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Castle View High School offers Douglas County students a different approach to the traditional three Rs of education.
With five academies of study to choose from – including two that focus on math/science/engineering and biotechnology/health sciences – this high school of just more than 1,500 students is placing its emphasis on preparing students for the world of high-tech work in a personalized environment.
“We believe in the three Rs, but they are different than they once were,” says Dr. Lisle Gates, principal. “Our three Rs are relationships, rigor and relevance. The relevance piece is very important to us with all our academies. The core curriculum is designed and wrapped around the academy interests.”
Dr. Gates and his team make connections with businesses that are related to the five academies. For example, with the Biotechnology/Health Science Academy, students could intern in surgical clinics, while Lockheed Martin could be a clinical setting for the 430 students enrolled in the popular Math and Science Engineering Academy.
“We have businesses that support the content area of each academy,” Dr. Gates explains. “And they also serve as advisors to our programs.”
In addition to relying on business support, Dr. Gates also seeks instructors who have real-world experience in a particular course of study, noting that two of the teachers in the math/science academy are engineers.
In this day of high-tech demands, Castle View High School is wired to the hilt, with more than 600 computers for staff and student use. Seven labs meet the technology needs for specific courses of study, including one with architectural printers used by the architecture students, one with robotics and others with a wind tunnel and bridge-testing equipment to see if students’ bridge designs will stand the test of weight and structure.
It isn’t just high-tech that gets the high scores, however; high-touch is an equal part of the equation, Dr. Gates says.
“The academies make our school a smaller, more personal environment,” he says. “Relationship is a huge part of our program. The teachers have 20 to 22 students assigned to them as freshmen who stay with them for four years, so they get to know them very well. Close relationships are developed, and that’s one of the strengths we have.”
It appears to be working. According to Dr. Gates, 83 percent of the 2009 graduating class were enrolled in a college last spring before graduation. “I feel very good about our students in last year’s graduation class and where they are now,” Dr. Gates says.
With such outstanding results, one might think that the school is only about academics. Such is not the case. “We have the full range of athletics any other school in Douglas County has,” Dr. Gates says. “We are about academics, but research is loud and clear that when students are involved outside the classroom, they are better students. We are a comprehensive high school with a liberal arts school stance.”
Story by Betsy Williams
