Cooking Classroom, Flag Football Coming to High School
All photos courtesy of CVUSD
An expanded Culinary Arts program is cooking at Castro Valley High School.
At its March 27 meeting, the Board of Trustees was presented with a plan to grow the school’s current Career Technical Education (CTE) Culinary and Hospitality Pathway, a cohort for like-minded students.
The vision involves building a state-of-the-art culinary building in the 400 wing of the high school campus at a cost of $3,506,242. Half that amount is expected to come from state grant funds, and the district’s building funds will cover the remainder.
School officials said they expect to open bidding for the new cooking classroom this summer. Construction is expected to begin in the fall and end sometime in the spring or summer of 2025. Classes are expected to be held in the new building starting in the 2025-2026 school year. Additional costs for maintenance, replacing smaller equipment, and food are projected to be between $40,000 and $50,000.
The current project-based curriculum includes two sections on food and nutrition and one on the synergies between hospitality and culinary arts. According to school officials, advanced catering courses could start in the 2026-2027 school year. Students would be eligible for certifications and hear from industry professionals and speakers.
Culinary students could also take advantage of the Eden Area Regional Occupational Program hospitality and work-based learning resources.
Trojans’ Flag Football
Girls Flag Football is coming to Castro Valley High. A pilot program will start in the 2024-2025 school year, with it becoming an official fall sport starting in 2025.
Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Kathleen Stacy provided the board with an overview. Castro Valley will support a varsity and a junior varsity team. Each team will consist of 15-18 players, with 7 playing on the field at a time.
Last year, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) approved flag football as an eligible high school sport. Ten of the West Alameda County Conference (WACC) schools are expected to support two girls' flag football teams.
“The other schools are eager to compete with us, and we have already targeted some great rivalry matchups,” Stacy said, adding that a recent student survey found that more than 100 students identifying as female or nonbinary were excited to play.
The program expenses include start-up costs of $21,367.86, including $9,604.38 for coaching and staff stipends, $8,239.20 for uniforms, $189.28 for flags, $385.00 for field and game equipment, and $2,950 WACC fees and dues.
Girls Flag Football is gaining traction nationwide. Last year, approximately 474,000 young women between the ages of 6 and 17 played flag football, a 63 percent increase from the number who played the sport in 2019.
Athletic Director Stacy said the sport aligns with the school district’s desire to provide equitable access to opportunities for our students.
New Special Education Director
In other district-related news, the Board of Trustees selected Yoko Ostreicher as the Assistant Special Education Director and Special Education Local Plan Area Director (SELPA), which promotes educational programs and services for special needs students and training for parents and educators.
Ms. Ostreicher has been with Castro Valley Unified since 2015 as the Preschool and Elementary Special Services Coordinator and Interim Director. She brings 22 years of experience, including 14 years as a special education administrator.
In 2021, she was the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Region 6 winner for Special Education Administrator of the Year.