Orange High School (North Carolina)

Orange High School is a high school in the northern area of Orange County, North Carolina.

Orange High School
Orange High School in March 2017
Address
500 Orange High School Road

Hillsborough
,
North Carolina
27278

United States
Coordinates36°05′23″N 79°05′41″W
Information
TypePublic
Established1963 (1963)
School districtOrange Public Schools
SuperintendentTodd Wirt
CEEB code341875
PrincipalLeeah McGhee
Staff79.92 (FTE)[1]
Enrollment1,292 (2018–19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio16.17[1]
Color(s)Orange and black
  
SongWashington and Lee Swing,
performed by the OHS panther regiment marching band
MascotPanther
NicknameOrange Panther
Websiteorangecountyfirst.com/ohs

Students and faculty

Founded in 1963, Orange High School educates 1274 students[2] in the northern half of Orange County–generally, the northern half of Hillsborough and all of the county north of I-85. It was the district's sole high school until Cedar Ridge High School opened in 2002 to serve the southern part of the county.

Like most high schools, Orange High serves grades 9 through 12 offering academic, co-curricular, career and technical, and extracurricular opportunities. The student-teacher ratio is 16.3:1.

The faculty for the North Carolina school includes 75 licensed classroom teachers, four school counselors, one career development coordinator, one media specialist, one instructional technology resource teacher, two associate principals, one principal, one AIG Resource Teacher, one social worker, one school psychologist, and one school nurse.[3] Nine of the teachers National Board Certified Teachers,[4] and 32 (over 50 percent) hold master's degrees.

In Spring of 2007, it was announced that Jeff Dishmon would not be returning as principal of Orange High for the 2007–2008 school year, where he would be moved to a Central Office position. Roy Winslow became principal, until January 2010 when it was announced that he would be moving to a school in Granville County. Stephen Scroggs, a former Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Assistant Superintendent, was assigned the position of interim principal until a new principal was found. One of the assistant principals, Armond Hankins, was selected for the position, effective July 1, 2010. Hankins was demoted in 2012, and former Gravelly Hill Middle School principal Jason Johnson replaced him.

Athletics

The Cross Country team has made it to state championships with both girls and boys for six consecutive years, starting in 2006.

In 2005 the wrestling team won the 3A state title. Orange won back to back state championships, winning both the Dual Meet and Individual titles in 2008 and 2009. Orange has won six individual state champions. The team won the duel-team state championships in 2011 and 2012.

The baseball team finished the 2008 season as 2A state champions with a record of 27–3.

2006 school shooting
Orange High School shooting
LocationHillsborough, North Carolina, United States
DateAugust 30, 2006
Attack type
School shooting, Patricide
Weapons
Deaths1 (perpetrator’s father)
Injured2
PerpetratorAlvaro Rafael Castillo

On August 30, 2006, former student 18-year-old Alvaro Rafael Castillo murdered his father, Rafael Castillo, and then drove the family minivan to Orange High School, where he set off a cherry bomb and then opened fire with a 9mm Hi-Point 995 Carbine and a sawed-off 12-gauge Mossberg 500 pump-action shotgun. When his carbine jammed he was apprehended by a deputy sheriff assigned to the school and a retired highway patrol officer who taught driver's education. Two students were injured in the attack, but none were killed.[5]

Later that day it was discovered that Castillo had killed his father to "put him out of his misery." He also made the statement "Columbine, remember Columbine," while entering a patrol car,[6] referring to the attack at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999. He sent a written letter and videotape to the Chapel Hill News prior to the shooting, that made reference to school shootings. He also sent an e-mail to the principal of Columbine High School saying "Dear Principal, In a few hours you will probably hear about a school shooting in North Carolina. I am responsible for it. I remember Columbine. It is time the world remembered it. I am sorry. Goodbye."[7]

Castillo entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Psychologist James Hilkey testified that Castillo suffered from schizotypal and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, as well as major depressive disorder and was not in touch with reality at the time of the shooting.[8] On August 21, 2009, Castillo was found guilty in Orange County Superior Court following a trial that lasted three weeks. He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole.[9]

Notable alumni

References
  1. "Orange High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  3. Orange High School website's school profile Archived 2007-06-30 at the Wayback Machine
  4. About OHS Archived 2007-06-30 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Karas, Beth (August 21, 2009). "Man obsessed with Columbine convicted of murder". CNN. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  6. News and Observer article about evidence rejected in the shooting case
  7. "Cops: N.C. suspect e-mailed Columbine official". NBC News. August 31, 2006. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  8. Johnson, Anne (August 13, 2009). "Psychologist: Alleged school shooter didn't know 'right from wrong'". WRAL.com. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  9. "Orange school shooter: 'I realize what I did was wrong'". WRAL.com. August 21, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
  10. Orange, Dale Edwards/News of. "She has our back: Vaccine push has local connection". News of Orange. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  11. Ricardo Marsh DraftExpress Profile. draftexpress.com. Retrieved Mar 6, 2020.
  12. http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=669060
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