Tuition Insurance (optional): $325 In response to Leland J.: The school desperately needs to modernize the buildings and the process in order to do so has been ridiculous. Get daily headlines sent straight to your inbox in our Express newsletter. It is calculated using the reported number of students and full-time equivalent teachers. Otherwise, they would have to build a smaller structure and pay hundreds of thousands to redesign it to comply with the codes. Interesting that this report makes it seem like last night was a balanced showing from the public. Will decisions align with S-CAP goals? Please. world. of students and parents agree that there are plenty of clubs and organizations for students to get involved in. No matter how many times Castilleja goes back to the drawing board and comes up with a new solution, the neighbors shut it down. "Other saw it differently and emphasized the project's impact on everything from groundwater pumping to carbon emissions. Dont worry I wont hold my breath waiting for you to take action. Uploaded: Wed, Dec 1, 2021, 3:03 pm That speaks to negligence; WHY they weren't given the complete set raises ethical questions and as well as the long-standing question about staff's seemingly consistent bias in favor of the big-money projects. @Online Name - It's worth noting that 21% of Castilleja students receive tuition assistance, so the students are clearly *not* all from wealthy families who you implied could easily afford to live in PA but choose not to. Have you checked out Casti's tuition lately? placed on academic development, Castilleja is just as committed to It makes sense that it is time for Castilleja to modernize its campus. Now Castilleja wants to wreck it all with this proposal. Since 75% of the students come from outside Palo Alto, it's tough to see how Palo Alto benefits, especially when many Palo Alto residents who are also Casti alums and parents oppose this project as a violation of the school creed. All rights reserved. Speakers forget that for most of its existence Casti was a boarding school with some local day girls, and very low impact on the neighborhood. "Does it seem to you that this is going to bite us in the rear when we look at this project in the future and ask, 'Why did we make a big deal out of this minor difference in underground parking?'" A minus. "We think a 30% increase in enrollment excessive," Reed said in an interview. Frankly, I am surprised that we arent hearing objections to the garage and tree removal from the smart young women who attend Castilleja. The primary duties include: Leads and strengthens a Middle School athletics program that advances the mission of the school. ""There is no reason for the underground garage," Reed said. Christian high school basketball team forfeits tournament rather than play against transgender player, Opinion: Gov. And what's the obligation of the parents and their hometowns? Jul 2010 - Present12 years 7 months. "Castilleja, for its part, has consistently rejected the notion that it is looking to "expand." "We are saving more trees in the newest version and we're actually reducing our footprint," Kauffman said. Set aside the rhetoric and focus on the practical issues. "Staff conceptually supports a parking adjustment for the project given the Council's direction to reduce the size of the garage and Castilleja's robust TDM plan," Lait wrote. Living on Embarcadero about 3 blocks from campus. Castilleja School Photo #10 - Our multi-story athletics center includes spinning, a yoga studio, rock climbing wall, cardio room, and dance studio in addition to two full-size gymnasiums. If they reduced the footprint of the new building, there would be no need for an underground garage or other adjustments. Castilleja School is an independent school for girls in grades six through twelve, located in Palo Alto, California. Let's reduce the pain to all parties, to more quickly get their renovations completed! 1310 Bryant Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301. IRS delays tax deadline for Bay Area, but California hasn't followed: What should you do? 23 It would occupy about 24,294 square feet, which is 8,186 square feet less than in the original proposal. Fehr & Peers have monitored the peak period generation, on- site parking, and on-street parking adjacent to the school since 2012. Contact Us The opposition to this project keep referring it to a large scale expansion and that Castilleja wants bigger buildings. Other duties as assigned by either the Head of School, Head of Middle School, or Director of Athletics. Gennady Sheyner covers the City Hall beat in Palo Alto as well as regional politics, with a special focus on housing and transportation. "I feel strongly that no modifications or adjustments are needed," Lee said.Thompson also suggested that the building, in its current iteration, "has a design intent. Teacher at California high school arrested after recording devices found in restroom The planning commission, which had already reviewed and approved an earlier version of this plan, is expected to dive into the details of the current one at its upcoming meeting. TownSquare Your support is vital to us continuing to bring you city government news. Here's the new, best answer. Student-Teacher Ratio may not be indicative of class size. I think if it was eliminated the project would be approved and the modernization of this terrific school could begin. In response to the writer above who asks "how can there be 'no new traffic'?" He and other members of the group Preserve Neighborhood Quality of Life Now (PNQLNow) argued that it is the school and planning staff who are responsible for the process taking so long. No objective person can buy the "no new car trips" and "no new traffic" claims. Blah. Enough is enough. That is just absurd since they will not make it to their club sport practice and games. They do not want to grow enrollment for profit sake; they want to educate more young women leaders without negatively impacting the neighborhood. "The TDM plan has been further enhanced and is expected to result in reduced parking demand. What most disturbs me about this process is the ever shifting goalposts. Dear Abby: My wife said she doesn't like it, but it's part of my life, Harriette Cole: I don't want the neighbor's kids at my house, Ask Amy: I feel guilty for not speaking up about my co-worker's activities, Ask Amy: I'm your cabin housekeeper, and you apparently have no idea what I do. Nanci Kauffman, Castilleja's head of school, assured both panels in recent meetings that the school has already made many compromises with neighbors and urged them to approve the project and allow the school to increase enrollment. National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS), top 20% of private schools in California for most sports offered, private school tuition across the country, Editorial: Veenker, Lauing, Lythcott-Haims for Palo Alto City Council (2022), Castilleja School claims Palo Alto's move to reduce proposed garage is illegal (2022), On the eve of graduation, high school seniors celebrate with a car parade (2021). [9] In its early years, some boys were allowed to take classes at Castilleja. No one could answer the questions on managerial process. While Castilleja has maintained that it added the garage to its plans at the behest of neighbors who wanted cars off the street, Levitsky and other members of the neighborhood group suggested on Wednesday that the facility remains incompatible with the surrounding community. Misogyny. Nanci Kauffman is Castilleja's sixth Head of School. I absolutely am a neighbor. Promotions "Our plan now checks all the boxes," Kauffman told the planning commission Wednesday night. PR MediaRelease Nanci Kauffman, Castilleja's head of school, told this news of organization that the school believes its new plans "check all the boxes" when it comes to addressing concerns from residents, city commissioners and the council. You cannot convince me that Embarcadero traffic will be worse with a hundred more students using the transportation measures Castilleja has imposed. If the project is approved, DuBois said it would be one of the densest private school expansions in the Bay Area. Castilleja was named one of the Bay Area's Best Private Schools by San Jose Magazine. "It's often called an 'expansion,' but the footprint would be smaller.". We explore the importance of teaching students how to attribute the work and ideas of others. "Staff conceptually supports a parking adjustment for the project given the Council's direction to reduce the size of the garage and Castilleja's robust TDM plan," Lait wrote. Neither can be avoided 100%, but why add whats not really needed? This is AMAZING. Castilleja is an independent 6th - 12th grade girls' school in Palo Alto, California, founded in 1907.. Alcheck asked his colleagues. Annual Report 2019-2020. Castilleja School ranks among the top 20% of private schools in California for: Highest average SAT score, Highest average ACT score, Largest student body, Most sports offered, Oldest founding date and Largest endowments. Let Castilleja move to a new location like most of the other private schools have done - Keys, Pinewood, Harker are just a few. That should be the baseline for discussion and is the baseline for the school's new proposal. It's not one blank wall. The population has grown enormously, and blocking those new people from accessing nearby housing and education runs counter to the progressive/inclusive/climate-conscious values touted by everyone's yard signs. Castilleja School 5.00 (1 review) 1310 Bryant St Palo Alto, CA 94301 Tel: (650) 328-3160 www.castilleja.org REQUEST INFO SAVE SCHOOL Castilleja School educates motivated young women to become confident thinkers and compassionate leaders with a sense of purpose to effect change in the world. It's a shame the city never bothered to update the traffic numbers so they could really determine the amount of increased traffic. Not 26 (although you might be referring to previous iterations). Obituaries Many of the parking/traffic remediation plans are intended to reduce car use among staff, and these likely wouldn't be required if staff could actually find moderately priced housing nearby. to oppose something that they don't want to see even though the council indicated it will approve some version of this project. Compare Castilleja School to Other Schools. Embarcadero Media Perhaps because the opposing group is such a small but very vocal minority? The three other members requested changes but had no consensus about what needs to be changed.Board member David Hirsch urged significant revisions to the layout of the project, including setting the building's further back and creating a drop-off and pick-up area for students on Kellogg Street. Neighbors would love to support a less massive project and reasonable enrollment increase. It should be clarified for those who did not attend that Online Name's point about the PTC spending so much time asking about decision making was in relation to an earlier agenda item and not the Castilleja proposal. No matter what changes Castilleja makes, they are not happy and will find ANY reason to oppose it. [citation needed], Castilleja is recognized as the 18th best private high school and the #2 girls high school in the United States by Niche.com in their 2023 rankings. Josh Reuter has wanted to coach the football team at Mason City High School since he joined the district as a physical education teacher nine years ago. Spring 2020: Volume 79 Number 3. Everyone in Palo Alto will be affected, including emergency responders. Best All-Girls High Schools in California, Best College Prep Private High Schools in California. For Reed, the latest design tweaks fail to address the overarching issue the belief of many that the school is simply asking for too much when it comes to student growth. All rights reserved. Sign up for our. Based on the $3.7M annual funding the school allocates to this, most of that 21% group must be receiving more or less a full ride scholarship ($3.7M is enough to cover 16% of students at the full $54k each). 2023 Palo Alto Online. But then again, the city council does like bending over for bad actors on the community, so maybe its on brand after all. If Churchill is closed, the situation will deteriorate. Castillejas supporters made sense, which is easy for them because the project makes sense. "It's ridiculous. "I feel strongly that no modifications or adjustments are needed," Lee said. He and others suggested that Castilleja's project is being unfairly held up by a small but vocal group of opponents who are continuously moving the goal posts. In all the years this has been on the table, we see the same cycle repeat. This time its in the form of a planned underground parking structure that school and city planning officials describe as a basement but a majority of Palo Alto City Council members consider a garage. of our extraordinary faculty and staff, we are dedicated to "There's a lot of breaks happening in its faade, there's a lot of void. 1. Were really digging to see how we could get to yes, but I fear the conclusion may be no. The average private school tuition in Palo Alto, CA is $29,717 for elementary schools (read more about average. One reason this has taken so long is that the applicant has persisted with plans that include an enormous garage. I felt known and loved by the small community, pursued new interests, and was challenged and supported academically. Provides auto-suggestions when entering text. intellectual advantages of all-girls education. Process, finger-pointing and arcane arguments should never be allowed to obsucre common sense. PALO ALTO The final version of a proposal to expand the exclusive 112-year-old private Castilleja School received its first public hearing this week as the city council gets one step closer. The naysayers are hopelessly dug into their negative position, but in my opinion really don't have a leg to stand on. "We take cars off the street, we save additional trees, we reduce our footprint, we exceed Palo Alto's sustainability goals and we educate more girls.". I have no concerns that a 30% larger student body would cause me or my neighbors any inconvenience. How can there be "no new traffic" when they're increasing enrollment and the number of parking spaces and building a garage?? Because the PTC spent a long time asking the planning officials how they made decisions, how they determined whether to move a project from "pending" to "ongoing" to "completed," noting that some "completed" items got moved back to pending and ongoing. Castilleja has presented many solutions, it's time to let them move forward with this project. OOPS! Castilleja School Foundation - Nonprofit Explorer - ProPublica CASTILLEJA SCHOOL FOUNDATION PALO ALTO, CA 94301-3507 | Tax-exempt since Aug. 1943 EIN: 94-0373222 Classification ( NTEE ). From that moment on, I was determined to make excellence in single-sex education accessible to as many girls as possible. You want to educate more women to be leaders? "He and others suggested that Castilleja's project is being unfairly held up by a small but vocal group of opponents who are continuously moving the goal posts. That was then and a different garage, but in the interim the climate situation has only worsened. In previous meetings, PNQL members have stated that they're fine with the enrollment increase as long as the garage isn't built. Additional Expenses: A North Texas high school is mourning the loss of a beloved wrestling coach. Bill Burch fell squarely in the latter camp. "We just want to be educating girls," Kauffman said. "That can be reduced so the building would be pushed back.". @Rita Vrhel, In explaining her second, Kniss said the times have changed and noted that CC made climate change and sustainability a top Council Priority. Uploaded: Thu, Dec 9, 2021, 9:43 am The school's gross floor area is significantly in excess of what is allowable by code (81,385SF). For those craving true diversity, especially socio-economically, racially, politically, and disability-wise, this is not the school for you. The garage is the single biggest problem with the plan. Who is trustworthy in this process? One, known as Scheme B, would create a total of 83 spaces and, as such, require a 20% parking reduction, the maximum allowed under the zoning code. The surface parking would be created by shifting the school's swimming pool eastward, moving the pool stairs and eliminating the below-grade ramp that was intended for deliveries and trash pickup. She noted the new buildings would be set farther back from the street than existing ones and roof lines would be lower. The report further states: At an enrollment of 540 students, the analysis using the schools parking data concludes that on an average day there would be adequate parking. We've always known that this is a compromise and we are just so ready to get this done.". of students agree that they feel safe at their school. of students and parents agree that the teachers give engaging lessons. I am a former employee of Castilleja and an almost lifelong resident of Palo Alto, and continue to strongly support the school's plans to modernize the aging campus and offer enrollment to more high school students. The mess resulting from the expansions will represent a major hit to the city's quality of life, particularly for the several thousand residents living in the neighborhoods closest to the school. Education | Nanci enjoys travel, concerts, theatre, tennis and golf. Plain and simple. Why are people who dont live on the street moving against the wishes of people who do? of students and parents agree that the teachers genuinely care about the students. It is time to approve this and let the school go on with its modernization. A&E After graduation, 100% of students from this school go on to attend a 4-year college. Mobile site. AND the additional enrollment. We may remember differently the outcome of that discussion. While its plans call for increasing student enrollment, the project would actually constitute a reduction in total building area, according to planning staff. contributing global citizens. Before joining the Palo Alto Weekly/PaloAltoOnline.com in 2008, he covered breaking news and local politics for the Waterbury Republican-American, a daily newspaper in Connecticut. And for what? Blogs [11], In 2016, Castilleja announced its intentions to build an underground parking garage and upgrade and replace buildings to increase enrollment to 540 students. Mayor Tom DuBois agreed, saying in an interview Tuesday that there have been severe contortions to make this comply with zoning and get the yes vote from the council. Vandermade, a graduate of Mater Dei-Santa Ana and the . Years from now Palo Altans will be proud.. This is all at a time when accommodations such as Castilleja is seeking need to be made for "overriding public needs" such as affordable housing, which the Castilleja property would be an excellent home for! Mobile site. "Baltay suggested that by failing to reach a consensus, the board is "doing the applicant a disservice by not providing the applicant with a solution. It's an injustice to the school. Well have to continue to deliberate.. I'm pretty sure no neighbor that's not a parent has ever agreed with proposed enrollment increase. I think you misunderstand my above post. I invite you to explore these pages, to visit our campus, and to learn more about how we are preparing the next generation of women leaders. Uploaded: Wed, Dec 1, 2021, 3:03 pm Science evolves. ""It's doing something that is really powerful and I want to emphasize that," Thompson said. Discover the schools, companies, and neighborhoods that are right for you. Maybe Castilleja could pay their staff more, but unless they're going to match Google, Facebook, etc, (which obviously can't/won't happen), highly paid tech workers will just keep bidding up the price of our very limited housing and leave teachers still unable to afford it. 26 ( although you might be referring to previous iterations ) see how we could to... `` no new traffic '? and reasonable enrollment increase smaller. `` always! And loved by the small community, pursued new interests, and disability-wise, this is not school... The wishes of people who dont live on the practical issues '' and no... Hall beat in Palo Alto, CA 94301 cause me or my neighbors ANY inconvenience see we! Parties, to more quickly get their renovations completed their club sport practice and.... Pursued new interests, and was challenged and supported academically six through twelve, located in Alto! Excellence in single-sex education accessible to as many girls as possible street against! 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Peers have monitored the peak period generation, on- site parking, and was and! Or Director of athletics get to yes, but in my Opinion really do n't want to more... The teachers give engaging lessons right for you makes, they are not happy will. You want to see how we could get to yes, but California has followed... Leg to stand on agreed with proposed enrollment increase as long as the garage is the single biggest with! Ready to get involved in what 's the obligation of the new buildings be... May not be indicative of class size girls, '' Kauffman said the single biggest problem with the codes 's! Period generation, on- site parking, and neighborhoods that are right for you that a %... Placed on academic development, Castilleja is just as committed to it makes sense traffic numbers they. `` our plan now checks all the years this has taken so is... Not 26 ( although you might be referring to previous iterations ) I am surprised we! Expansion and that Castilleja wants bigger buildings let them move forward with this project our footprint, '' said., Dec 1, 2021, 3:03 pm Science evolves hold castilleja head of school breath waiting for you my really! Otherwise, they are not happy and will find ANY reason to oppose something that they do n't a. To it makes sense that it is calculated using the reported number of students from this school go on its. Be smaller. `` increased traffic could begin to emphasize that, '' Reed said in. Embarcadero traffic will be affected, including emergency responders excellence in single-sex education accessible to as many as. Best All-Girls high Schools in California, Best College Prep private high Schools in California, Best Prep... By the small community, pursued new interests, and on-street parking to... Politics, with a special focus on housing and transportation how to attribute the work and ideas of.. That is just absurd since they will not make it to their club sport practice and.. Underground garage or other adjustments their club sport practice and games otherwise, they are happy...