Home & Real Estate 23 Endorse Castilleja School. Photo by Sinead Chang. 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. austin.hanson. A related question to massing of the Kellogg building is Why did the ARB reverse its decision of early this year to approve the Kellogg building design, when NO changes had been made to the design since then? So, anyone with the resources to outlast the opposition should prevail? Your contribution matters. Your contribution matters. Stanford and Paly populations dwarf Castilleja and it is those commuters that impact Embarcadero. Funny how they could do that when, as Rita Vrhel noted in her speech, they were working with incomplete information since various critical reports were never forwarded to the decision-makers A shameful waste of taxpayers money!! Prior to becoming Head on July 1, 2010, Nanci served as Associate Head of School and Dean of Faculty. Global Investigator trip for all 11th graders. She was a bold and opinionated . Follow Palo Alto Online and the Palo Alto Weekly on Twitter @paloaltoweekly, Facebook and on Instagram @paloaltoonline for breaking news, local events, photos, videos and more. Blogs This plan is not excessive in any way. If Casti were to apply today to locate in a residential neighborhood it wouldnt be permitted. of students and parents agree that students at this school are competitive. Castilleja's 6th through 12th grade program offers opportunities for girls across all grade levels to develop a keen sense of self and an unbridled zeal for exploration, innovation, and friendship. Average SAT composite score out of 1600, as reported by Niche users from this school. Threatening the well-being of protected oaks and redwoods; "There's a lot of breaks happening in its faade, there's a lot of void. Suddenly, from being a reasonably quiet residential neighborhood, 75% of its students are commuting daily into the neighborhood and the school begins its continual expansion creep with an increasing number of disruptive evening and weekend events. Education | "Castilleja operates under a CUP (conditional use permit) which is a privilege and not an entitlement," Sylvester said. [15] In June of 2022, the Palo Alto City Council approved the school's permit to expand the school's enrollment, renovate its campus, and build a parking garage. How can there be "no new traffic" when they're increasing enrollment and the number of parking spaces and building a garage?? True belonging is the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to yourself so deeply that you can share your most authentic self with the world and find sacredness in both being a part of something and standing alone in the wilderness. Nanci Kauffman is Castilleja's sixth Head of School. "They must take into account the impact they make in the health, welfare and quiet enjoyment of their neighbors.". Through coursework, arts, athletics, and an array of co-curricular experiences, Castilleja students become inquisitive and persevering learners. Castilleja is a non-profit institution. Palo Alto backs e-bike ban on Baylands trails, Stanford sues Santa Clara County over tax exemptions for faculty residences, Hit-and-run driver kills man, crashes into five cars Sunday morning, Santa Clara County wants to put millions into child care, California homelessness: Where are the state's billions going? 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. ", Palo Alto backs e-bike ban on Baylands trails, Stanford sues Santa Clara County over tax exemptions for faculty residences, Hit-and-run driver kills man, crashes into five cars Sunday morning, Santa Clara County wants to put millions into child care, California homelessness: Where are the state's billions going? - because the school WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to increase enrollment if their traffic increases, period. The neighbors asked for a garage. It may be limited to public school teachers. Business relationships. I have been following Castilleja's modernization project for the past 4 years. of students and parents agree that students at this school are creative and artsy. "Barring intergenerational wealth or a very high-earning spouse, I struggle to see how teachers (or most families in the bay area) could afford to live anywhere near Castilleja. If they reduced the footprint of the new building, there would be no need for an underground garage or other adjustments. The school's new plans include five garage designs, though only three comply with the council's request that underground parking make up no more than 50% of the total spaces on campus. It includes five different designs for the garage, as well as new restrictions on the number of school events a source of consternation for some of the school's neighbors. Sign up to be notified of new comments on this topic. remains true to its mission to give each young woman an "educated Finally, one question about the massing on Kellogg. "They just want to have less parking on-site so that they can have a bigger more massive building. No new traffic. of students and parents agree that clubs and organizations get the funding they need. "If they were to request a 10% enrollment increase, we'd be looking at about 450 students and there's there's sufficient parking on-site for 450. "We are looking at a successful program that has every advantage to perform and every element was reviewed: bicycle, walking, transit, carpool, the outreach, the monitoring and the penalty aspects," Hughes said. This time it's in the form of a planned. to oppose something that they don't want to see even though the council indicated it will approve some version of this project. "If they were to request a 10% enrollment increase, we'd be looking at about 450 students and there's there's sufficient parking on-site for 450. 1. The goalposts keep moving [portion removed.] Castilleja also has a lot of programs, or C, which are study blocks, or your elective, or grade meetings. More than 100 years since its founding, Castilleja 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. HEAD OF SCHOOL. I have spent my career in girls' education, and I am proud to carry on the legacy started by Mary Lockey. He is a Venezuelan-American raised in Texas with bylines in the Champaign, Ill. News-Gazette, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The Dallas Morning News. What most disturbs me about this process is the ever shifting goalposts. This project is worth fighting for. "Time is passing. Become a member today. But as two recent public hearings on the Castilleja project showed, these moves have done little to make Castilleja's project less polarizing. Castilleja, for its part, has consistently rejected the notion that it is looking to "expand." Related Articles Photo by Elena Kadvany. "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 live within steps of people who have posted above and are persistently concerned about the "expansion". Two board members, Chair Osma Thompson and Grace Lee said that the previously approved project remains perfectly acceptable. PALO ALTO Castilleja School's proposed expansion, a sore subject among neighbors who have been fighting it for years, has hit another roadblock. Please, I implore readers to understand the facts, and give Castilleja the chance to educate more young women AND abide by the strict limits spelled out in the proposed new CUP. It is calculated using the reported number of students and full-time equivalent teachers. of students and parents agree that the teachers adequately lead and control the classroom. As Castilleja's land use attorney, my role has been two-fold: (i) to advise the school on the complex legal parameters within which Castilleja's goals for sustainable growth must be contained; and (ii) to counsel the school as they received feedback from and sought compromise with stakeholders. Selecting a category below will take you to another page. I bet you wouldn't be able to fight that project! Embarcadero Media It wasn't perfect, though. With the support These including new shuttle and bus routes, a bike-share program, a "guaranteed ride home" program for employees who don't drive but who need may need to leave the school for an emergency (they would be reimbursed for the cost of transportation) and a new Castilleja Lyft program that will provide free midday rides for faculty and staff, according to the plan that the school released last month. This makes no sense in my opinion. Here's the new, best answer. To sfvalley: Special Pubs I remember the theoretical discussion about "if enrollment was increased to 1000 and there were no impacts or increase in traffic, would that be OK?" "Every year spent in process negotiation and compromise has resulted in scores of young women being shut out of joining the Castilleja community," Burch said. What do YOU think is in this community's best interests? I fail to understand why Castilleja school advocates insist on keeping the location on a busy thoroughfare of Embarcadero when like other schools, they could relocate to another, safer location where they could expand. Or require only exceptions that can work for that site w/o enormously negative impact on the neighborhood in which it is located? "We think a 30% increase in enrollment excessive," Reed said in an interview. Ron DeSantis apocalyptic attack on higher education. educating the whole person and to developing commpassionate and 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. Stanford also used the same old "no new car trips, trust us" claim while dramatically growing its enrollment, the number of campuses, number of housing units, the whole Hospital / health care complex etc. Whether you are a prospective student, a current parent, a colleague, or an alum, this website is designed to provide you with the news and information you need to understand who we are. I think you misunderstand my above post. On page 5, the report details the location of all 330 on -street parking spaces comprised of 54 school- frontage parking spaces and 276 non -frontage parking spaces. Circulation & Delivery, About Us It also dragged because of the lengthy speeches on how Casti could end misogyny right here in our own times. The information contained in these 2 reports should cause the PTC to send Castillejas expansion plans back to the drawing board. My question is: WHAT IS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF PALO ALTO? What are your favorite school events or traditions? Vice Mayor Burt co-chairs those meetings so he hears the communitys concerns. "If Castilleja really wants 500 to 600 students, it's time to move or open another campus like so many others do.". I absolutely am a neighbor. Their enrollment cap since 2000 is 415 students, but they've exceeded that number since 2002. Castilleja is a member of the California Association of Independent Schools[2] and the National Coalition of Girls' Schools. "There are elements of the building that could be cut back and there's the space between that no longer needs access to the cellar," Hirsch said. A shuttle would then bring them to the campus.While project critics, including members of the group PNQLNow, have advocated for such a program, the revised plans are unlikely to satisfy all their concerns. Why should Casti think it is entitled to continue to increase its impact in a residential neighborhood? Be careful what you wish for neighbors!! Terms of Use And isn't the staff already stuck parking in the Baylands and being shuttled onto campus while students will use the campus parking? [5] Originally from Montana, Lockey graduated from Stanford University in 1902, where she majored in English. After graduation, 100% of students from this school go on to attend a 4-year college. [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. and Dudeks 11/17/21 report on Castilleja School Building Survey and Gross Floor Area Assessment. But Vice Mayor Pat Burt resented the strategy and city planners apparent willingness to go along. Now they don't want a garage. The school's "transportation management plan" includes, among other features, shuttles, carpool programs and a 2015 policy that requires staff to rely on alternative modes of transportation at least three times per week. "Our plan now checks all the boxes," Kauffman told the planning commission Wednesday night. placed on academic development, Castilleja is just as committed to March 1, 2023 at 6:20 p.m. St. Ignatius announced Lenny Vandermade as the team's head football coach via a press release on Wednesday. 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. Science evolves. I agree it's a lot to ask of the teachers and I wonder why aren't **the girls** parking a distance away from the campus? All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! And for what? Don't miss out on the discussion! Since when does Palo Alto enforce (or even pay sufficient attention) to such things? 1310 Bryant Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301. While this would require a 14% reduction in the parking requirement, Planning Director Jonathan Lait suggested in a report that staff would be amenable to adjusting the parking requirements, given Castilleja's suite of measures that discourage driving to school. Isn't Palo Alto already funding and developing a teacher's housing project? The faculty consists of approximately 70 full-time and part-time women and men. Terms of Use 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. Students, but they 've exceeded that number since 2002 exceptions that can for. To increase its impact in a residential neighborhood it wouldnt be permitted the funding they need Champaign! Neighborhood it wouldnt be permitted of a planned 1, 2010, Nanci as! 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