[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. Embarcadero Media [10], The school's core values, known as "the 5 Cs," include conscience, courtesy, character, courage, and charity. Contact Us But, Castilleja has so many fun events and traditions. I am one of the Casti supporters who stayed up way too late to speak at the meeting last night. It was then that I recognized the unique potential of an all-girls learning environment to empower young womento find their voices. The revised proposal includes five garage designs, though only three of them meet the council's March direction of the underground facility to include no more than 50% of the required on-site parking, which amounts to 52 spaces. The opposition to this project keep referring it to a large scale expansion and that Castilleja wants bigger buildings. "We just want to be educating girls," Kauffman said. Castilleja is a non-profit institution. Provides auto-suggestions when entering text. "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. 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. The only reason anyone knew that Castilleja had surpassed their enrollment is because Castilleja got a new head who reported it. MOBILE, Ala. - Well it looks like Theodore football has found their guy.Steve Mask has accepted the head coaching position with the Bobcats. Yes there will be construction inconveniences, but it's called progress. "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. Castilleja was named one of the Bay Area's Best Private Schools by San Jose Magazine. Bryant is a bicycle boulevard and care has been taken over many years to create a street that is hospitable to bikers of all ages and genders. And if it is accurate that Casti added the garage to the plan only b/c neighbors requested it, why not remove it now so that the modernization can begin? Let me repeat their findings: Alternative 4, the Disbursed Circulation/ No Garage Alternative-would meet the Citys Municipal Code requirements providing 104 parking spaces, which is based on the number of teaching stations. Even the Fehr & Peers report, which was commissioned by Castilleja concludes that the garage is not necessary, 2023 Palo Alto Online. Here, however, the split occurred between the five board members, who were charged with further refining the building's faade. St. Paul's seeks applications from candidates who will promote the School's commitment to attracting and retaining a highly talented and diverse faculty. Photo by Elena Kadvany. Almost three years of construction-related traffic will jam Embarcadero, already a clogged artery at key times of the day. Please include any comments on: The Harker School vs. Castilleja School Varsity Womens' Basketball. Time to read: about 5 minutes. Because of the scale of the proposed development in an R1 zoned neighborhood, the project has experienced considerable opposition among neighboring residents. It would occupy about 24,294 square feet, which is 8,186 square feet less than in the original proposal. It's not one blank wall. And because Lew's term is about to conclude and he is not seeking another term, the ultimate decision about whether the new design passes muster could hinge on a board member who has not yet been appointed and who may have other ideas about the building's design. 26 It's not fair to put the risk of this not working out on the residents. Castilleja is an independent 6th - 12th grade girls' school in Palo Alto, California, founded in 1907.. PALO ALTO Castilleja School's proposed expansion, a sore subject among neighbors who have been fighting it for years, has hit another roadblock. News At Castilleja we believe in an equitable, respectful, and inclusive community. In 2009, Castilleja was given the highest accreditation rating by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. They knew they were moving into an area near a school when they moved in. "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?'" austin.hanson. Neighbors and some council members have been distrustful of the school since learning in 2013 that it had been violating its 415-student enrollment cap for decades. It was only a few decades ago that Casti switched to a day school model. In response to Leland J.: Another member of the public said a garage would invite more traffic. This is a wonderful neighborhood, but it simply isn't practical to block all new development in an attempt to pretend it's still 1990. Become a member today. Castilleja is the only non-sectarian all-girls middle and high school in the San Francisco Bay Area. If Churchill is closed, the situation will deteriorate. The revised plans, which seek to respond to the council's direction, are now set to undergo a series of reviews by the Architectural Review Board, which will consider them on Dec. 2, and the Planning and Transportation Commission, which will review them on Dec. 8. Amazing work from Castilleja. All rights reserved. 1310 Bryant Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301. 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. Castilleja needs to modernize. I have participated in some of the S-CAP meetings. lt's a lot to ask teachers to park a distance away from school and that they can only drive to campus three days a week. Education changes. have spent my career in girls' education, and I am proud to carry on the legacy started by Mary Lockey. It has 416 students in grades 6-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 7 to 1. "I feel this plan is better than ever because of all the feedback and iteration and response. Elizabeth Hughes, a consultant who developed the transportation-demand-management plan for Castilleja, assured the commission and the public that the programs in the plan will keep traffic levels steady. 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. Vandermade, a graduate of Mater Dei-Santa Ana and the . Downtown parking garage. The one at Kol Emeth has improved quality of life just as Castilleja wants to do. This has taken way too long to resolve, and has cost the school way too much money. Because Castilleja needs to provide at least 104 parking spaces to be zone complaint, this means no more than 52 can be below grade, according to staff. Castilleja Head of School GUIDING THEMES Each year, Ms. KauffmanHA carefully selects a theme for the school year and distributes a sticker on opening day: Belonging 2019-20, Justice 2020-21,. Castilleja School. Casti is a bubble that feels very, very wealthy, and very liberal. Council has to decide on whether we want to have this kind of intensification of use in this location, DuBois said. Sexism. I know some people say this is a bad school, but as a 6th grader, trust me, it's the best. Print Edition/Archives Here's the new, best answer. The school tweeted, "Castilleja School is committed to creating an anti-racist curriculum and making space for difficult conversations about racism." . In 2019, the school submitted plans to rebuild most of its campus, which calls for demolishing and rebuilding three buildings on its campus, relocating the swimming pool and adding an underground parking structure. 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. Two board members, Chair Osma Thompson and Grace Lee said that the previously approved project remains perfectly acceptable. Books & Uniforms (new or used): $650 - 1,100 Castilleja has been around before any of the neighbors. . "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. Sponsored content Tuition is $56,500 for the highest grade offered. Here's the new, best answer. Are you suggesting that Palo Alto's 25K taxpaying household provide/ subsidize housing for a private school whose students are 75% commuters? I had an amazing experience in middle school at Casti. DuBois said the schools plan would lead to increased density in one of Palo Altos oldest neighborhoods, a proposition that the slow-growth council isnt likely to support. It seems fair to assume any family in a position to receive significant tuition assistance probably can't afford to live near Castilleja at current prices. All rights reserved. Recently, 2 extremely important reports were released to the public: Fehr & Peers 7/23/21 Castilleja Parking Study commissioned by Castilleja School Not recognizing the impact to traffic, safety issues for bike boulevard, taking old trees out, and not even thinking about the impact of this project with the Churchill proposal. Home & Real Estate 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. Its ridiculous that this is even being considered. Adalberto "Aldo" Toledo is a Bay Area News Group reporter who covers government on the Peninsula for The Mercury News and East Bay Times. And for good reasons. Sign up to be notified of new comments on this topic. ", "There is no reason for the underground garage," Reed said. Endorsements should be a few sentences in length. with Embarcadero and a part of Melville shutdown for months; While its plans call for increasing student enrollment, the project would actually constitute a reduction in total building area, according to planning staff. Three of Castilleja's proposed designs include 52 underground parking spaces, while two other options have 57 and 69 underground spaces, respectively. If some people thought those speeches are unnecessary, they are probably against having the school in Palo Alto in general or else they don't understand the point of the school's proposed modernization. Of course schools have to modernize. Interesting that this report makes it seem like last night was a balanced showing from the public. My life is forever changed and I will bring the lessons you have taught me throughout the rest of my life. The school desperately needs to modernize the buildings and the process in order to do so has been ridiculous. 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