Global Investigator trip for all 11th graders. Compare Castilleja School to Other Schools. [Portion removed.] Building an unnecessary underground garage that isn't needed, is a threat to the environment and sets a dangerous precedent for other neighborhoods. Finding the right school for your child is a major project. The other two alternatives with 52 underground spaces have drawbacks that make them either less feasible or less desirable. I bet you wouldn't be able to fight that project! Will his actions on this reflect that? The two major points were a scaled down garage and a plan to manage traffic. 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. Even in its revised form, an underground garage has no business being in a residential neighborhood, critics of the project maintained. Enough is enough. The naysayers are hopelessly dug into their negative position, but in my opinion really don't have a leg to stand on. Castilleja is a member of the California Association of Independent Schools[2] and the National Coalition of Girls' Schools. Andie Reed, one of the group's co-founders, noted that even the revised project includes elements that residents have consistently deemed to be problematic namely, an underground garage that many believe is incompatible with the neighborhood. 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? [13][14] One concern has been traffic impact. 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. It's not one blank wall. Castilleja is the only non-sectarian all-girls middle and high school in the San Francisco Bay Area. The information contained in these 2 reports should cause the PTC to send Castillejas expansion plans back to the drawing board. 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. This suggestion would decrease construction time by 1.1 years from 34 months to 21 months. Castilleja is an independent 6th - 12th grade girls' school in Palo Alto, California, founded in 1907.. Whats interesting is that when this goes to CC it will be reviewed by 5 council members who, in 2019, were part of a unanimous 7-0 vote to NOT build the promised downtown garage. Education changes. 2023 Palo Alto Online. If they were, this whole long mess could have been avoided. Let Castilleja move to a new location like most of the other private schools have done - Keys, Pinewood, Harker are just a few. I had an amazing experience in middle school at Casti. Castilleja has demonstrated that they are consistent and responsible with traffic management. Education | Blogs Time and time again, Castilleja has revised their plans to meet the demands of the neighbors, yet the neighbors turn down every solution. [10], The school's core values, known as "the 5 Cs," include conscience, courtesy, character, courage, and charity. 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. 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. Jul 2010 - Present12 years 7 months. 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. This project has been under consideration SINCE 2016 - likely the longest project in Palo Alto history - because the demands keep shifting. Dear Castilleja Community, Many of you remember that each year at Castilleja, we explore a guiding theme to frame our social and emotional learning as we . If the school fails to meet its trip cap numbers, it would also establish a "Kiss n' Ride" program that allows parents to drop off and pick up their children at an off-site location about 15 minutes before school starts. 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? Coach one after school team each season and fitness classes during the . Also, just as Casti continues to conflate the schools stellar ability to educate young women, which NO ONE disputes, with land use entitlements, neighbors continue to question the likelihood that terms of the CUP and TDM program will be enforced. While its plans call for increasing student enrollment, the project would actually constitute a reduction in total building area, according to planning staff. Because we have lived with the current CUP and how that has been complied with historically, it is a huge leap that just because it will be written that there will be no new trips, that will in fact happen. After hours of discussion Monday night that lasted past midnight, the council voted 4-3 to resume the debate over basement versus garage at a later undetermined date, thus postponing a vote on the controversial expansion. On Wednesday night, as Castilleja held its first hearing in front of the Planning and Transportation Commission on its new plan, the panel heard from more than 50 residents, who in some cases pooled their allotted time to make longer presentation. So, I asked ChatGPT to explain itself. 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. This is Andie Reed. "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. News Sign up for the Peninsula Foodist newsletter. 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. Based on recent reviews by an independent consultant, the city determined that Castilleja has an existing gross floor area of 138,345 square feet. Just think about what that means. Many of these community complaints would be solved if the community wasn't also so opposed to building more (and denser) housing in Palo Alto. Niche ranks nearly 100,000 schools and districts based on statistics and millions of opinions from students and parents. "Our plan now checks all the boxes," Kauffman told the planning commission Wednesday night. It has 416 students in grades 6-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 7 to 1. 4. News Photo by Elena Kadvany. Place a Legal Notice Castilleja checks all of these boxes. 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. Uploaded: Thu, Dec 9, 2021, 9:43 am To assuage the community's fears about the traffic impacts of its expansion, a key area of concern for council members and project opponents alike, Castilleja is now proposing several new policies to discourage driving near the campus. 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. I think we've pretty much been saying the same thing for 5 years. 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. The 34-year-old got his wish . There's also something called little C at the end of the day, where the teachers also help you. PR MediaRelease So, no garage needed. Tuition is $56,500 for the highest grade offered. And for what? St. Paul's is a completely residential, co-educational, Episcopal, secondary school in Concord, NH, welcoming to all faiths. Fehr & Peers have monitored the peak period generation, on- site parking, and on-street parking adjacent to the school since 2012. This process has dragged on for ten years. It's not one blank wall. excellence in educating young women to lead in a changing . 5,490 were here. It was then that I recognized the unique potential of an all-girls learning environment to empower young womento find their voices. of students and parents agree that students at this school are athletic. He was one of many residents and Castilleja supporters who told the commission on Wednesday that the review process has gone on for long enough and that it's time to approve the project, which includes reconstruction of three academic buildings, relocation of the school's swimming pool and construction of a garage. Miss Manners: I shouldn't call because the phone scares people? Schools deserve to be in neighborhoods. I have lost confidence in the Palo Alto Planning organization and the City Council members. The school has made compromises many of them and it begins to feel like (it) will never be enough.". Stanford and Paly populations dwarf Castilleja and it is those commuters that impact Embarcadero. 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.Lee and Thompson, however, felt that the building is fine the way it is, having already gone through years of refinements and public hearings. "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. of students and parents agree that the teachers adequately lead and control the classroom. "To assuage the community's fears about the traffic impacts of its expansion, a key area of concern for council members and project opponents alike, Castilleja is now proposing several new policies to discourage driving near the campus. Stay informed on important city government news. Two board members, Chair Osma Thompson and Grace Lee said that the previously approved project remains perfectly acceptable. 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 . Quality of academic programs, teachers, and facilities, Availability of music, art, sports and other extracurricular activities, Castilleja School Photo #3 - Middle School English. At one point they even tried to have it classified as a basement. Endorse Castilleja School. Be careful what you wish for neighbors!! Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. We explore the importance of teaching students how to attribute the work and ideas of others. The school has changed the building designs, changed the garage, increased TDM measures beyond what anyone else is doing anywhere in the bay area, moved the pool, moved deliveriesand is NOT expanding. Christian high school basketball team forfeits tournament rather than play against transgender player, Opinion: Gov. If Churchill is closed, the situation will deteriorate. But with enough housing to reduce these insane prices (or at least slow increases), many more staff/students could live close enough to walk or bike, and there'd be far less need for parking (and fewer complaints about traffic). Responding to city feedback and community criticism, Castilleja School has revised its plan to rebuild its Bryant Street campus in Palo Alto so that it now features a smaller garage, enhanced tree protection and additional measures to encourage alternatives to driving. Become a Member Additionally, my group feels strongly about saving trees (Coastal Oak #89, where Melville meets Emerson, is a beauty and was in danger). She currently serves on the Boards of Trustees of the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS), Wagner College in New York City and the Peninsula Bridge organization in San Mateo. Both the architectural board and the planning commission plan to hold further meetings on the proposal before it goes back to the council next year for another hearing. You cannot convince me that Embarcadero traffic will be worse with a hundred more students using the transportation measures Castilleja has imposed. PR MediaRelease 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. [3][4], Castilleja was founded in 1907 by Mary Ishbel Lockey. But Mary Sylvester, co-founder of PNQLNow, argued at the architectural board meeting that the revised design particularly, the garage continues to clash with the surrounding context. A&E 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. More than 100 years since its founding, Castilleja At Castilleja, she taught in the History and Social Sciences department for seven years, and served as the interim Middle School Head for a semester. Embarcadero Media Become a member today. "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. Sign up for the Peninsula Foodist newsletter. 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?" "Castilleja operates under a CUP (conditional use permit) which is a privilege and not an entitlement," Sylvester said. 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. of our extraordinary faculty and staff, we are dedicated to Become a member today. "The project encountered a similar division at the Architectural Review Board hearing on Dec. 2, which focused less on transportation and more on the design of the building. He said the planners were putting their thumb on the scale in presenting the parking structure as a basement, a move he described as an insidious attempt to ram the project through. In explaining her second, Kniss said the times have changed and noted that CC made climate change and sustainability a top Council Priority. 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