To the Castilleja Community,
With the school year in full swing and summer slowly giving way to fall, I hope everyone in our community is doing well. Amid the series of recent changes at Castilleja, as a Board we are grateful for your patience, persistence and most of all your belief in our school as an enduring institution of excellence.
The Board is fully dedicated to supporting and advancing the school’s mission of educating motivated young women to become confident thinkers and compassionate leaders with a sense of purpose to effect change in the world.
For those who have not yet heard, I’m proud to share that Castilleja recently earned the title of #1 All-Girls High School in California and #2 nationwide in Niche’s “2024 Best High Schools in America.” Castilleja’s consistently strong showing in this ranking reflects our track record of academic excellence and leadership opportunities for young women, which is a testament to the hard work of our amazing teachers and staff.
We are making exciting progress this fall in close partnership with Kathy Layendecker, whom many of you have had the opportunity to connect with over the past few weeks.
In her daily conversations with students, creating the Faculty Advisory Council, revising the academic schedule and setting a clear timeline for our campus modernization project, Kathy has moved expeditiously in her first few weeks as Acting Head.
As a community, we appreciate Kathy’s efforts and can see the high level of energy and enthusiasm on campus as a result.
I commend Kathy for thoughtfully and skillfully leading Castilleja in this moment. She is a great listener whose door is always open to the faculty and our entire community.
Head of School Search Update
One of the Board’s top priorities this year is to recruit and hire a new long-term head of school. I want to thank two veteran Castilleja trustees and parents, Dr. Odette Harris and Jeff Wong — Vice Chair and Finance Chair, respectively — for leading our new Head of School Search Committee.
Odette is an Endowed Professor and Director of Brain Injury at the Stanford University School of Medicine, as well as a Trustee of Dartmouth, and Jeff is Global Chief Innovation Officer at EY. We are all fortunate to have these two highly capable, caring partners driving this vital effort.
Odette, Jeff, and I have spent a good deal of time in the past month identifying, interviewing and learning from peer schools about six potential Search Firms. I am excited to now let you know that we have hired Spencer Stuart, and specifically Mary Gorman and Aaron Mieszczanski, to lead Casti’s search.