Faced with a drop in the number of boarding school applicants and an increase in the number of day school applicants, the Castilleja School board of trustees has voted to phase out the school's dormitory in the next two years.
Current boarding school students who are sophomores this year will continue to live in the dorms until they graduate, but no new boarding school students will be admitted, said Castilleja Principal Joan Lonergan.
In order to use its money the most wisely, Lonergan said the school has decided to focus its efforts on its more than 300 day school students.
"Our concern was that we maintain the quality of the school overall," she said. Castilleja has 39 boarding school students this year in the 345-girl school, and 35 projected for next year. The dormitory has a capacity for 60 girls. When it's closed, the space will be converted to academic use.
For years, Castilleja has attracted students from the Pacific Rim, including Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. Lonergan made a special trip to Hong Kong in March to meet with current parents and explain the decision. Efforts have also been made to continue the global relationship by creating exchange programs in the Pacific Rim as well as Scotland and Egypt.
The school's traditional base of boarders from California has also dwindled as girls from San Francisco, San Jose and the East Bay choose to commute rather than to board.
Lonergan is confident the school will be able to keep its ethnic diversity even if there are fewer boarders from overseas. This year, 40 percent of the student body is Hispanic, Asian, African-American or from other ethnic minority groups.
--Elizabeth Darling
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