Local & Global Engagement
The Castilleja experience teaches students across all grade levels the importance of meaningful partnerships near and far.
Castilleja students gain the confidence and the skills to effect change in a world and address its environmental, political, and social issues head-on. Through our innovative curriculum and experiential learning programs, students learn to forge meaningful relationships, both locally and globally. Those relationships are premised on respect and genuine curiosity for one another, and they underpin civil discourse and decisions.
Local Partners
Founded upon the commitment to serving one’s community, a Castilleja education extends beyond the classroom. We encourage students to explore a variety of service-focused activities across Palo Alto and the Bay Area. Students volunteer, learn, and form lasting partnerships with dozens of community organizations dedicated to the environment, food insecurity and access, elder care, women’s rights, special needs/disability advocacy, and more. Read about our partnerships with local organizations year-round!
Read more about our Local partners
One November morning in 2024, over a hundred Middle Schoolers boarded buses bound for nonprofit organizations across the Bay. On this first-ever Community Action Day, all students were headed to volunteer off campus and learn about local issues, from ecology to food insecurity, hands-on and in person.
For their debut off-campus performance, musicians from MUSE (Middle Upper School Ensemble) headed to where they’re perhaps needed most: a retirement community. Seven band members, their conductor Josh Thurston-Milgrom loaded up the drum set, the upright bass, cello, music stands, and other instruments in a school van and drove to the nearby Channing House Community for Older Adults. They were accompanied by their band coach Rabiah Kabir, who is a Stanford student and a jazz flutist.
Our Upper School students epitomized Castilleja’s motto “Women Learning, Women Leading” when they taught 6th and 7th graders about social impact this spring. Over the course of two sessions, members of our ACE Orgs—student-led organizations that address social and environmental challenges—introduced Middle Schoolers to criminal justice reform, veteran advocacy, literacy, and other pressing issues.
These student-led sessions were the perfect opportunity for the older students to share their passions and learnings with the younger ones.
Global Partners
We work with partners all over the world to foster relationships and deep reciprocal learning for Castilleja students and faculty. We’re committed to honoring each community’s strengths and recognizing that we all have as much to learn as we have to offer
Global Investigator Trips
The endowed Global Investigator Trip, started in 2008, offers all juniors an opportunity to travel abroad and engage in an issue-based experiential learning experience. Destinations and topics have included exploring environmental sustainability in the Dominican Republic, understanding indigenous and women’s rights in Morocco, and learning about art, culture, and grassroots youth advocacy in Indonesia, among many others.
On these trips, student participants develop empathy, knowledge, and cultural competence through:
- Examining the political, economic, and social realities of the region
- Partnering with local communities, groups, and students
- Sharing daily life with the same age group locally
- Designing projects based on cross-cultural connections.
Global Week
Each January, Castilleja School hosts Global Week, inviting students to examine a globally relevant topic, from climate change to inclusive journalism. Our dedicated Global Week is packed with exciting workshops, presentations from renowned guest speakers, and smaller discussion groups where students interact with the speakers directly. Learn more about Global Week at Castilleja.
Other Partnerships
Castilleja maintains international partnerships, including the Castilleja–Eiri annual virtual exchange program with a girls’ school in Yokohama, Japan. Facilitated through Stanford University’s SPICE (Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education), the program includes virtual tours of each school and small group discussions on topics ranging from environment to education. Students develop deeper cultural awareness and build lasting connections.