In the wake of the 2024 election, the Castilleja community grappled with the challenge of processing a significant moment in history while maintaining a sense of normalcy for students. Teachers, administrators and students approached this balance with thoughtfulness and care, recognizing the emotional weight carried by many.

Carly Fox, the 11th-grade history teacher shared her initial thoughts going into Wednesday morning: “I wanted to acknowledge [the election] because it felt like it would be a disservice to students not to. I wanted to both acknowledge it and give students the space to process it in a way that felt safe, however much we can facilitate that.”

Other teachers, however, desired to use their classes to create a sense of normalcy for their students. “When I came in, I planned to leave my space as that math-neutral space, but also not shut down conversations that my students wanted to have amongst themselves and let my students kind of navigate that space,” said Angela Price, a pre-calculus and calculus teacher.

Despite different approaches in how they decided to address their classes, all teachers noted a palpable shift within the community on Wednesday. “Just feeling the room felt kind of tense. It felt off from a normal day. So, just checking in with students, making sure that everyone was OK, and then kind of taking it as a chance at normalcy,” said Jaimie Wang, a biology teacher.

Price echoed this sentiment: “I could see that the tone was different than any other day. It was obvious there was a quieter energy and when I picked up on that quieter energy, I thought that maybe having that quieter space to not have to share thoughts was going to be a healthy space for them to have.”

In addition to the teachers, the Castilleja administration took proactive steps to handle student reactions to the election. In the weeks leading up to the election, the administration announced that on Wednesday, Nov. 6, Community Time would be dedicated to processing the 2024 election. Students were given six options of workshops, led by Castilleja teachers and administration, ranging from yoga and mindfulness, to understanding the path to the presidency.

Both students and teachers appreciated this gesture: “I think Casti put a lot of effort in preparing us and handling the situation from all different aspects, and really having an open mind and thinking about how each student does have different perspectives, different emotions, and they’re going to take it differently. I think the school did a really great job making sure that we [the teachers] were prepared and aware,” shared Wang.

For Price, the school’s approach highlighted a stark contrast to her teaching experience at a public school in Utah before starting this year at Castilleja: “At my last school, we didn’t talk about elections. I was in more of a conservative-leaning state, and a lot of people just assumed people were conservative. It was really cool to see here how open we were to talking about it and letting students have that space because it was just not discussed where I was previously.”

As well as more involvement from the administration to encourage conversations surrounding difficult topics, Fox observed other differences between the Castilleja community and her previous job as a teacher at a boarding school in Vermont: “I think the difference is there was more diversity, perhaps in visible thought. I don’t want to suggest that there’s not diversity of thought here, but there was more expression.”

Because of Castilleja’s unique position as an all-girls school, the community felt particularly moved by the election. Fox described seeing students cry in her classes and wanting to communicate her support for them: “There was obviously a lot of rhetoric in this particular election, and I know for some students who are most marginalized in society, those messages could be really harmful. I wanted them to just see and hear an adult in their life who cares for them and doesn’t stand for those values, and is an adult who is still managing and showing that there is still going to be a normal class to the best we can.”

As Castilleja continues to nurture a supportive and inclusive environment, the response to this election serves as a testament to the school’s and faculty’s dedication to open dialogue, emotional well-being and resilience in the face of challenges.