Dear Members of the Castilleja School Board of Trustees:
On November 12th, I wrote to you in the wake of Mr. Capron's disappearance from the Castilleja campus. To date, I have not received any acknowledgment of receipt of this letter, and I know of many other letters written by members of the community which have not been acknowledged.
I have now received the mass-email from Ms. Lonergan indicating that Mr. Capron will not be returning to the Castilleja classroom because of pedagogical differences the administration had with him.
I understand that the Castilleja faculty serves at the pleasure of the Head of School, and that Ms. Lonergan has the authority to hire and fire as she wishes.
I do not understand how a gradual reassessing of the School's creative direction could precipitate the abrupt and disruptive firing of a teacher in the middle of the school term. Again, I must ask: What is the character of a school that treats its employees and students this way?
Now, I must also ask: What is the character of a Board of Trustees that does not acknowledge concerned responses from the community?
In my opinion, a grave error has been made in firing Bear Capron. An equally serious error has been made in the manner in which this firing was handled. The Board of Trustees' inability to acknowledge the receipt of letters from its community members is extremely bad form.
All of these actions need to be reviewed; these practices questioned and reassessed. As stated in my first letter, I expect a public apology by the administration and the Board of Trustees about the way Mr. Capron and the community have been treated. It is obvious to everyone who knows Mr. Capron that he did not "decide" to abruptly leave the campus mid-term while directing the fall play. He was expelled from the school from one day to the next, as if he had committed some egregious crime. Even if there were gradual reassessments in process, this would not be the appropriate way to finalize an agreement. For this, Mr. Capron and the students and faculty deserve an apology. I now expect an apology to be extended to those you ignored when we wrote openly and forthrightly to you asking for the Board to review the situation and communicate with the community in an open and forthright manner as well.
I no longer believe that Castilleja School is a fine educational institution that honors excellent teaching, promotes independent thinking, and abides by the principles of conscience, courtesy, character, courage and charity. Until I learn of substantive changes in the attitude and practices of the Board of Trustees and the administration, I will not be recommending the school to families I know. Sadly, I imagine that you don't even care.
Sincerely,
Sharmon J. Hilfinger
Parent of Paz Hilfinger-Pardo '04
and Sol Hilfinger-Pardo '07
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