Cal-ISBOA News

We thank Director of Facilities David Marcus for sharing a wonderful tour of de Toledo High School with us! This private Jewish high school in the West Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles provides its students with a tight-knit community rooted in kindness, joy, and Jewish values. From a beautiful library, to well-stocked science labs, an indoor pool, and a multi-use Makerspace, students are encouraged to develop an ethical grounding as they engage in ambitious learning across different subjects. Benches painted by students adorn outdoor common spaces. Known for their exemplary lockdown drills across the California indy school community, deToledo High School facilities have an emergency kit and fire extinguisher in each classroom as well as a high-security lock on every door. Thanks again to David Marcus for his generous hospitality!

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We thank Head of School Angela Taylor, Facilities Manager Jennifer Cooper, and Controller Tatiana Gazieva for a wonderful tour of Park Day School! Focusing on Progressive Education and nurturing the whole child, Park Day is a K-8 school in the Temescal neighborhood of North Oakland. Its sunny 4-acre campus features many deliberate play areas for kids to gather, including a nature-zone, a Yurt, and a fairy tree, as well as both historical and new classroom structures. Founded in 1976, Park Day cultivates a joyful and dynamic learning community, preparing students to be informed, courageous, and compassionate people. Thanks again to Angela, Jennifer, and Tatiana for their kind hospitality!

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We thank CFO Thanh Tran for an exciting tour of The College Preparatory School campus! Tucked into a glen in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland and surrounded by hills, College Prep is an academically rigorous high school that values community and kindness as much as intellectual discovery and deep learning. The campus offers a multitude of beautiful outdoor gathering spaces to support students connecting with each other in nature and enjoying the beautiful Bay Area weather. Balancing the introduction of new facilities with historical aesthetics, College Prep’s leadership has worked hard to seamlessly match original construction as they add new buildings through time. Thanks again to Thanh for her generous hospitality!

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OAKLAND & LOS ANGELES, CA — As our member schools prepare to begin another school year, we gathered on August 3 and 4 for the association’s annual "So Long, Summer Soirées." Hosted by Jerry Mullaney at Head-Royce School in Oakland and Lisa Turchan of The Buckley School in Los Angeles, regional networking events like this offer business officers a chance to reflect on summer operations, share best practices, and build peer connections before the back-to-school rush begins.

Both events featured informal networking, seasonal refreshments, and lively discussions about Summer highlights and Fall preparations. 

Regional gatherings serve as a core pillar of the Cal-ISBOA mission, providing business officers with a dedicated space to collaborate outside of formal events such as our Annual Conference and Workshops.

With the summer soirées concluded, Cal-ISBOA members turn their full focus to welcoming faculty, staff, and students back to campus for the new school year, equipped with fresh ideas and strengthened professional networks.

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June 29, 2026

Director of HR (and HR Subcommittee member) Beverly Christie gave Peggy an incredible tour of The Bentley School’s Lafayette Campus, where grades 9-12 are offered in a beautiful setting surrounded by rolling hills and featuring an open-air quad. The high school experience is a perfect continuation of the foundation that begins at The Bentley School’s lower campus (K-8) in Oakland, and Bentley’s highly competitive athletics program is a draw for many students. At the Lafayette Campus, the open layout and flexible class schedule prepares students well for the freedom and responsibilities of college life, and Bentley high schoolers come to own their daily routines and build their independence as learners.

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June 22, 2026

While in the area for the NorCal Facilities Workshop, Cal-ISBOA Membership Engagement Manager Peggy Marshall was hosted by COO (and Cal-ISBOA Board Member) Keith Powell and Operations Manager (and Facilities & Campus Operations Subcommittee member) Bridget Guerra for a wonderful tour of The Athenian School campus. Instilling an expansive, ongoing journey of knowledge seeking in its students, The Athenian School occupies a sprawling 42-acre campus in the beautiful foothills of Mount Diablo, where it offers grades 6 through 12, with a boarding option for high schoolers. During the visit, Peggy was excited to learn about how the school is preparing for their upcoming Reunion day held on campus every year for all Athenian Alumni.

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June 15, 2026

Thank You for helping to make our Northern California Facilities Workshop a success! We shared an invigorating day of professional learning and networking, topped off with a tour of the incomparable Head-Royce School in Oakland from Director of Alumni Relations Julie Kim-Beal. Your active participation, insightful discussions, and unwavering support truly made this event memorable.

Our small but mighty group had a blast together! Please enjoy some photos from the event below.

We are so grateful to our Facilities Subcommittee, chaired by Matt Riddle (Marlborough School) and Vice-Chaired by Pamela Connor (The Archer School for Girls). Your committed leadership throughout planning and hosting the workshop was essential, enabling Cal-ISBOA to deliver a high-quality experience in support of Facilities Directors, CFOs, and others who handle the unique work of Facilities at their independent schools.

Special thanks go out to our generous Sponsor Building Solutions for supporting the Northern California Facilities Workshop!

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June 15, 2026

While in the area for the Northern California Facilities Workshop, Cal-ISBOA Membership Engagement Manager Peggy Marshall was hosted by CFO/COO Deann Hays, Director of Facilities & Operations (and Cal-ISBOA Board Member) Eleazar Madrid, and HR / PR Manager Sydney Polich for an exciting tour of the Redwood Day School campus. Redwood Day offers lower and middle school (K-8), providing a transformative learning experience for students that creates a foundation for lifelong growth and success. The campus features several beautiful buildings for classrooms, science labs, design and art studios, a full-sized gymnasium, and more, and next year it will also feature an inspiring outdoor “Design, Build, Innovate” space with a shade structure. Redwood Day also boasts new boys and girls locker rooms and bathroom facilities, and the addition of astroturf in their well used outdoor spaces is forthcoming. We thank Deann, Eleazar, and Sydney for generously sharing their school with us!

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June 8, 2026

Cheers to a great end-of-year happy hour with the NorCal CalISBOA group on June 2! It was wonderful to relax, catch up, and celebrate Kathy Layendecker as she heads into retirement. Thanks to everyone who came out to make it such a happy occasion and thanks to Jeanne Jacobs-Gaffney for organizing it. We're looking forward to our next one!

May 29, 2026

At Cal-ISBOA, we are always trying to do more and better for our members. To that end, this year we worked to incorporate several innovations into our Signature Spring Events in Pasadena, all of which experienced record-setting attendance. In addition to the changes to our Welcome Reception and Kick-Off Dinner inspired by Charles Vogl's work, we rolled out several exciting new offerings like a new event App, a wellness experience, Cal-ISBOA Gives Back charitable giving, and new sponsor support programs that led to record community engagement.

The new event App allowed members to access schedule information and program details from the convenience of their phones while on-the-go, as well as providing easy access to sponsor information and a number of important member resources. We are excited to see what we can do with this App in the future!

Thanks to Platinum Annual Corporate Sponsor Poppy Bank's generous support, we were able to provide a unique Mindfulness Experience that included resources to support busy professionals attending conferences that included Wellness Walks and a Community Corner featuring tactile experiences like puzzles, coloring books, colorful slime, watercolors, and guided mindfulness activities to support focus, increase mental clarity, and optimize adult learning.

Designed to support the groups and communities that support our schools, this year we introduced Cal-ISBOA Gives Back, a charitable giving opportunity benefitting a local service organization. Selected as our 2026 beneficiary for its critical support of our school community during the 2025 LA fires, The Change Reaction is an organization that provides financial assistance to Angelenos.

Finally, we worked to better support our sponsors through a special orientation as well as a Sponsor Ambassador program that connected sponsor representatives with our members, to help new and returning sponsors get to know our community and have a great experience.

We hope you could feel the impact of these innovations! We look forward to continuing to raise the bar.