Tag archives: Cate

Cate Hosts U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink
By Montecito Journal   |   November 1, 2022

Cate School held their annual Fall Family Weekend event for students and their families on October 20 through 23. Saturday’s program featured Keynote Speaker Bridget Brink, the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine and parent to Cate Student Jack Higgins (’23). Brink began with an acknowledgement of a Ukraine family in attendance. She talked about her role, […]

Cate School – Who is Responsible?
By Wendy Ward Hoffer   |   April 19, 2022

When my daughter started high school, I stopped sleeping. I spent nights awake curled like a dog against the cold, trying not to remember my tenth-grade history teacher’s thick hands on my thin thighs, the way he looked at me with his mouth half open, everything he gave me and all that he took. I […]

2021: The Year in Review
By Montecito Journal   |   January 4, 2022

It was a year full of questions, sometimes without many answers. But we persevered. As a staff, we took a few moments to reflect on our 2021s, which featured a few tears, triumphant returns, overwhelming innovation, and news that no one likes to report. Here’s a look at eight of our standout stories from the […]

Dear Cate Board . . .
By Montecito Journal   |   January 4, 2022

I am a concerned community member. Please share my concerns with the entire Board before or at your January meeting. In your email to the Cate community dated December 15, 2021, you make several statements which need discussion. 1. Page 1: The note about “social media’s anonymity and public nature can be particularly harmful in […]

‘There’s More’: Cate School Community Calls for Change in Leadership After Radioactive Faculty Sex Abuse Report Released
By Nick Masuda   |   December 28, 2021

In the shadows of a 35-page investigative report executed by the Oppenheimer Investigations Group LLP and released on December 15 that delves into decades-long alleged sexual abuse and misconduct at Cate School, the prestigious private boarding school is facing a growing undercurrent of disgust over the quality of the report from both victims and alumni. […]

Cate School Allowed Teacher to Remain on Campus for Months After Sexual Misconduct Complaint
By Nick Masuda   |   November 9, 2021

Disturbing details are emerging in the case of former Cate School teacher Da’Jon James and why he was silently exiled from the Carpinteria campus in March 2020 — with sources confirming to the Montecito Journal that the first report of alleged inappropriate sexual behavior by the chorale director actually came in November 2019. According to […]

A Tale of Two Schools
By Gwyn Lurie   |   July 29, 2021

This week, the MJ’s Nick Masuda writes about an investigation by law enforcement regarding reports of sexual abuse and misconduct by a former Cate School employee, months after campus officials told alumni they had launched their own internal investigation into potential abuse that could date back decades. Several sexual assault survivors, current and former Cate […]

The Culture of Cate? How Multiple Investigations into School are Revealing Decades of Potential Abuses
By Nick Masuda   |   July 29, 2021

Wendy Ward Hoffer kept her secret for nearly 35 years, recently revealing she was sexually abused by a faculty member during her sophomore and junior years at Carpinteria’s Cate School (1984-86), describing herself as a 15-year-old torn between trying to win the support of her teacher and the ongoing fear of what would happen if […]

Cate Head of School Ben Williams
By Sigrid Toye   |   April 15, 2021

What more can I possibly say about the nationally and internationally lauded Cate School located in the hills above Carpinteria overlooking the ocean? So much has already been written about this excellent 9th through 12th grade co-educational college preparatory school that offers a rigorous academic yet broad-based curriculum and an all-embracing student life. Cate’s diverse […]