Cate School - Review #1

Cate is a smaller boarding school and has a very much community bubble. This is a west coast boarding school so people are more liberal and open to alternative teaching. They also emphasize outdoor learning.

Cate offers many opportunities that I wouldn't have had elsewhere. With untraditional schooling (compared to other boarding schools), I did ropes courses for my seminar classes to build trust with my classmates. Students spend a week backpacking in the wilderness at the beginning of each school year. I was able to attend college trips during my senior year with my classmates. There are many great things a student can experience at boarding school, depending on their interests. If Cate doesn't offer something for that student's interest, they have the freedom of creating a new club or initiating activities with faculty support for their activity.

For students who feel out of place at a boarding school, don't lose your confidence or shine just because you feel alone. If anything, you stand out because you're unique and you're going to go really far, even if you can't see it. Be confident and approach your fears. This is easier said than done. Take on as many opportunities as you can. Explore the space and environment around you. This is your opportunity to try as many new things as you can. Meet as many people as you can and learn about them. Take a chance. This is the place to start learning who you are. Find the people who are there to support you. You will need it because, in such a small, community, it can feel isolating when you don't have anyone around you.

I loved the weather and views at Cate. If you get the chance, get a room seaside CHE or Parsonage. You get breathtaking views of the mountains and the ocean. You wake up with the sun shining in your room or the sun setting through your room. I love that all of Cate's dorms have balconies. You can sit outside and do your work on your balcony and just watch the world around you move. I used to sit on my balcony while it was raining with a blanket wrapped over me.

Going to boarding school can be nerve-wrecking, especially at a school that's historically not made for you. Don't be afraid. You're not the only one that feels this way. Find the faculty and peers that will support you for who you are. You will not be accepted by everybody, and it can be really disheartening because Cate is a small community. One rejection can feel like a rejection from everybody. Cate is not entirely representative of the real world. If you can tackle your insecurities here, you can do it anywhere!

Classes are intimate and emphasize discussions. These were usually student-run and supervised by teachers. However, sometimes discussions would get out of hand when privileged students spoke up against marginalized voices. Classes followed an alternative syllabus. Advanced courses were not built around AP classes. Rather, they were constructed around the teachings needed to truly comprehend the subject matter.

The athletics program at Cate School is pretty strong. There is a range of sports to choose from. There are traditional sports such as football, soccer, and track, but there are also alternative sports such as outdoors, strength & conditioning, and taekwondo. Cate also has a lacrosse team.

The visual arts, music, and theatre program makes an attempt to be diverse but unfortunately infringes on cultural appropriation at times. The teachers in this department work really hard and put in a lot of effort, but unfortunately, that isn't always enough.

There is a large range of extracurricular activities offered at Cate, including weekend trips to the Camarillo outlets, camping trips, and more. Cate offers dances about once a month or so. There are also plenty of on-campus activities on the weekends. Students have the opportunity to go into town and Santa Barbara in the afternoons and weekends. My personal favorite was going to the beach every weekend and eating a burrito from Rudy's on the bluffs.

Dorms are separated into sex, not gender. Living situations may be difficult for queer or genderqueer students unless you're a day student. Each dorm has 2 dorm parents and other faculty members who have dorm duty. Seniors and prefects take turns helping faculty members with dorm duty during the weekday evenings. For the most part, each student is given their own room. There are a few dorms on campus that will place you with a roommate but you're more likely to have a single. The doors don't have locks but most people have the common decency to know. There are community bathrooms that students share on each floor. Students will also have daily room checks until their senior year, meaning their room has to be clean, trash is taken out, and the bed is made daily before 9 am class.

There is mandatory dinner check-in for all students. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are offered every day. In between meals, there are fruits and the toast room available to students for snacking. The food at Cate School is definitely better than most colleges offer. There is a range of meals offered to accommodate all students' dietary needs. Students will attend formal dinner around once a week. For formal dinner, all students attend convocation and then proceed to the dining hall to have a formal seated dinner with faculty members. Freshmen will have dining room duty, meaning they handle dishes. Students will also be randomly chosen to wait for formal dinners.

Carpinteria is a charming, small town. There aren't really any BIPOC in the surrounding areas of Santa Barbara, Ventura, or Montecito. However, the beaches are very nice, arguably, some of the nicest on the entire California coast. Siam Elephant is one of the best restaurants in town. Rudy's is also a great place many students stop by to eat. The town is probably a mile in width. A student can walk through the entirety of the town in a couple of hours.

Cate School works hard to be inclusive but still lives in a bubble. Naturally, cliques form of students. Some of them result from shared activities, classes, and sports. Others form by class and race. Social life might be more difficult for BIPOC students to adjust to simply because there are not many BIPOC students. They are split into international students and American BIPOC students.