The Palmer School for Boys and Girls, a Walnut Creek-based private school that has served students in Contra Costa County since 1939, abruptly shut down on Friday.
The school’s headmaster cited in an email to parents that restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the health threat posed to students in any event, were too much to overcome.
“The school has been devastated by the pandemic, and our program cannot be sustained in the face of the ongoing uncertainty,” Headmaster Sam Mendes, a grandson of the school’s founders, said in an email to parents Friday. “Please know that this decision has been made with tremendous thought and counsel.”
Approximately 385 students in grades pre-K through 8th attended Palmer’s Jones Road campus just off Interstate Highway 680 this past year.
Palmer was founded in 1939 by William and Elizabeth Palmer — “Billy” and “Buzzy” — on the Jones Road site, their goal to provide a challenging educational atmosphere for their daughters and other young girls in the area.
The enrollment that first year was five students. A girl’s boarding school operated on the campus through the 1940s as the enrollment grew. The boarding school ended in 1952, when the school became the Palmer
School for Boys and Girls.
It has remained a desired school, appreciated for the 14-to-1 student/teacher ratio and its rigorous curriculum.
Palmer was a great school, but it makes sense. I don’t really understand how any schools are going to overcome the new environment, anxious to see how MDUSD handles it.
Probably poorly, like most other endeavors of the MDUSD.
And the political pandemic continues to ruin society. Incrementally breaking us down. But I’m sure the hypocritical liberals love that this private school is shutting down. All have to be the same you know, (except for the 1%).
This is apparently big news… Covered on various media…
Actually, I’ve never heard of them…. Not sure if I should be surprised or embarrassed.
The cure is more harmful than the disease.
My daughter had a fabulous experience at Palmer. It would be a terrible shame for it to close, I do know that the property would be very valuable for development…..perhaps it’s just time for the Mendes family.
108RS
I’m afraid they won’t be the only one.
Thank you China. Don’t ever forget. If you do you will regret it.
Go while the going is good.
Knowing when to leave can be the smartest thing…
Teachers are paid less at private schools. I know four who left their respective private school and got ten thousand more a year at public school. So it was probably getting hard to staff for the area.
And yes, if that is their property, it would sell for a great price.
Pay may be lower but the teaching environment is much better. My father-in-law is a retired Catholic school teacher and he has said that the fact that the school required an admissions test for enrollment and could easily kick out students for behavior and/or academic problems was worth the lower pay. They offered generous scholarships so it wasn’t only rich kids attending. But every student at the school had jumped through the hoops of applying so there was a greater valuing of education than happens in non-selective public schools
@Crimson Wife
‘Kick out the kids with academic problems.‘
And then where do they end up?
Thank you private schools.
It’s easy to figure out. There kicked back to public school where they can mess around and still get a diploma with out dragging down others around them.
I call nonsense, prime real estate right near DT WC & PH Bart…come on people, this is a real estate deal plain and simple and COVID-19 has nothing to do with it…
There were rumors a few years ago about shutting and development. But I can see how this current challenge made the decision much easier. I am on the board of a different private school and the upcoming year will be a big experiment.
108RS
Great location for some in fill housing, Hoping for some nice upscale condos/town homes like corner of Oak/Jones vs. apartments. Great trail and rail access from this location.
It’s much harder to indoctrinate kids in a private school.
It’s not about the money. That parcel has been covetous for a long long time. If the Mendes family were greedy they would have sold a long time ago. They are excellent educators and don’t ever assume you know why anyone is doing anything. You really don’t know. And saying so says more about yourself really.
Know the family well, I went to Palmer. To say they are using covid as an excuse would be like saying they killed a family member to sell the organs. The school was there entire life outside of family. They must be devastated.
SO SAD and I know it must be very hard.
It’s always about the money.
All schools need funding to remain open.
A lot of private school children get their education paid for by grandparents.
If grandparents need their money for their health issues in their golden years, it would impact private schools.
I just looked at a local private school cost for grades six to eight. It is listed at $31,000 a year! That includes a year book.
A lot of colleges are less than the cost of sixth grade.
Always crunch the numbers.
And the real world is not private. We need the skills to get along with the public.
I am not going to print what my children and their friends from public schools are doing today as adults. Trolls here would write that I was bragging. 🙂