Castilleja is the only non-sectarian all-girls middle and high school in the San Francisco Bay Area.

[8] She was encouraged by Stanford's first president, David Starr Jordan, to start a school that would offer girls a comprehensive, college preparatory education.

[10] The school's core values, known as "the 5 Cs," include conscience, courtesy, character, courage, and charity.

[5] In 1910, the school moved to its present location at 1310 Bryant Street, and the first structure was the administration building, designed by architect Roy C. Heald in American Craftsman style.

Because of the scale of the proposed development in an R1 zoned neighborhood, the project has experienced considerable opposition among neighboring residents.