Tag archives: Ben Williams

Our Town’s 21st Annual Graduation Issue 1 of 3 
By Joanne A Calitri   |   June 6, 2023

Our town’s schools are holding their graduations from May 21 through June 9th this year. The eight local school graduations are covered in order of occurrence.  This issue has Cate School leading the charge with 71 graduates. The Montecito Journal wishes much success and offers congratulations to our graduates, school faculty, staff and parents! Cate […]

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 […]

Cate School
By Stella Haffner   |   January 25, 2022

In October of 2021, universities around the United Kingdom started making headlines after the rise of a threatening new epidemic: injectable date-rape drugs. I remember the buzz at my own university as students called for stricter safety measures in bars and clubs. The fear of this new weapon for sexual assault and the lack of […]

‘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. […]

‘Mistakes Were Made’: Seven Former Cate Faculty Members Banned From Campus Due to Sexual Misconduct and Assault Allegations
By Nick Masuda   |   December 16, 2021

The accused is one of seven former Cate faculty members that were named in a damning and exhaustive investigative report released by the private boarding school on Wednesday afternoon. Amongst other improprieties, the report details how the accused was allowed to remain on campus for nine additional years despite facing sexual misconduct claims on campus […]

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 […]

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 […]