La Reina closes its doors after 60 years
La Reina High School and Middle School, the private all-girls Catholic school in Thousand Oaks, announced on Jan. 24 that it will close this June. The announcement was made by President Anthony Guevara to alumnae and current families attending the school, which was founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame and has resided in Thousand Oaks since 1964.
In the message, Guevara wrote, “We have made the difficult decision that the time has come for La Reina to cease operations at the end of this school year.” La Reina’s board states the 53 percent decrease in enrollment compared to eight years ago as being the driving factor in this decision.
The news stating their plans to close came as a shock to families throughout the community as there had been no indication prior to this decision. Sydney Palosi, junior, transferred from Viewpoint School at the beginning of her sophomore year and has quickly integrated into the La Reina community. “There were a lot of tears,” Palosi said about when she received the news, “but once it sunk in that it was actually happening, I just pulled it together and told myself [this] is what’s happening.”
Allie, a sophomore who has been at La Reina since sixth grade and prefers to remain anonymous, was shocked when she learned the school was closing. “I called my friends to see how they were doing with the news,” Allie said. The email announcement was rather out of the blue, and aside from the usual rumors, which have been circulating since she started at La Reina, Allie felt that there was no indication that the school was planning on shutting down.
On Thursday Jan. 25, alumnae and current students partook in a meeting expressing their frustration at La Reina’s decision to close. They sang the alma mater and articulated their questions about the school’s closure with President Anthony Guevara. An online document also circulated collecting the signatures of alumnae, current students and families in support of attempting to keep La Reina open. This document was created under the speculation of some alumnae that the decision to close La Reina was not because of financial hardship, but rather a corporate decision made by the National Ministry Corporation, an organization founded by and affiliated with the Sisters of Notre Dame. The petition has gathered over 700 alumnae signatures and over 100 signatures of current students.
An alumna from the class of 1997, Catherine Chien, describes La Reina as a unique environment that she is grateful to have participated in. “We were able to have open conversations with our teachers and we were a very tight community,” Chien said. She still keeps up with her high school classmates and feels that her La Reina experience has fostered a long-lasting bond. “It was an amazing place to grow up and I wish every young woman had the opportunity to go there,” Chien said.
Now concentrating on finding a new school to attend for her senior year, Sydney Palosi is determined to make the most of unideal circumstances, and has accepted that despite the school closure, she will forever be a “La Reina girl.” Avidly involved in student government, Palosi was planning on running for ASB president in her senior year, but switching schools will make this goal unattainable for her. “I don’t want to go anywhere else. [La Reina] has become a second home to me and the girls are like my family. I don’t want to leave,” Palosi said.
