The Bolles School community is gearing up for the opening of the Frank R. Sanchez & Hope and Dana E. Fender Center for Innovation (Sanchez Fender CFI) – slated to open for learning this fall!

The Bolles Office of Advancement was busy this spring, giving behind-the-scenes tours to Bolles faculty and staff as well as Bolles Trustees, Bolles Alumni Board Members and the Alumni Board of Visitors.

Hope Fender and Dana E. Fender – who matched Frank R. Sanchez’s historic $5 million gift to fund the 47,000-square-foot, three-story building last fall – also stopped by the Bolles Lower School Whitehurst Campus May 20 to speak with Grade 2 students about the building’s construction alongside Stellar representatives who have given first and second graders daily updates on the project throughout the school year. 

These Bulldogs had a unique, front-row seat to watch the Sanchez Fender CFI go from massive mounds of dirt to a nearly complete, state-of-the-art structure. They were eager to meet the Fenders and celebrate the new building, where they will eventually attend classes when they enter upper school. Hope Fender read “Someone Builds the Dream” by Lisa Wheeler and Loren Long to the Class of 2034 before turning it over to the Stellar team to answer questions ranging from how elevator shafts are installed to the process of applying stucco.

The opening of the Sanchez Fender CFI will also kick off various projects on the San Jose Campus, including the renovation of Schultz Hall for the English Department, Phase II of the Gund Residence Hall construction – set to double the capacity for girls in the Resident Life program – and the move of College Counseling to the Bent Student Center to add more space for learning above the Swisher Library.

Thank you again to all the students, faculty members and staff for their patience during this transition period. We’re nearing the finish line and can’t wait to see students dive into innovative learning opportunities in the Sanchez Fender CFI!