May Day of Giving

Each year the Hartsbrook School community comes together to raise the funds necessary to sustain the unique and exceptional programs we offer. With spring finally here, the children have been busy learning, working, and playing under the canopies of their outdoor classrooms and across the expansive land. Our current year budgeted plans for strengthened health and wellness programming, student support services, dramatic arts, faculty compensation increases, and care for the land and animals are well underway. But, we still need your help to meet our Annual Fund goal of $500,000! 

During these last two years of global unrest - the pandemic, social and racial injustice, and true humanitarian and climate crises, it has never been more evident how imperative a Hartsbrook education, which seeks to integrate the whole being, truly is in developing our future’s innovators and change-makers.

We now know that the collective power of our community is much greater than any challenge we face in the future. It is in this spirit that a committed friend has offered to match all contributions made today up to $5,000 to support the work of the Hartsbrook School. For our new friends who are considering a first-time gift, this is perfect timing. Every donation is doubled!

Please consider making your generous gift now, so we can continue to offer our students the unique and exceptional education at Hartsbrook experience offers. Your gift today funds:

• Supporting the 21st Century Child: Strengthening the health, wellness, and dramatic arts curriculum and student support services, increasing our Student Support staff in the 7th-12th grades by 1 full-time employee will provide greater opportunities to meet the mental health and socio-emotional needs of the students.Increased Health and Wellness and Dramatic Arts staff, additional programming, and a co-teaching model for elementary classes will also allow for greater student support and opportunity.  

• Hartsbrook Community & Tuition on a Sliding Scale: Hartsbrook continues to offer tuition on a sliding scale to increase accessibility and financial sustainability for families. We endeavor to work with each family to plan an affordable year while also meeting the cost expectations of educating our students, supporting our teachers, and sustaining the unique programs we offer. We seek additional support to help us meet these operational needs while continuing to offer sliding scale tuition to the highest possible level. 

• Maintaining the buildings and grounds: Hartsbrook’s campus sits on 52 acres of recreational, ecological, agriculturally protected (APR) land. This space provides an abundance of learning opportunities for our students from early childhood through 12th grade. Maintaining the buildings and these grounds is a continual process requiring specialized staff and equipment.  

• Land Stewardship: The Land Stewardship program has long offered “place-based education” where students are able to see the results of their work in their community. In this coming year, Land Stewardship is continuing this ever-important work with programming designed to develop and deepen environmental awareness, nourish and care for the animals, and think critically and creatively about addressing food insecurity, the climate crisis, and sustainable agriculture. 

• Supporting Teachers and Staff: Hartsbrook has a deeply committed faculty and staff. The pandemic highlighted the demands placed on them and their willingness to rise to meet them. There has never been a more important time than now to Improve faculty compensation and benefits, grow a robust co-teacher model, and increase professional development opportunities. This year we are continuing to invest in our faculty and staff with salary increases, 403b retirement contributions, professional development and training opportunities. We also continue to support the addition of co-teachers and teaching intern positions to enhance our teaching resources. These initiatives along with mentoring new faculty, help the school retain and hire exceptional faculty.

Your support makes an enormous difference!

Thank you for your generous support of The Hartsbrook School.

For more information about The Hartsbrook School and all we are doing in our classrooms and community, please visit hartsbrook.org.