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Q: What is the campaign, “Completing our Foundation... Building our Future”?
A: The current capital campaign was planned and launched in the 2007-2008 academic year.
Although Hooper Hall is the cornerstone of the campaign, the Board of Trustees decided to include several additional components. A successful multi-year campaign will fund:
$ 1,650,000: construct and furnish Hooper Hall  $500,000: eliminate all existing mortgages in order to secure the long- term financial stability of the school
$ 200,000: seed an annual capital budget for ongoing capital needs
$150,000: design and implement a comprehensive landscape design and make aesthetic improvements to the entire campus
TOTAL: $2,500,000
• Goal: $2,500,000 in contributions by December 31, 2012. Accomplishing this goal will free us from debt and allow us to set our sights on realizing the objectives of
the next Master Plan.
• $800,000 has been pledged as a 2-to-1 challenge grant for the duration of the campaign.
• More than $400,000 has been raised to date in cash and pledges.
Q: What has been accomplished thus far?
A: In addition to the completion of Hooper Hall, we have seen major improvements throughout the campus, which include; trees and shrubs that complement the new building; the new Currier Memorial grove of trees; fresh paint in the kindergarten classrooms; newly renovated bathrooms; two new school busses; new stone walkways leading from the Grades 1-4 classrooms to the playground; new wooden cabinets and shelves lining every high school classroom; and ongoing major grounds cleanup efforts throughout the campus.
Q: Who was Justine Hooper and why was the building named Hooper Hall?
A: Justine Hooper, who died in 2003, deeply understood the mission of the Waldorf movement established by Rudolf Steiner in the early part of the 20th century. As an environmentalist and advocate for sustainable stewardship of natural resources, she had a deep appreciation for beauty in nature and the arts. Justine Hooper felt an especially close connection to the Santa Fe Waldorf School where two of her grandchildren were enrolled for kindergarten, elementary and middle school. She quickly embraced the holistic view of human development in the Waldorf movement. During her life, she became a significant financial supporter of our Annual and Capital Campaigns.
Hooper Hall completes our County-approved 1994 Master Plan. During the process of designing Hooper Hall, an anonymous donor made a 2 to 1 challenge gift of $800,000. The language of the gift states that as the school raises $1.6 million, it will be matched with $800,000 for a total of $2.4 million. Due to the size of this gift, the College, Board and relevant committees were inspired to name the building Hooper Hall in memory of Justine Hooper.
Q: What was the process that envisioned/produced Hooper Hall?
A: Hooper Hall is the centerpiece of the current Capital Campaign and represents the realization of the Santa Fe Waldorf School’s 1994 Master Plan. At that time, Leland Stearns, Stearns Architecture, was the architect for the original master plan that included renovation of the Grades 1-4 building; remodeling the 7/8th grade building; design and construction of the 5/6th grade building; design and construction of the drop-off shelter; and design of the handicap pathways and parking. The cycle is completed as Leland returns to design the final phase of this Master Plan. Hooper Hall represents the build out of the final 4,880 sq. ft. available in our County-approved Master Plan.
Q: Why is Hooper Hall being used for woodworking, music, and fabric arts and not for Main Lesson classrooms?
A: Hooper Hall will house the grade school arts – a music room with proper acoustics, fabric arts, woodworking, eurythmy and other performance functions, and a few administrative offices. In Waldorf education, these artistic activities are not considered “extra,” but, in fact, are an integral part of the core curriculum and are crucial to the development of all the capacities of the whole child. Until now, these activities had been located in temporary buildings on campus, currently inadequate for the number of students and optimum learning. Hooper Hall will provide magnificent light-filled spaces that open to the natural world and are designed to inspire learning through the arts.
Based on the wisdom of past experience and the school’s ever changing needs, Hooper Hall is built to support multiple uses in the coming decades. All the rooms are plumbed, wired, and sound-proofed for maximum versatility for now and in the future.
Q: What is Eurythmy and why is the largest room in Hooper Hall devoted to it? How else can the room be used?
A: It has been said that, “A Waldorf school is not a Waldorf school without Eurythmy.” Eurythmy is a performance art in which music or speech is expressed in bodily movement, color and form. It has been part of the Waldorf curriculum since the founding of Waldorf education in 1919. The rhythms and exercises of Eurythmy help students to strengthen and harmonize their body and their life forces. Eurythmy helps develop concentration, self-discipline, and awareness of others as well as a sense of individual mastery.
Other uses for the space may include small plays, lectures, adult eurythmy classes, and social functions, to name a few.
Q: Why did we build Hooper Hall vs. a gymnasium?
 A: It was important to complete the 1994 Master Plan in a methodical way before moving on to the next phase of campus expansion. In that Plan, a strong eurythmy program was identified as a priority and was included in the final Plan approved by the County. The approved plan stated that the additional allowable square footage was 4,880 square feet. A gymrequires at least 10,000-12,000 sq ft. We could not build the gymnasium without a new, approved, Master Plan.
Planning for the Future:
In 2008 the Board of Trustees and College of Teachers initiated a concerted effort to begin and carry forth the planning process for our next Master Plan. A group from all constituencies of the school--parents, teachers, College, Board, and staff-- led by former board presidents, David Burling and Leland Stearns, is identifying needs and shaping our path forward into the near and far future. Their work will form the basis of a new master plan. Once we have a plan it generally takes two years to gain approval from the county to move forward.
Q: Is Hooper Hall designed to meet and exceed green building principles?
A: Yes. The building has natural ventilation and utilizes passive solar heat with its south-facing windows. It is anticipated that utility costs will be minimal except in the most extreme weather conditions. The building has a water catchment system of gutters and cisterns for water conservation and landscape irrigation.  Independent contractor Verde Consultants was hired to monitor and document all building materials such as paints, sealants, adhesives, roof and wall systems and carpet products to ensure that only non-toxic materials were used. In addition, prior to ground-breaking, members of the construction team met with Paula Baker of Econest, and in a line by line review, vetted all construction materials to guarantee zero toxicity. All construction waste materials were recycled.
Q: How has Hooper Hall minimized its carbon footprint?
A: The building utilizes daylight (vs. lights), passive solar (heating), no air conditioning, natural ventilation, a waterless urinal, dual flush toilets, 10,000 gallon water capture and storage system, recycled carpet tile, 80% recycled maple floors in Eurythmy space, American Clay on the walls (non-toxic), ready for photovoltaic panels. From all rooms there is a connection to the natural world through the large windows and the entire space generally has a non-institutional feel, an especially valuable feature in a school environment.
Q: What can I do to help the campaign succeed?
A: While we have raised more than $400,000 toward this effort, we still have approximately $1.3 million to raise to meet the challenge. We encourage you to begin thinking about making a gift which is payable over 3, 4, or even 5 years. We have a menu of funding opportunities to choose from so that we can be sure your interest coincides with our needs. We welcome any insights, input or feedback from all members of the school community regarding existing buildings and grounds, or future planning. Please contact our Development office (
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
) or a member of the Campaign for the Future Steering Committee which is listed below:
Barbara Booth
Rebecca Chastenet
David Milliken
Judith Nix
Angela Poole
Marline Marquez Scally
Michael Zercher
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