Sonoma Academy’s new digs are a dream come true.
Leon Joseph Cardinal Suenens, a Belgian prelate and moderator of the Second Vatican Council, once said, “Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.”
Perhaps that’s why there are so many smiles at Santa Rosa’s Sonoma Academy these days.
Fueled by the visionary work of a group of determined North Bay business and community leaders, the school—which, in 2001, became the first independent, college-preparatory high school in Wine Country—will officially move to its new, $35 million, permanent campus this July, just in time for the 2008-2009 academic year, which starts in September.
Located at the base of Taylor Mountain in south Santa Rosa, the new campus is a dream come true not only for those who’ve dedicated so much time and energy to make it a reality, but for the entire community, which will benefit from expanded opportunities for those seeking an alternative to public education.
Sonoma Academy has long been heralded as “the school that business built,” largely because of the marquee names—including Banke, Draxton, Farrow, French, Jackson, Lasseter and Zeigler, to name just a few—who’ve worked tirelessly with one goal in mind. Barbara Banke, proprietor of Jackson Family Wines, explains, “We were a bunch of dreamers who wanted to build the best damn school in the country.” By all accounts, they’re succeeding.
In the beginning…
Sonoma Academy traces its roots back to 1999, when a group of business and community leaders met at the offices of Kendall-Jackson Winery. Their common thread? All of them had children currently attending Sonoma Country Day School, a private elementary and middle school located in Santa Rosa.
“Originally, Sonoma Country Day planned to offer education for children from kindergarten through 12th grade,” explains Banke. “But the campus they were building at the time couldn’t accommodate a high school. So, as parents, we founded Sonoma Academy. We wanted to create a high school environment in which our children could be educated. As the original board members, we all felt the school should be open to anyone who wanted to do the work—not just children from high-income families. We wanted a school that would serve the whole community.”
After an intense search, the group hired Janet Durgin, dean of curriculum at Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts, as head of the new school. Durgin immediately set out developing the core curriculum and hiring teaching staff to get Sonoma Academy up and running by the 2001-2002 academic year, when it accepted its first students—46 ninth and 10th graders. The board leased the space that was previously occupied by Sonoma Country Day School at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts (then the Luther Burbank Center) and set up a temporary campus.
Banke’s main cohort in jump-starting Sonoma Academy was Bev Zeigler, whose husband, Kirt, is an attorney and one of the founders of Santa Rosa law firm Anderson, Zeigler, Disharoon, Gallagher & Gray. At the time, Kirt (who also was one of Sonoma Academy’s founding trustees) was spearheading the building of the new Sonoma Country Day School campus.
“We played to our strengths,” Bev Zeigler says. “We knew from our experience at Sonoma Country Day School that our expertise was in land, finance and fundraising—not education.” So while Durgin set about finding the best and brightest to teach, Zeigler and Banke (a former land use attorney) were on a mission to find property for the school’s permanent campus.
Banke found a pristine, 34-acre tract that was originally zoned for 100 homes in Santa Rosa’s city limits. Developer Art Candiotti sold it to Banke and her husband, Kendall-Jackson founder Jess Jackson, who purchased it with the sole intent of donating it to Sonoma Academy for its campus. The donation was assessed at $8.4 million.
“It’s a perfect location,” says Bev Zeigler. “The 35 acres are within the city limits with access to city services, but the surrounding 2,000 acres are protected open space. And that’s what makes it so very special: It’s a beautiful inspiration not only for the students, but also for the faculty.”
Envisioning the future
Fresh off his Sonoma Country Day School project, Kirt Zeigler offered to spearhead construction of the Sonoma Academy campus.
The board hired BAR Architects of San Francisco to design the campus and gave the company strict instructions that the project was to be “as green as we can be,” says Kirt. The school even hired an environmental architect specialist who reviewed and approved the final plans. Among the campus’ green features are classrooms that will use passive cooling, while areas that require air conditioning will be served by high-efficiency HVAC units. The school will use double-paned Low-E glass for windows, paints with low volatile organic compounds and recycled carpeting. Fly ash—a byproduct of coal production, which requires no energy to produce—is being used in all the concrete mixes used on the project. All lighting fixtures will be high efficiency and the hardscape (sidewalks and walkways) will be light in color and composition to reflect rather than absorb heat. Drought-resistant plants will be used in landscaping and plans call for the athletic field to be covered with artificial turf that uses recycled rubber as part of its base, saving water and limiting the cost of upkeep. Finally, while the school won’t install solar initially, it’s wiring the site for eventual conversion once it’s economically advantageous.
With a plan in hand, the trustees began the arduous task of raising funds. The school has raised $20 million in gifts and pledges (plus the land donation); some of these included naming rights for buildings and other sites on campus. “This was an important way for us to raise needed funds, while at the same time providing recognition to the very people who helped turn our dream of a permanent campus into reality,” says Durgin. In March 2007, the school was able to secure a $33 million tax-exempt bond to allow it to begin construction early, which helped combat rising building costs.
Making a difference
Among Sonoma Academy’s sponsors are some of Sonoma County’s leading philanthropists. Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke provided funding for the Jackson/Banke Amphitheater. Private investor Kenneth R. Fitzsimmons, Jr., and his wife, Jane, have chosen to name the Fitzsimmons Family Theater, which will house the school’s music and theater programs. The Fruth Family Math/Science Wing in the south classroom building is a donation from the Fruth Family Foundation. The Jordan Lab is a gift from Jordan Winery owners Tom and Sandra Jordan (Sandra also designs fine home accessories and textiles marketed as the Sandra Jordan Collection). Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studio Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter and his wife, Nancy, a community volunteer and CEO of Lasseter Family Winery, provided funding for the Lasseter Family Technology and Digital Arts Center, while an anonymous donor provided $1 million to fund the school’s Humanities Wing.
Sites on the campus also have been funded. The school’s south terrace will be named Zeigler Point in recognition of Bev and Kirt Zeigler. The organic teaching garden has been named for Electra de Peyster, a master gardener who founded SeedStewards, an organization that promotes the saving and distribution of seeds that are in danger of becoming commercially unavailable. And the Duncan Wetlands Habitat recognizes a gift from Tim Duncan, executive vice president of Silver Oak Winery and managing partner at Twomey Cellars, and his fiancé, Roo McKenna.
The nitty gritty
With fundraising in full swing, Kirt Zeigler and other board members set about getting approvals from all the governmental agencies, including the fire department and the water quality review board. The process took a couple of years.
“There are a whole bunch of issues [in planning a campus],” Kirt says. “There are many constituents in the process—administrators, teachers, students, parents, trustees, architects, engineers and others. Once you get your plans, then you have to get all the permits. The City of Santa Rosa—the Planning Commission, the City Council and top staff—were extremely supportive; they liked the project and had many positive things to say about it. They did what they could to make it work, which is a testament to the city’s vision.”
Ground was officially broken in October 2005, but actual construction didn’t begin until spring 2007. “Building a campus on a hillside is a huge challenge,” Kirt explains. “I had an inkling it would be different than Sonoma Country Day School, which is on flat land, but I really had no idea how difficult it actually would be. We had a lot of work to do with the soil, which is thick, sticky clay, and the underlying rock formations were folded, which required us to dig deeper to put in the footings. So there was much more excavation than we expected.”
The contractor for the project is Jim Murphy & Associates of Santa Rosa. Dave Bartle is the project superintendent. “[Bartle] is unbelievable at turning lemons into lemonade and working with subcontractors,” Kirt says, before relating how Bartle was able to get one subcontractor to secure steel for a critical period in the project’s timeline, even though there was a nationwide shortage. He’s also been able to manage both union and nonunion labor at the site—no small accomplishment. Engineers for the project are Brelje and Race of Santa Rosa, who, according to Kirt, have been very creative at solving drainage issues. “We ran into an underground spring during our excavation and had to channel it to stop erosion,” he explains.
The campus is being built in two phases. Phase one will include completion of three buildings—a gymnasium/administration building, a classroom building and a black box theater—as well as landscaping, an outdoor amphitheater and construction of a full-size soccer/lacrosse field and practice field with artificial turf. Phase two will include an additional classroom building, a music building, a student center and a larger, more formal theater. With the completion of phase one, Sonoma Academy will be able to increase its student body from the current 200 students to roughly 315. When phase two is done, the campus will be able to accommodate 400 students. While applications this year are up more than 40 percent in anticipation of the new campus, Durgin says growth will be gradual to preserve the low teacher-to-student ratio (it currently stands at 1 to 10).
Mission accomplished
“‘Sonoma Academy calls its students to be creative, ethical and committed to learning,’” Durgin says. “‘The school nurtures inspiring teachers and engages with the surrounding community—and its students communicate across cultures as they prepare to become leaders in a dynamic world.’ We’re always referencing this mission statement as we grow our program, and we focus on those elements that really let us strengthen the mission with integrity.”
The evolution of the school over the last seven years is a source of pride not only for Durgin, but also for Banke and Bev Zeigler, who were the first to really push the Sonoma Academy concept.
“The thing I’m proudest of is that the school serves the mission,” says Bev Zeigler. “Top quality education at the secondary level, with a focus on a global society. The globalization that Barbara and I both envisioned in 2000 is really coming to pass.”
Banke agrees. “Those of us in business knew global was the coming thing. We wanted to educate our children to see how others think and to use this knowledge to find their way in the world,” she says.
International programs are a major part of the Sonoma Academy experience. For seven years, students have spent spring breaks visiting Beijing High School Number 4 in China, and students from that school have come to stay with Sonoma Academy host families. Students have been to Nicaragua to help renovate a preschool and to Costa Rica to study rain forests. Students went to the Czech Republic to learn first-hand the art of making marionettes. They’ve studied marine biology in Honduras and have participated in travel/study programs in Mexico and France.
“This is directly attributable to our goal to make students comfortable in different cultures,” says Durgin.
The school has also grown in stature because of Connections, its community service program. Every Wednesday, students participate in the program; some volunteer at various organizations with which Sonoma Academy has a formal link, such as the Redwood Empire Food Bank. Students stock shelves but also learn about the politics of hunger. During their junior and senior years, they’re encouraged to develop their own personal service projects, based on their own interests, or apprentice at a local nonprofit or business.
While the school’s always had a robust athletic program, with boys’ and girls’ basketball, soccer and lacrosse teams, Durgin says the difference these days is that the teams are winning. This past season, the girls’ soccer team won the North Coast Section Conference league championship, and its coach, Chris Ziemer, was named coach of the year for girls’ teams by the Press Democrat. The school was the first to offer CIF lacrosse in Sonoma County, a sport that’s growing exponentially, and it’s recently added girls’ volleyball, track and cross country.
Environmental leadership
“Another really important way we’ve grown our program is through environmental leadership,” Durgin says. “We’ve retooled our ninth grade math and science program so the framework is focused on environmental changes. We’ve integrated biology, math and chemistry so we can map and track what’s happening globally. I anticipate we’ll write proposals for environmental laws [based on the findings].”
As part of Connections for sophomores, the school recently launched a co-curricular program called “Leadership Training for a Sustainable Future.” Students have heard from a number of community leaders with different environmental perspectives. So far, they’ve learned about global climate change from Ellie Cohen, president and CEO of the Point Reyes Bird Observatory; Bob Cannard and Fred Cline, co-founders of Green String Farm, discussed sustainable organic farming practices; and Geoff Syphers of Sonoma Mountain Village in Rohnert Park talked with the students about building sustainable communities.
Durgin expects the new campus site to anchor the environmental aspects of students’ educations. The school will have its own organic garden, and students will participate in campus restoration projects. In anticipation of the move, students have visited the site so they could begin to understand their role as stewards of the land.
“We wanted students to see the site before building started so they’d be able to monitor the impact of construction,” Durgin says. “We posed lots of questions: How long will it take to rebuild the soil? Will the nesting boxes that they built under the guidance of a local bird specialist succeed in attracting birds to the new campus site? Do plant materials brought in to provide habitat actually attract new or additional wildlife? If so, how long does it take?”
Some students have worked with the Sotoyome Resource Conservation Group; they learned about wildlife habitats and did restoration work on Colgan Creek, which runs through the property.
Overcoming the myth
If there’s one thing the school has yet to overcome, it’s the perception that it’s only for the children of the well-heeled.
“We’ve had to fight an elitist view ever since the school was founded,” says Bev Zeigler. “We’ve had to work very hard to get the word across that’s never been the case.”
From the very beginning, the school has offered financial aid to 40 percent or more of its students––that’s roughly three times the national average for independent schools according to the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). The average savings for those students on financial aid at Sonoma Academy has been about 60 percent of the full tuition cost, which is $26,300.
This year, Sonoma Academy instituted an individualized tuition program in an effort to enable more qualified students from a diverse range of cultural and financial backgrounds to attend. Individualized tuition is now based on each family’s situation, including such factors as annual income, net worth (including home equity), the number of children in a family and whether or not those children are attending tuition-charging schools. (Interested students and families can contact Mary Jo Dale, head of admissions, or go online to www.sonomaacademy.org for more specifics.)
“We’re committed to providing a premier education to talented students from all financial backgrounds,” explains Durgin. “Some families have felt caught in the middle when it comes to affording the benefits of a private education. They think they make too much to qualify for aid, yet they don’t make enough to pay full tuition. This program addresses those families’ issues.”
A shining campus on a hill
When one considers the vision, dedication and determination of those who founded Sonoma Academy, the words of President Ronald Reagan during his farewell address to the nation in 1989 come to mind. In his speech, Reagan talked about “the shining city upon a hill”—a quote from pilgrim John Winthrop, who wrote it to describe the America he imagined.
“I’ve spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don’t know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it,” Reagan said. “But in my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.”
Much the same could be said about those who’ve worked so hard and accomplished so much to build this “shining campus upon a hill,” where the doors are open to anyone with the will and motivation to get there.
