RSF Funds Development of Sebastopol Charter School’s New Campus
March 27, 2014 /3BL Media/ - RSF Social Finance (RSF) is pleased to announce a new loan to The Charter Foundation, the fundraising organization that supports the K-8 Waldorf-inspired Sebastopol Charter School. RSF was selected by the Foundation as their lender of choice to finance the acquisition of a 20-acre property and the construction of a permanent, unified campus for the entire school population on the new site
Sebastopol Charter School was founded by Greg Haynes and Ursula Kroettinger, two former Waldorf school administrators who wished to bring Waldorf education to their community without the financial barriers of private school tuition. Waldorf education, developed by Rudolf Steiner in 1919, is an arts-rich approach to education that focuses on teaching the whole child – head, hands, and heart. Waldorf schools have traditionally been private and more readily accessible to middle and upper class families. However, a shift is occurring: according to the Alliance for Public Waldorf Education, the number of Waldorf-inspired public schools has risen quickly, from around a dozen in 2000 to over fifty in 2014, making this education model available to far more children regardless of family income.
“RSF is inspired by the work of Rudolf Steiner and we believe in the importance of supporting creativity and human spirit,” says Ted Levinson, Director of Lending at RSF. “We have a long history of supporting Waldorf education in private schools and seeing these values transferred to the public education system is an important step in developing the next generation of inspired leaders.”
As one of the first Waldorf-inspired charter schools in the nation, Sebastopol Charter opened its doors in 1995 to its pioneering kindergarten class. Each subsequent year another grade was added as the previous class advanced, until the first 8th grade class graduated in 2005. With the school’s rapid expansion, The Charter Foundation was founded with the mission of establishing and supporting a permanent, Waldorf-inspired charter school.
“Since the school’s founding nearly two decades ago we’ve searched for a permanent campus site that would provide our students the spaciousness to move with freedom and to explore and learn through their natural environment,” says Chris Topham, Executive Director of Sebastopol Charter. “Since that time, RSF has been a key partner in helping us realize that dream, first providing the backing needed to develop our current urban campus, and now supporting our efforts to take our school to the next level at our new, unified campus.”
RSF initially provided a loan to the Foundation in 2000 to help build the school’s downtown campus, housing the third through eighth grades, while the K-2 program is housed on a separate site leased from the chartering district. The downtown facility, now owned free and clear by the Foundation, has served its purpose as a temporary home and investment property while the school searched for the ideal site for its new home. This new RSF loan has been used to acquire a 20-acre parcel of land, and will support the development of the first phase of the new campus which will finally unify the entire school.
Sebastopol Charter School has been successful in recruiting and retaining high quality teachers, providing a full and rich Waldorf curriculum including strings, handwork, woodwork, Spanish, games, social inclusion and eurythmy, and attracting a dedicated and informed parent body. As a result, Sebastopol Charter is now widely regarded as one of the leaders in public Waldorf education nationwide. Its success has encouraged scores of other public schools to offer a Waldorf-inspired education to any child, regardless of the ability to pay.
About RSF Social Finance
Located in San Francisco, CA, RSF Social Finance (RSF) is a financial services organization dedicated to transforming the way the world works with money. Since 1984, the organization has made over $275 million in loans and $100 million in grants to non-profit and for-profit social enterprises working in the areas of Food & Agriculture, Education & the Arts, and Ecological Stewardship. RSF's lending capital comes primarily from 1,500 individuals who have invested $1,000 or more in the organization's Social Investment Fund. Investors earn a competitive return on their money comparable to a certificate of deposit while their funds are deployed to leading social enterprises. To learn more, visit www.rsfsocialfinance.org
About The Charter Foundation
The Charter Foundation is the fundraising organization for Sebastopol Charter School, a public charter school in Sebastopol, California. Established by the school’s founders in 1998, the Foundation is charged with the mission of supporting Sebastopol Charter School in providing both a full Waldorf program and in establishing a permanent, unified, and spacious campus. www.thecharterfoundation.org
Contact
Ted Levinson, Senior Director of Lending
ted.levinson@rsfsocialfinance.org
415.561.6179
Jillian McCoy, Communications Manager
jillian.mccoy@rsfsocialfinance.org
415.561.6156
