Ventana is such a special place, and as word has spread about our warm community, relationship-centered pedagogy, and joyful learning environment, we’ve seen ever-growing enrollment at the school.

When the school was built in the 1960s, it was designed with a mix of small and large classroom spaces. This served us well when we were first starting the elementary program, but we’ve known for quite a while that we would need more classroom spaces to fully enroll. In 2018, we started planning and fundraising for a new classroom building but were waylaid by the pandemic. Over the past year, we’ve been working closely with our architects and as of January 2024, we have approval from the county for our building project!

As we embark on the biggest effort yet to expand and strengthen Ventana School, a defining moment in our history, we look to our valued community of parents, alumni families, grandparents, staff, and friends, to make our new classrooms a reality by participating in the campaign. Over the past few months, we have been meeting with families to gather support and we are incredibly proud to share that through prior fundraising and meetings this fall, we have raised a total of $1.7 million toward our goal of $2.15 million.

We are excited to invite you to participate, tangibly deepening your connection to Ventana and creating a legacy of extraordinary learning experiences for the next generation of Ventana families. Our goal is for all of our families to donate to the Capital Campaign, and feel great about their participation! 

As always, at Ventana, we want a connected community that feels valued and heard. We are asking families to stretch a bit to support the school, but not so far that it no longer feels like a positive experience. We would like to have as many families, who can, make their commitment before the end of this school year. Construction is scheduled to be completed in the Fall, and having pledges from families will allow us to determine how much we need to rely on our loan to pay contractors.

The Capital Campaign is being led by an amazing group of talented and passionate Ventana parents! Feel free to reach out to any of them with questions or send an email to capitalcampaign@ventanaschool.org.

FAQ

Campaign Leadership

Catriona Cairns & Laura Yip, Co-Chairs

Campaign Cabinet  

Josh DeullDonna Jazayeri

Aditi Kapoor

Alexandra Niederauer   

Elizabeth Richardson

Amanda Stewart

Kana Yoshikawa

Saima Yusuf

  • Our school was originally designed with a mix of small and large classrooms. As demand for Ventana’s unique experience grew, we launched a campaign in 2018 to build two new classrooms but had to pause it during the pandemic.

  • We have re-evaluated our goal based on two factors, dramatically increasing construction costs and the tremendous support shown in our early fundraising efforts. Our new goal is $2.15 million.Item description

  • We have raised a total of $1.7 million toward our goal of $2.15 million.

  • The estimate for the total cost of the project is $3.5 million. We have secured a loan at a low-interest rate of 3.87%.

  • The loan is for up to $2.5 million.

  • The new building will enable us to increase enrollment, resulting in additional revenue. The loan payback has been factored into the school’s operating budget.

  • The school is an entity of the church, which legally owns the land and the buildings. We have a Use Fee Agreement that governs the cost-sharing between the school and the church.

  • Our plan has been approved by the Santa Clara County Planning Commission, and we are currently applying for building permits. We expect to be able to start construction shortly. Our goal is to have it ready in fall 2024.

  • We will do everything that we can to minimize any disruption from construction, with safety being our priority. One of the reasons we intentionally chose a modular building was the expedited timeline and limited onsite impact. We know from experience that students are fascinated by construction and we are looking forward to seeing what questions are sparked!

  • This is a common question, and the short answer is that it may change from year to year, depending on the needs of the community. The flexibility of adding these two new classrooms is designed specifically to make it possible to separate the 4th and 5th grade classes into two classrooms while allowing us to more consistently enroll each grade up to our target student/teacher ratios.

    One of the core strengths of Ventana’s philosophy is that we are constantly evaluating how to best allocate our collective resources to support our mission. Every year we take the opportunity to consider which of the existing classrooms would be the best fit for each group of children. The plan is the same going forward. For the 2024-25 school year, our current plan is to have 4th and 5th grades in the new classrooms.

  • The Annual Fund happens each year, and the unrestricted gifts support the school’s current year operating budget. A capital campaign is designed to raise a set amount of money within a defined time and is restricted for a specific project requiring an infusion of capital outside of the Annual Fund. Capital campaigns usually have large goals and are typically carried out over a longer period.

  • These initiatives are expected to remain constant. We hope that you will continue with your current giving, as well as consider an additional commitment to this historic campaign.