Take this ride with us.

Take this ride with us.

An update on The Next Peak Campaign

I

alumni, “Our parents, and

past parents demonstrate an awe-inspiring commitment to the Thacher experience; our students and faculty enjoy the benefits of that devotion daily.

n this Next Peak update, you will read about how the campaign is already improving the lives of our faculty, how the campaign’s sustainability initiatives have had an unexpected impact on the curriculum, and how one family’s focus on the long view has strengthened our footings. After years of service to the School, Dudley and Cici Rauch made an exceedingly important bequest. Thanks to them and to so many others, the summit is in sight. We need your help to make it to the Next Peak.

Jeffrey D. Berndt Director of Institutional Advancement

”

Blossom Beatty Pidduck CdeP 1992 Head of School

NEWS

Board Approves First New Academic Building Since 1981

• New Creativity + Technology Center slated to begin construction in 2019.

• Total cost including endowment for maintenance: $38 million • Left to raise: $6 million To learn more and view architectural renderings, visit thacher.org/nextpeak

Supporting Faculty & Strengthening Teaching The Supporting Faculty and Strengthening Teaching initiative encompasses several projects: Teachers Strengthening Teachers, Fisher Fellows, Sabbaticals, Faculty Salaries, and Faculty Housing.

Melanie León and Dietrich Schuhl

The former homes of Marvin Shagam and René Duykaerts were completely rebuilt as part of this initiative. The overall goal of the construction projects was to retain the historical look of the buildings while creating energy-efficient, comfortable, family-friendly homes for faculty families.

“Our goal is not simply to house our faculty,” said Head of School Blossom Beatty Pidduck, “but to provide them with homes that support them in the work they do with our students and that honor their commitment to our community.”

Marvin Shagam

Construction crews took Marvin Shagham’s home down to the interior studs and totally refurbished the interior. In the process, they restored the fireplace and the original wood floors. Science teacher Dietrich Schuhl and his wife, Melanie Léon, the senior associate director of admission, now call it home.

Remodeled interior of Shagam house

Ensuring Financial Robustness

The Hundred-Year View

Generous bequest by Rauch family fulfills campaign goal for facilities maintenance.

“It’s hard to overstate just how generous Ceci and Dudley were with Thacher,” said Andrew Shakman CdeP 1990, trying to articulate the depth of the impact that Cecilia (1942–2011) and Dudley (1941–2018) Rauch had on the Casa de Piedra community during their decades-long relationship with the School, first as parents, then as members of the board of trustees. Andrew, a former board member and board chair, served with them both. “They were remarkably high-impact individuals. I have tremendous admiration for their style of selfless, humble, quiet leadership, all born from a strong and deeply held set of values.”

A Game-Changing Gift In keeping with these qualities, when Dudley passed away in 2018 it was revealed that he had quietly made a sizable provision to Thacher in his estate through The Boot Hill Legacy Society—Thacher’s estate giving vehicle. The generous gift will support the same unflashy but essential initiatives that he championed during his time on the board: financial robustness and an endowment fund that will support the maintenance and operations of Thacher’s facilities. The gift means that the School has now met its campaign goal for facilities maintenance—an initiative inspired by Dudley from the start.

“Dudley was able to see the things that other people didn’t,” remarked Andrew. “He felt duty-bound to bring attention to anything he perceived to be a risk or a vulnerability.”

Prudent financial stewardship was among those areas on which Dudley focused much of his attention. Indeed, in

many cases his advocacy changed the way that Thacher prepared for its financial future. This includes budgeting up front for the ongoing maintenance costs of new facilities— today a central tenet of The Next Peak Campaign, and now a fully funded initiative.

Decades of Service and Community Neither Ceci nor Dudley had a prior relationship with the School when their daughter, Heather Watkins CdeP 1989, enrolled in 1985. In fact, Heather remembers that it was difficult for her parents, especially her mother, to let her leave home for high school. As they observed everything she experienced during her years at Thacher, however, a real sense of connection took root.

The Boot Hill Legacy Society of today is building the Thacher of tomorrow. Boot Hill Members have committed to supporting Thacher’s long-term prosperity by including Thacher in their estate plans. More info at thacher.org/giving/legacy-giving

“They thought Thacher was just a wonderful place for me,” said Heather. “They saw that I thrived there. They got to know my teachers, my friends. They felt that they had become a part of the community.”

In 1988, the Rauchs served on the board as chairs of the parents association, marking the first of many contributions to come. In 2002, Ceci joined the board of trustees, a post she held until her passing in 2011. At that time, Dudley agreed to take up the responsibilities of her board seat, which he filled until 2018.

“Something my parents really shared was an enjoyment of people coming together for a common purpose, a common good,” said Heather. “They felt very blessed and that it was their responsibility to give back.”

This attitude of gracious, community-minded service and

philanthropy—much of which went on behind the scenes, unsung—was clear to those who worked with the Rauchs during their separate tenures on the board. Ceci and Dudley were known for their clear-eyed ability to advance and support a long-term vision, preferring the hundred-year view over the promise of short-term gains. Ceci was also known for her diplomacy, for asking the tough questions, and for encouraging others to cultivate a bigger, longer-term vision for the School. Dudley, often spotted scribbling down ideas and on-the-spot analysis on his customary yellow legal pad, had a distinct ability to look at things from a fresh perspective.

“Thacher has a tremendous group of supportive alumni, parents, friends,” said Andrew. “Within that remarkable group, there are few who have been as influential on the future of the School as Dudley and Ceci.”

Supporting Environmental Sustainability

Water Catchment Tanks Planned for Upper Field Two 300,000-gallon water tanks planned for the Upper Field will save an estimated 1.2 millions gallons of water annually, capturing and storing rainwater runoff and field irrigation drainage for future reuse. We hope to begin construction this fall and complete it in time to capture the December and January rains.

Coordinated community efforts make Thacher more frugal with scarce water Careful water stewardship in our dry chaparral ecosystem is essential to securing a sustainable community. That’s why water conservation projects are among The Next Peak Campaign’s critical initiatives, with the ultimate aim of reaching an 85 percent reduction in water use from a 2013 baseline.

Measuring, Monitoring, and Managing A campaign-funded partnership with Banyan Water utilizes internet-of-things technology and an innovative software platform to monitor, analyze, and control campus water usage, contributing to a 56 percent reduction in use since 2013.

This year, students running the Green Cup Challenge (GCC), an inter-dorm conservation competition, put the Banyan data to use, writing custom computer code that facilitated the particular analysis they needed for GCC monitoring.

Conservation Curriculum Campaign-supported water initiatives inspire students and teachers to examine local water issues inside the classroom and out.

• Kumana Prize winners Toby Arculli ’20 and Luke Letscher ’20 are producing a documentary about water stewardship and scarcity within the Casitas Municipal Water District.

• Faculty members Heather Grant, Juan Sánchez, and Brian Pidduck led a multidisciplinary “MayHEM” micro-course on the Ventura River watershed, which included site visits and interviews with hydrologists, policymakers, and other experts.

• Saga Leslie ’21, Skye Neulight ’21, Karina Andersen ’21, and Jose Carpio ’21 spent two months producing a 15-minute documentary film for NewsDecoder, a global educational news service, exploring how some Ventura County farmers are shifting practices to mitigate environmental impacts.

Securing Access and Affordability

Numbers That Change Lives These statistics tell only a fragment of the story about the campaign’s impact on our financial aid program.

However, they do illustrate some of the progress we have already made.

Number of Students Receiving Aid

Percentage of Students Receiving Aid

2015–2019

2015–2019

+17.5%

+19.2%

Financial Aid Budget

Aid as Percentage of Gross Tuition Revenue

2015–2019

2015–2019

+50.7%

+32.4%

As we ascend the Next Peak, Thacher will continue to expand its affordability initiatives to ensure that the most qualified students have access to the School regardless of their financial situation.

Priorities Requiring Additional Funding Supporting Faculty & Strengthening Teaching Raised to Date $17.65 million 0

Balance $2.0 million Goal $19.65 million

Ensuring Financial Robustness: Planned Giving Raised to Date $12.45 million 0

Balance $2.7 million Goal $15.15 million

Upgrading Facilities: Creativity + Technology Center Raised to Date $32.2 million 0

Balance $6.2 million Goal $38.4 million

Securing Access and Affordability Raised to Date $12.4 million 0

Balance $3.6 million Goal $16 million

The generous support of our parents, past parents, alumni, and friends has brought us close to meeting the goals of The Next Peak. Please help us climb the final summit.

If you would like any more information or wish to make a gift, please contact Jeff Berndt at jberndt@thacher.org or 805-640-3276.