The Hartsbrook School Cultivates Humanity
By Melissa Karen Sances
Published In Northampton Living | October 2026
Community Corner sponsored by Greenfield Savings Bank
On Oct. 3, the Hartsbrook School will hold its annual Farm-to-Table Harvest Dinner to celebrate its students. Photo Courtesy of Hartsbrook
Located on 54 acres of farmland in Hadley, the Hartsbrook School fosters a community of learners that are in tune with the land and in sync with each other. About 220 students in preschool through 12th grade receive a largely computer-free, hands-on education on working farmland that organizers said is ultimately a labor of love.
Director of Advancement Anne Griffin stressed that while the school year is already underway, Hartsbrook offers rolling admissions and sliding-scale tuition for those who qualify. At the independent day school, an infant-parent class called “Cricket” welcomes the littlest students and lays the foundation for what she said is “really about the whole family and not just the student in front of us.”
Founded in 1981 by a group of parents who championed a Waldorf education, the institution has grounded its philosophy in an experiential and holistic approach to learning whose goal is to improve humanity. “Here you’re not just surrounded by peers striving for the right answer,” said Head of School Diego Sharon, “but for truth, beauty and goodness as well.”
Lay of the Land
At the Hartsbrook School, all students have a purposeful relationship with the environment through the organization’s land stewardship program. Photo Courtesy of Hartsbrook
In a world that is increasingly devastated by climate change, Sharon said that environmental stewardship is a pressing, present-day necessity for the nonprofit’s students.
“What should we be doing with the land? With the scarcity of food?” he asked. “Our intention is to work collectively and purposefully to find thoughtful and impactful ways to benefit the greater community.
Griffin, whose son and daughter attend Hartsbrook, recalled that her fifth-grader learned how to make a broom out of corn, igniting a deeper sense of purpose: “I was really struck by how proud she felt to have this physical object she was able to forge into this useful, utilitarian piece.” Sharon, whose three children also received a Waldorf education, added that last year’s sixth graders were able to compost 550 pounds of food scraps, which yielded a similar sense of agency and accountability.
Even the athletics are educational. In the fifth grade, while learning about Greek mythology, students “train” for the Olympics, practicing the long jump and the javelin throw and competing with other Waldorf schools.
In addition to purposeful movement, ninth and tenth graders are encouraged to participate in an exchange program with sister schools in Spanish-speaking countries.
Collective Harvest
On Saturday, Oct. 3 from 5 to 8 p.m., Hartsbrook will hold its annual Farm-to-Table Harvest Dinner, a chance for the community to celebrate local farmers, including the school’s students, while fundraising to support sliding-scale tuition and land stewardship. Catered by alumnus Nate Sustick, the executive chef of Paul & Elizabeth’s in Northampton, the meal is also a way to honor the Pioneer Valley during its most vibrant season. (Paul and Elizabeth Sustick were founding members of the school, where many of their grandchildren are now enrolled.)
“It’s a wonderful way to get to know who we are as a broader, extended family,” said Sharon of the event. Tickets can be purchased at hartsbrook.org.
It’s also a chance to connect with the higher power at the soul of the school. Hartsbrook is nondenominational, but its reverence for nature is itself a spiritual act – one that Sharon said allows the students to journey inward and look outward.
Learn more at hartsbrook.org.
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