Cornerstones Community Partnerships
Creating hands-on interdisciplinary adobe restoration curriculum for New Mexico schools
Since 1986, Cornerstones has worked in partnership with communities to restore historic structures, preserve cultural landscapes, encourage traditional building practices, and conserve natural resources. Our Adobe Curriculum Experiential learning promotes cultural awareness and historic preservation by introducing the skills needed to restore, rehabilitate and preserve the adobe structures characteristic of the state's architecture.
Our curriculums can be applied to Pre-k - first grade, elementary and middle school and are designed to meet New Mexico Education Department's New Mexico Content Standards with Benchmarks and Performance Standards. The new Middle School Curriculum is supported by a grant from the Santa Fe Community Foundation. The curriculum was tested out by teachers during an adobe workshop and Professional Development session at The Academy for Technology and the Classics (ATC) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The curriculum, written by Joaquin Martinez, is digitally available through the Cornerstones website.
The author of the lesson plans met with the ATC teachers several times through the year as the students built the adobe pueblo and the week's Professional Development was a culmination of what the teachers already participated in with the students during the 2023-2024 school year, as the lesson plans were being put into best practice.
One of the curriculum's success was the ability to share the plans' application to other disciplines. Pictured, you will see the Spanish, Math, Science and Art teachers at ATC. The lesson plans are designed in such a way that all of these teachers will be applying them to their respective disciplines in the coming year to create a truly interdisciplinary yearlong Project Based Learning experience for the students at ATC.
Cornerstones appreciates the opportunity to continue our Adobe curriculum project and looks forward to establishing a high school format which may include internships and trades training, collaborating with shop classes and career planning within schools.
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The Santa Fe Community Foundation invited its nonprofit grantees to submit stories related to our July topic of Arts & Culture.
McCurdy Ministries
Local nonprofit McCurdy Ministries shares their story, including the early childhood programs that support young children and families in the Española Valley, offering care, education, and essential resources during critical early years.
Pegasus Legal Services for Children
Hear from Pegasus — a recent Santa Fe Baby Fund grant recipient and New Mexico’s only nonprofit law firm dedicated exclusively to children’s civil legal needs — about the importance of kinship guardianship in keeping local children safe and families together.
Santa Fe Indigenous Center
The Santa Fe Indigenous Center is a Native-led nonprofit serving Indigenous families across Santa Fe County. Through biweekly food drives, cultural events, community programs, emergency financial assistance, and a robust network of referral resources, SFIC supports the diverse needs of the local Indigenous community. Each year, the organization hosts its signature event — the Honoring Native Nations Powwow on Indigenous Peoples’ Day — bringing dancers, drummers, Tribal Dignitaries, artists, and community members together to celebrate Indigenous culture, joy, and resilience. This year’s powwow was a vibrant success, and SFIC looks forward to continuing this tradition in 2026.
