Local private schools expanding

Several private schools in Albemarle County and Charlottesville are growing to accommodate current and future enrollments, school officials say.

Whether construction is ongoing or in future plans, private-school officials say enrollment has been steady despite the ailing economy and that they want to provide additional facilities for their students.

Free Union Country School recently broke ground on a 4,400-square-foot building that will house two classrooms, an art room, a large assembly area and a teachers’ lounge, director Carolyn Lawlor said.

Money raised through four years of fundraising and several private grants, Lawlor said, will fund the estimated $700,000 expansion. It’s the second phase of a long-term plan to expand the campus but not the number of students, she said.

“We want to be small enough that we can still provide the same level of education to our students,” Lawlor said. “There are no plans to increase the number of students or add another grade level.”

The first phase of the expansion was to refurbish the school’s library, expand the septic system and pay for a turning lane into the school, Lawlor said. The third phase, which is a long-term goal, will provide a building for art and drama classes.

While enrollment is down in some private schools around the state, there are still ongoing expansions at some schools for future enrollment or to improve facilities, said George McVey, president of the Virginia Council for Private Education in Richmond. He said there is no agency that keeps up with enrollment at all private schools in the state.

“The trend we’re seeing this year is [enrollment] is down, but there are exceptions,” McVey said. “There have been expansions of schools in recent years, but most private schools tend to have smaller classrooms and remain small.”

The council supports private schools through advocacy and accreditation.

Free Union Country School, which has 92 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, is housed in a log cabin-type building and a portable classroom. Once its new building is completed, the portable classroom will be removed.

It’s the first expansion at the school since the early 1990s, Lawlor said.

‘Hands-on school’

“This is where we want to be and where we think we are successful,” Lawlor said. “We are an active, hands-on school, where students are taught reflection [of their own ideas] rather than regurgitation of facts. We provide a social curriculum where students learn to disagree respectfully.”

Elementary students at St. Anne’s-Belfield School will have new classrooms by the fall of 2010 if construction on a new learning center goes as scheduled, head of school David Lourie said.

The school serves 842 students in preschool through 12th grade.

School officials have secured bonds for the $25 million expansion and have started fundraising to increase the school’s endowment. The overall goal of the expansion is to increase physical space but not student size, Lourie said.

“We want to give the students more room to learn,” Lourie said. “But we want to maintain the small size of our school community.”

Construction began recently on a renovation of the visual arts space at the Miller School of Albemarle, said Rita Ralston, director of development. It’s the beginning of a long-term expansion project to increase enrollment at the school within the next 10 years.

There are 140 students at the school, which serves eighth through 12th grades, and officials hope to increase enrollment to 250 students, Ralston said.

“We pride ourselves on our tight-knit community and want to make sure we retain that as we grow,” Ralston said.

Once a new arts center is completed, the old space will be renovated for four new science classrooms and labs.

The school has been working for two years to raise $20 million to help pay for the $10 million in construction costs for the first phase of the project and continue providing financial aid to students, Ralston said.

Once the first phase is completed, the school will continue an expansion process through 2013, she said.

“We hope to have phase one completed within two years,” Ralston said. “After that we have several additional phases planned for both renovation and new construction here on campus.”

Plans coming soon

A couple of private schools in the area have plans to begin construction in the near future.

The Montessori Community School in Charlottesville has started fundraising for a $1.5 million project to build three elementary classrooms on its property, communications director Leigh Ann Carver said.

The school, which has 200 students, serves toddlers to students in the eighth grade. School officials plan to complete the construction in the next three years and it’s part of a master plan to increase student enrollment, Carver said. That master plan looks eight to 10 years out and calls for expanding enrollment to about 250 students.

“Charlottesville has a thriving independent school community,” Carver said. School officials also plan to construct classroom space and remove seven portable classrooms, she said.

“We work hard to have a beautiful campus that invites students to learn more about their world,” Carver said. “We have a couple of positions on our staff that exist to make sure the students can make optimal use of those outdoor learning opportunities.”

Although students at the Renaissance School in Charlottesville just moved into their new building two years ago, school officials are hoping to renovate the third floor to create an art studio.

The school, in downtown Charlottesville, has 30 students from eighth to 12th grades. There are no immediate plans to increase school size, said Sara Johnson, dean of students.

“Renaissance School’s art program has an impressive success rate, with our students attending some of the best art programs in the nation,” Johnson said. “This expansion also makes room for our languages program to grow into a larger space.”

The school will pay for the renovations through fundraisers and with the help of students’ families, Johnson said. Many parents have given in-kind gifts and their time for previous renovations at the school.

One area private school is still looking for room to expand. Todd Barnett, head of the Field School, said the school is looking for a permanent site to build its all-boys middle school.

The school, which has 30 students in fifth to seventh grades, is housed at Claudius Crozet Park in Crozet. It has space to expand to include eighth grade next year, Barnett said.

“We’re happy with the progress we’re making, but we want to find a [permanent] site for the school,” Barnett said. He said parents and staff have helped make improvements to the current building and have kept costs down.

“We’re going to be very careful with every dollar,” Barnett said. He plans to raise funds for the school site through a capital fundraising campaign.

Non-traditional approach

Not every private school has plans to expand, but one has found a non-traditional way to bring “new” facilities to its students.

Jamie Knorr, co-founder of the Village School in Charlottesville, looks to downtown businesses and amenities to help give his students new opportunities.

This school year, students have enjoyed renovations at McGuffey Park during their recreation time; shared space with students at the Renaissance School for art classes; and had ice cream at the Chaps Ice Cream Shop, Knorr said.

Students at the all-girls school, which consists of the fifth to eighth grade, use the downtown area as part of their extended classroom, he said.

“The key is buildings are not what education is all about,” Knorr said. “Learning is about creating an environment, and you don’t need a fancy structure to do that. So much money is put into brick and mortar and it should be put into the education.”