Academic Village

In this final year of the How Far? campaign, Penn Charter needs to raise cash for buildings. The campaign has met fundraising goals for curricular innovation, the Annual Fund, financial aid, teacher support and bequests. So the two major capital projects—the Graham and the lower school—are the fundraising priorities.

“These capital projects secure the future of our school,” Reinhold said. “We need more gifts.”

Penn Charter’s 2013 Strategic Vision identified the need for a lower school facility that supports innovative teaching and what neuroscience has taught us about the way children learn. Imagining how that new facility could fit into PC’s campus launched a visionary master plan to transform the campus to meet the needs of the school far into the 21st century.

The plan realigns athletics facilities on the eastern side of campus, from the scoreboard on Maguire Field across School House Lane to the Strawbridge Campus. On the other side, the plan calls for the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools to unite in a green, pedestrian-oriented Academic Village.

“Our vision for a campus transformation combines the three divisions in a vibrant Academic Village—a vibrant learning community,” said Head of School Darryl J. Ford. “We are not done until we achieve that.”