Palm Beach Day Academy Launches Largest Campaign

With Celebrations Commencing - Wednesday, May 30, 2012

PALM BEACH, FL (May 29, 2012) – With Palm Beach Day Academy’s largest fundraising campaign now in progress, a celebratory kick off to the Great Expectations campaign will take place on Wednesday, May 30, 2012 at 11:00 A.M. with the renaming of the Mathews Auditorium to the Matthews Performing Arts Center on its Upper Campus located at 241 Seaview Avenue in Palm Beach. Construction hats will be provided for all attendees and renovations will officially begin June 9. Expansion for the school will continue this summer on both the lower campus (Pre K – Grade 3) in West Palm Beach and the upper campus (Grades 4 – Grade 9) in Palm Beach.

The Great Expectations Campaign began with the purchase of the Unity Church property positioned in the center of the school’s Lower Campus on Flagler Drive. The school’s leadership under the direction of Head of School, Dr. Rebecca van der Bogert, formed a long-range plan for capital improvements, expansion, professional development and endowments.  

Great Expectation Campaign Co-Chairs include Michael Ainslie, Lourdes Fanjul, Scott Johnson and Glenn Straub.  Honorary Co-Chairs are William Matthews and James Patterson.  More than 60 parents, past parents and alumni serve on the Campaign Steering Committee.

Many significant milestones have already been achieved.  This past year, the “quiet phase” of the campaign concluded with 100% participation of Palm Beach Day Academy’s Board of Trustees, faculty and staff.  To date, many of the school’s most generous long time friends and families have joined them to raise more than $7.5 million toward the initial goal of $14 million for Phase I and II.

The current focus is to raise the remaining $900,000 necessary to renovate the Matthews Performing Arts Center located on the school’s Upper Campus on Seaview Avenue.  Temporary classrooms now occupy fifty percent of the structure due to the overcrowding of the campus in the late 1990’s. Palm Beachers Frances and Jeffrey Fisher have agreed to match each gift in support of Matthews dollar-for-dollar up to $300,000.  Frances Fisher serves on the school’s Board of Trustees. 

“We anxiously await the renaissance of the Matthews Performing Arts Center which, for years, served as the centerpiece of our Upper Campus.” Said Dr. van der Bogert.

With construction slated to begin this June, the 300-seat theater will allow students to once again enjoy activities synonymous with Palm Beach Day including: The spring musical, Ralph Greco’s public speaking course, assemblies, and commencement – in a state-of-the art facility that will rival any of the small-scale theaters in the area.

Other capital improvements in the school’s long range plan include construction of a Center for Athletics and Arts and Comprehensive Educational Building to form a unified Lower Campus on Flagler Drive for students age two through third grade.  Additionally, funds are being raised for professional development, financial aid, academic chairs and endowment.

“This campaign is a game changer,” states Ainslie. “We know we are an excellent school.  With the enhancements, we are going to be a world-class school.”

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About Palm Beach Day Academy

Palm Beach Day Academy is a coeducational independent day school located in Palm Beach and West Palm Beach, Florida.  An enrollment of over 500 students in Pre-Kindergarten 2 year olds to Ninth Grade is drawn from Palm Beach and West Palm Beach and the outlying communities as far south as Manalapan, west as Wellington and north as Jupiter.  Palm Beach Day Academy is incorporated as a non-sectarian, not-for-profit school.  It has been a member of the National Association of Independent Schools since 1957 and is evaluated and accredited by the Florida Council of Independent Schools and the Florida Kindergarten Council.  Founded in 1921, Palm Beach Day Academy is the oldest incorporated independent school in Florida.  For more information, please visit: www.pbday.org.