Capital Funds

GATEWAY TO AN INTERNATIONAL WORLD CAPITAL CAMPAIGN

2004 – 2009 — $6.9 million +
Contributions to the Gateway to an International World Capital Campaign provide critical enhancements for an educational environment where the best possible learning can take place in the 21st century.

Gateway I: 2004 – 2007 — $4.2 million (completed January 2007)
Generous gifts to Gateway I made the following additional facilities possible: Ten new MS and US classrooms, a Black Box Theatre, and a state-of-the-art Library & Learning Resources Center at Tregaron, as well as a new playground for contemporary outdoor learning experiences at the PS. The new Academic, Arts & Athletics Complex at Tregaron symbolizes the integrated nature of programs at WIS balancing high academics with arts and athletics.

Gateway II: 2007 – 2009 — Goal: $2.7 million +
The second phase of the Gateway Campaign represents the continuation of efforts to upgrade the school’s physical plant at both campuses.

What? Why?

A regulation size soccer/softball field at Tregaron to be completed in Fall 2008.
The Tregaron field is a natural extension of the new Academic, Arts, & Athletics Complex. It will be developed with an artificial turf surface to permit optimal home game and all-weather practice conditions commensurate with the girls and boys soccer teams’ and the softball team’s standing as members of the Potomac Valley Athletic Conference. It eliminates the need for early dismissals and late returns to travel to off-campus locations for practices and games, thereby enabling athletes to spend more time honing their skills and on academics. Hosting games will allow the team to showcase Tregaron, and to build team spirit, preparing the ground for a higher athletic profile for the school. The flat, consistent surface of the field will enhance the quality of physical education classes on a safer surface. The new field will be easier to maintain and will be more cost-effective in the long run.

A new relocated outdoor basketball court at Tregaron will encourage similar advantages in this sport.

Together with the newly established Tregaron Conservancy, the reconfigured landscape will accommodate the field, preserve the historic site-lines, and sustain the vitality of an important institution.

Two additional classrooms and an enhanced multi-purpose room at the Primary School.
New and reconfigured instructional space will alleviate overcrowded conditions in the common areas. The early childhood years, PK and K, will occupy contiguous space on the first floor for a developmentally appropriate learning environment. A larger dedicated multi-purpose room with a standard stage will allow a broader range of co-curricular activities, and a rich array of afterschool and summer enrichment programs. The new design will accommodate events that are too large for Room 108 and too small for the gym. This new venue will enable the school to showcase student learning in both academic and specialist areas (music, art, drama, and physical education).

Outdoor enhancements at the Primary School.
A new all-weather playing field on the PS grounds with artificial turf already allows year-round safe and healthy outdoor activity for the youngest members of our school community. The field complements the new playground which resulted from Gateway I. New landscape areas, picnic tables, and benches will create an even more effective outdoor learning environment for our younger students. And, finally, ten new much needed faculty parking spots will be created.

The Bottom Line
Every feature of the campaign must in some way support these characteristics of excellence in education:
• provide a safe environment
• employ high-quality teachers
• maintain discipline
• keep students motivated and enthusiastic
• support a climate that says it’s OK to study and excel
• prepare students academically for college
• encourage parents to participate in their child’s education
• promote a healthy lifestyle
• prepare students to compete internationally
• promote the use of learning technology
(Adapted from a 11/06 National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) national public opinion poll of the most important characteristics of a quality education.)