Realize the Possibilities

Capital Campaign

Groves Academy has completed Phase I of a two-part building project designed to provide an even more rich and fulfilling experience for every Groves student. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we were able to undertake a major building renovation over the summer that improves an already fine array of student services. New facility and technological enhancements are strengthening student learning, fostering students’ talents, instilling a deeper sense of school community and pride, and expanding resources to our greater Twin Cities community.

It was a busy summer! School finished on Wednesday June 3, and bright and early on the morning of June 4 Mortenson Construction was here to begin the $4.2 million building project. We finished the project on schedule and were able to open on time for the first day of school on Wednesday, September 2. The long hours of construction have certainly paid off, and Mortenson, DJR Architects, and all of the sub-contractors are to be congratulated and thanked.  It was a tremendous team effort!

There were several driving forces for the building project.  First, we have more demand for the school than we have space available. We feel strongly that we should make our program available to as many students as possible.  The construction allowed us to add eight classrooms—five academic classrooms and three elective classrooms (a ceramic studio, a visual-recording studio, and a health classroom).  This will ultimately allow 40 additional students to attend Groves, bringing our enrollment to 240 students. 

The elective classes are important additions. While the primary reason students attend Groves is to close the gap between their potential and their day-to-day school performance, they also have talents in music, art, theater, athletics, and wood working. We strongly believe we need to identify these talents and develop them.

Another major benefit of the construction project is the addition of a new dining hall and kitchen and an attached student center on the north end of the building. Above this area sits a beautiful multi-media center and library. We envision these new spaces to be the heart and soul of the school and look forward to the students’ use of the space.

Yet another change this summer involved improving the safety of students, faculty, and visitors. The parking lot has been redesigned and rebuilt centering on an improved drop-off / pick-up area.  Not only will students be safer, but parents will be able to more efficiently drop-off and pick-up their children. The landscaping that surrounds the new parking area also is a vast improvement to what we had previously.

Finally, as part of this capital improvement project, we have added a laptop computer program for our middle and upper school students, and interactive white boards are now present in all of the classrooms. We feel that these advances in technology will help our students close the gap between potential and skill levels while better preparing them for the technological world of tomorrow.

For more details about the building projects, link to the Case Statement and the Building Tour documents on the right side of this page. John Alexander, Head of School, or Lani McCollar, Director of Institutional Advancement are happy to meet with you if you have an interest in making a long-term investment in this project. 

A very generous family of Groves has provided us with a challenge to raise $1,500,000 for the building project. As of November 2009, $364,539 can still be matched dollar-for-dollar by the matching challenge. The total cost of Phase 1 is $4,200,000. We still need to raise $1.67 million toward that end goal.  We are in current consideration of undertaking Phase 2, a $1.7 million project, in the summer of 2010. Please understand that these new projects will be funded completely separate from tuition. In fact, the increased enrollment resulting from several new classrooms will create financial flexibility that will help us keep tuition in check. 

We are grateful for all the students and families who make Groves Academy the school that it is, and we feel very fortunate to be able to strengthen our school with these exciting and energizing projects.   

John Alexander
Head of School
alexanderj@grovesacademy.org
952-915-4257

Lani McCollar
Director of Institutional Advancement
mccollarl@grovesacademy.org
952-915-4295