Great Expectations Campaign
Why Great Expectations?
At Palm Beach Day Academy, we encourage our students to reach higher and achieve more than they ever thought possible. As our school enters its 90th year, all of us who care about our children and the world must do the same. Our vision is clear. Our leadership is in place. Our expecations are great. We are ready to begin a new chapter in our school's history.
– Dr. Rebecca van der Bogert, Head of School
Palm Beach Day Academy is the oldest independent school in Florida and one of the preeminent day schools in the region. But we cannot rest on our merits. PBDA must look to the future. We are committed to continuing to provide first class educational opportunities to all our students. We are resolved to give our teachers the tools they need to open children’s minds to a lifetime of learning.
Over the past year and a half, the Board of Trustees, a Faculty Advisory Committee and parents have come together to create a plan to build on the foundation of superb teaching that is the hallmark of Palm Beach Day Academy. The plan includes the creation of innovative buildings and state-of-the-art educational programs. We will invest in our superb faculty. We will build endowment to help ensure PBDA’s financial stability now and in the future.
When Unity Church decided to sell its property, we seized the opportunity to acquire the site, which sits in the middle of our Lower Campus. With this purchase, we have more than three contiguous acres on South Flagler Drive. This is where we will build an Athletic and Performing Arts Center.
Next door will be a Comprehensive Early Childhood Center for our students Pre-Primary through Grade 3. On the Upper Campus, Matthews Auditorium will be reconfigured, transforming it into a first-class Performing Arts Center. It will meet today’s standards of scale, acoustics and lighting, and provide appropriate space for vocal music, band, orchestra, and drama.
With endowment for financial aid, we will offer talented children whose families are unable to pay full tuition an opportunity to attend our school and receive its many benefits. Expanded endowment will also provide ongoing professional development for our teachers and innovative educational programs for our students. Named Academic Chairs will serve to honor great teachers while ensuring that we continue hiring the best and the brightest.
Palm Beach Day faculty values academic excellence. But our teachers recognize they are conveying far more than knowledge. They are instilling qualities of character and commitment, confidence and compassion, integrity and leadership. They are instilling qualities that last a lifetime. The Great Expectations Campaign is a commitment to preparing young minds to lead, a pledge to shape the future for generations to come.
We are ready to begin. Our teachers have the skill and commitment to truly inspire young minds. Our Trustees are dedicated to providing the finest teaching and learning environment possible. And Rebecca van der Bogert and her Administrative Team have the vision and the ability to make it happen.
Will Matthews and Jim Patterson are serving a Honorary Chairs of the Great Expectations Campaign. Michael Ainslie, Lourdes Fanjul, Scott Johnson and Glenn Straub are the Campaign’s Co-Chairs. For more information about the projects and programs that will be made possible by the Great Expectations Campaign, contact Kathleen Emmett at kemmett@pbday.org or (561) 655-1188, ext. 132.
Links:
The Great Expectations View Book
The Projects and Programs of Great Expectations: Summary
Performing Arts Center, Upper Campus
Comprehensive Early Childhood Center (Pre-Primary through Grade 3), Lower Campus
Athletic and Performing Arts Center, Lower Campus
Why Endowment?
The Educational Development Fund
Financial Aid
Named Academic Chairs