“During this campaign, I have often taken inspiration from former Headmaster Chester Reagan.
He laid the
cornerstone for our Middle and Upper School building at the beginning of the Great Depression. It was a triumph of his determination and the faith the MFS community had in the future to complete the project and retire the debt during his years at MFS. We have been blessed with similar wonderful support during a difficult economic period, and with early donors to the campaign who understand the critical importance of this campus expansion.” - Head of School Larry Van Meter ’68
“Great Classrooms for Great Kids,” the largest captial campaign to be launched in over a decade, will dramatically increase the number of classrooms and labs and ease the current overcrowding in the Middle and Upper School. The results of this effort will include: 1) The first new classroom building since the 1960s with the renovation of the former South Annex building on the Greenleaf property. Scheduled opening: April 2012 2) A new chemistry lab, a new chemistry/ environmental science lab, and a new robotics/ physics lab in the Middle/Upper School building. Scheduled opening: September 2012 Among the benefits of these projects to the academic program are: • All full-time teachers will have their own classrooms, providing valuable continuity and increased prep time for the faculty. • Gathering the math faculty together in the same building will enable the department to experience the synergies of readily sharing ideas, pedagogy and curriculum. • New labs will allow the Science Department to support long-term student investigations and provide critical space for expanded work in robotics. • A large, specifically designed suite in the new building will provide a rehearsal space for the choral music program.
More Classrooms to Strengthen the Academic Program… MFS has an exceptional academic program that continues to grow. With the introduction of Mandarin Chinese, robotics, and new Honors and Advanced Placement courses, plus scores of electives in every department, the program is varied, engaging and challenging. As enrollment and the academic program have grown over the last two decades, the school converted unused spaces and conference rooms into classrooms. But more classrooms and labs are needed. While the school is very efficient with classrooms – each room is booked almost every period – the result is that Middle and Upper School faculty members are often unable to prepare in their own classrooms. There are numerous full-time faculty members who do not have their own classrooms and “float” from room to room. The School Committee has identified the classroom shortage as a serious concern that affects the academic program and the valuable interaction between students and faculty members. 17
To better understand some of the problems created by the classroom shortage, imagine you are… …. an 11th grade student in Advanced Placement Environmental Science. Since teaching and storage space is limited in the lab, you do activities designed to be finished in one lab period and work with minimal scientific equipment. While this reliance on short activities has not affected your achievement on standardized tests or success in extracurricular science contests, you have little experience with environmental science activities that take longer than 90 minutes. Last year’s Environmental Science Team won first place in the National Science League Competition and you want to help this year’s team repeat. Ideally your lab would be spacious enough to allow you to carry out longer investigations, particularly those of your own design. …. an Upper School math teacher. You have many professional development opportunities, attend the National Council of Teachers Math Conference and train on electronic whiteboards. But, you have not had your own classroom for seven years. You move from room to room all day. You teach in history or English classrooms, and rearrange the desks from a circle format to rows facing the whiteboard. Since you can’t store manipulatives or lab materials, you carry boxes of straight edges and compasses along with your books and
papers. You arrive to class at the same time as your students. It’s a challenge to implement new teaching ideas when you can’t prepare the classroom ahead of time. …. an eighth grade student who loves robotics. Inspired by your older brother’s FIRST (For Inspiration & Recognition of Science & Technology) Tech Challenge Robotics team which competed at the World Championships in Atlanta, you’ve joined the Middle School robotics team that meets after school. Unfortunately, there is precious little space for you and your classmates to work. While you have built a new robot, your group spends most of its time setting up and breaking down the test area. There is no place to keep your project up and running day to day. …. a seventh grade student. You are new to MFS, but can see that the teachers are interested in getting to know you. Last night’s homework was challenging, and you want to ask your teacher a few questions. Unfortunately, your teacher is not in the room where you have class. Another class is in there. Luckily, you finally track down your teacher, who is happy to answer your questions as you both juggle your books on your laps sitting on a hallway bench.
“We anticipate that there will be many intangible benefits from the expansion of our footprint. In addition to giving MFS more of a ‘campus feeling,’ the
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creation of physically linked math and science centers will ignite possibilities for greater collaboration.
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Perhaps most importantly, giving all our full-time 574
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teachers their own classrooms for teaching, planning
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and conferencing with students will enhance what is 500
already the strongest feature of our program – highquality student-teacher interaction.”
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MFS enrollment has grown steadily over two decades. 18
– Academic Dean and Associate Head of School Barbara Caldwell
How has the space shortage What’s the status of the former Acme?
impacted the Science Department? “A shortage of lab space has shrunk an important aspect of science education. Specifically, we have gradually lost our ability to give students the opportunities to carry out long-term investigations. Longterm investigations are a vital part of the scientific method as such investigations demonstrate change over time." - Science Department Chair Dr. Barbara Quinn Kreider, a member of the faculty at MFS since 1998
The former Acme at 123 Chester Ave. was acquired late in 2006. In 2007 and 2008, the school developed plans for that building to help address the space crunch. The plans changed when the opportunity to secure the contiguous four acre Greenleaf property emerged. The Greenleaf provides a better solution for three reasons: 1) it is on the same side of the street and is contiguous to campus; 2) there are fewer regulatory issues in the municipal planning process; and 3) it is less expensive to renovate. The School Committee continues to closely evaluate numerous options with the former Acme location. Accordingly, the board’s Property Committee is working with real estate professionals to pursue a tenant for the former Acme.
How has the space shortage impacted the Math Department? “ Five of the eight math teachers have not had their own classrooms for the last seven years. The number of lessons that can be taught using manipulative and other lab materials is reduced as there is no place to store them or time before class to set up the necessary equipment. Some topics require the use of special instructional aides like computer programs, graphing calculator programs or even a graphing blackboard. The other classrooms do not have these items installed, which reduces the effectiveness of the lesson.” - Math Department Chair Michael Omilian handles scheduling for the Middle and Upper School and has been a faculty member at MFS since 1991.
How will the Capital Campaign and the Greenleaf Property help to solve these challenges? In October 2008, MFS purchased the former Greenleaf Friends Home, a four-acre property that is contiguous to campus, for $4.0 million utilizing a line of credit. Established in 1896, the Greenleaf discontinued operations in June 2008 due to a decline in the number of residents. MFS and Voith & Mactavish Architects developed plans to transform the 15,000 square-foot former South Annex facility into a new classroom building, providing eight classrooms for the Math Department, and a Choral Music Suite. The new building will be air-conditioned, utilizing a geothermal heating and cooling system, and will earn LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification through the Green Building Council. A 200-yard path from the tennis courts to the new building will be installed. With the Math Department moving to the new building, the school will be able to expand science labs. MFS partnered with TAO, a Moorestown architecture firm, to plans for a newly renovated chemistry lab (installed in the summer of 2009), a new chemistry/environmental science lab, and a new robotics/physics lab. The new world languages classroom, completed in the summer of 2010, was also designed by TAO.
Construction Kickoff Celebration The MFS student body traveled down Main Street on Friday, May 6 to celebrate the kickoff of construction on the new classroom building on the former Greenleaf property, scheduled to open before the end of the 2011-12 school year. The former South Annex will contain eight math classrooms, a choral music suite, a technology lab and office space. It will be linked to the current campus by a landscaped path originating near the tennis courts.
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A sketch of the new classroom building. The Capital Campaign - The campaign goal is $6 million. During the campaign’s “quiet phase,” $5 million has been raised thanks to lead gifts from the School Committee, Head’s Council members, as well as individual alumni, parents and alumni parents. The campaign will fund the renovation of the former South Annex as well as classroom and lab improvements on the main campus. The Capital Campaign Committee hopes to secure the remaining $1 million by June 30, 2012. Beginning in 2012, the Capital Campaign Committee will be reaching out to the entire MFS community requesting campaign commitments, payments for which can be spread over several years.
A rendering of the new chemistry/environmental science lab.
“It is exciting to see the tangible results that this capital campaign will have for our students, and faculty. As a parent, trustee, and campaign contributor, I am inspired to be part of this historic endeavor that will literally change the landscape of the school and provide opportunities for the growth of the academic program for decades to come.” – Stephanie Zarus, MFS Trustee since 2008.
A rendering of the robotics/physics lab. 20