Monday, February 17, 2025

HRA Kicks Off Public Capital Campaign, Plans Additional Wing for Fall

An architectural rendering of the vision for the future entrance to Hampton Roads Academy. Rendering by James River Architects.

Hampton Roads Academy announced Thursday the beginning of the public phase of a capital campaign that aims to raise a total of $6 million.

The capital campaign began approximately two years ago, reaching out to friends, family, faculty and staff for donations that have already raised $5 million — $1.5 million more than the private non-parochial school has raised in any capital campaign, according to campaign chair Wendy Drucker.

The money raised will pay for a new academic wing, a faculty “fund for excellence” with monies for professional development and a Student Center, to include a new dining facility and space for events and meetings.

The first phase of the campaign, titled “Setting Our Course,” began this summer with the reconstruction of the parking lot and placement of a footprint for the future academic wing. HRA plans to break ground on the new wing in February 2013, aiming to complete work on its new classrooms, along with renovations to classrooms in a wing dating to 1959, in time for the next fall semester.

The new academic wing was designed by James River Architects and will be constructed by W.M. Jordan. It will include 13 new classrooms and five science laboratories equipped with interactive projection systems, podcasting equipment and more.

An architectural rendering shows a future view of HRA, facing Oyster Point Boulevard, in Newport News.

The focus on boosting facilities for the STEM disciplines — science, technology, engineering and math — will help HRA recruit the best teachers, according to Headmaster Peter Mertz, who said he is currently competing with Norfolk Christian Academy and St. Catherine’s School in Richmond for teachers.

The “Fund for Excellence” will support professional growth for faculty members by contributing to the pursuit of master’s and doctoral degrees, membership in professional organizations and attendance at workshops. College counselor Ben Rous, a member of the campaign committee, told the audience at Thursday’s kickoff event that faculty took the lead on the capital campaign, reaching their goal amount within three weeks with 100 percent of faculty and staff contributing to the fund. “They obliterated the benchmark set for them,” he said.

HRA will also renovate the multi-purpose room into a Student Center and add a dining facility designed around the concept of family-style dining. It will feature a separate small dining room for more formal lunch meetings, and a fully equipped kitchen where food can be prepared. Right now, the school does not have a staffed cafeteria.

The Student Center will also provide space for older students to gather. “It’s important as a college prep school for the students to congregate, to give them an idea of what it’s like to be in college,” said Jim Burnett, chair of the Board of Trustees.

The last capital campaign concluded in 2006, and included renovations around the campus, but no major new building construction. Around that time, the trustees set out to create a facilities plan for the following decade. Burnett said the trustees used the following criteria to prioritize plans: they must align with the mission, serve the needs of the school community, be financially feasible and have minimal impact on the student experience. The next step, he said, was to raise the money.

The trustees interviewed 75 members of the community, from business leaders to former trustees, to gauge whether the time was right to embark on another capital campaign to support their vision. The response was positive, despite the pressure of a weak economy, and the board voted in 2009 to proceed with the campaign.

Two weeks ago, the trustees voted unanimously to approve plans for the new academic wing, which will also reconfigure the campus to include a formal entrance to the school. The facility improvements and additions announced are just the first phases of the facilities plan, according to Burnett, who said the future additions will depend on the success of fundraising.

The capital campaign needs to raise $1 million more. When asked how donors have responded to the future plans for HRA, Drucker (an alumna of the school) said, “The proof is in the pudding. People believe in the school and believe in the project.”

She said her experience at HRA had a profound impact, showing her how to study and learn. “When kids graduate from HRA, they know who they are…they know their core values,” she said. “When I got to college, I knew what I needed to do and I did it. It all came from here. This made me who I am.”

Drucker, who has two sophomores attending HRA, said there isn’t one thing about the future plans for HRA that appeals to her most. “I’m most excited that we’re moving forward, that HRA continues to evolve and grow,” she said.

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