September 14, 2022
Dear Montgomery Families,
Montgomery is imagining again!
During this morning's chapel, I had the great honor of helping to unveil two exciting events for our school. The first was the announcement of this year’s Middle School musical, “Beauty and the Beast”. The musical is an after-school option for our middle school students in the winter season and will debut in early March. I can’t wait for this family friendly, all-ages gift from our young actors.
The second is something I’ve been excited to share for several months and had the pleasure of announcing to the community at Thursday’s Fiscal Review and Future Growth event and during Friday’s chapel. After many years of planning and consideration, Montgomery will be building a new facility in the lower level of the W. Perry Gresh Academic building.
Beginning later this month through roughly the end of April, you’ll see the activity as construction takes place at the front of campus. When complete, there will be 3,500 square feet of usable space including multipurpose space for everything from performance to group activities, two classrooms focused on science and technology, and two ADA-accessible restrooms. An interior/exterior staircase will connect the new area to existing floors, while new walkways will provide access below. The design is intentionally versatile and flexible to serve current and evolving needs, and also firmly rooted in core areas of excellence in our curriculum – arts, science, and technology. It will be a place – following our mission – to foster individual talents and prepare our kids for future success. We have an exciting opportunity (before the year is out!) to see new learning spaces emerge for our kids.
We are calling this project the Legacy and Growth project. The Gresh building is a visible legacy of W. Perry Gresh, his family, and many supporters of Montgomery from our first days in Chester Springs to its construction in 2007. As a parent and board member, Mr. Gresh was a driving force behind our innovative campus development when the school left its original Wynnewood location in 1988. Many of our friends and supporters from that time have remained connected, including members of the Gresh family, to help with this final phase of the building. One of our former board members, George Cavalieri, is a partner at Gardner/Fox Associates, the architectural firm we selected for this project. His son, William, is our project manager – and – a graduate of Montgomery School. We truly trust this team and its commitment to the project. Everyone is proud of the legacy this represents – Montgomery wouldn’t be here without sustaining and invested people who have contributed over the years.
The growth side of the equation is about the Montgomery of today and everyone in our community. A few current community members have already stepped forward in generous and significant ways to give us the momentum we need to make this project a reality, and we know others will want to join them on this inspiring journey. At a groundbreaking later this month, we’ll be recognizing those lead donors. It’s a privilege to be part of a school that keeps growing and innovating. We get stronger every day thanks to the educators and families who choose us and uphold our standards and values. My challenge to us is to Imagine what we can do together, not just today, but tomorrow and all the tomorrows ahead.
Imagine what Montgomery School students will achieve in this new facility. There will be new spaces to Think Boldly, Solve Creatively, and Lead Compassionately. I imagine a setting that is never quiet. A place filled with boundless flexibility. I imagine great bursts of activity also enjoyed by the community that surrounds us through partnerships and rentals of space. Most of all, I envision yet another example of Montgomery School ensuring that it is a great time to be a kid – a great place to be a kid.
There are so many reasons to be excited about this project and what it means to Montgomery and our students. We’re humbled by the generosity of those who’ve brought us to this point and by those that will bring the project to completion. Attached below you’ll see some renderings, plans, and even a student produced minecraft flythrough! If you’d like to learn more about how you might be involved in this project, please let me know.
Excitement awaits!
Warmly,
Tom McManus
Head of School
