‘What I Did on My Summer Vacation…’
Private schools spend summer break investing in various means of self-improvement.
by Mindy Toran

At La Salle College High School in Wyndmoor, classrooms buzz with activity, despite the fact that it’s the middle of the summer. It’s not the students that are creating all of the commotion, however. The physical plant staff is hard at work updating classrooms and workspaces, gearing up for the students’ return in the fall.

La Salle is not alone in its off-season endeavors. While most students spend the summer break with family and friends, and visiting new places, many schools are busy preparing for the year ahead, making investments in facilities, technology, programming, and staffing to enhance students’ educational experiences.
 
“Summer is a time where you can do some significant things that you can’t do during the school year,” says Jim Fyke, La Salle’s principal. “We typically start scheduling upgrades to our physical plant and get things started as soon as we shut down for the school year so we’re ready for the opening of school in late August.”
 
This summer, La Salle focused on creating collaborative classroom spaces that facilitate student-centered learning and active engagement between students and teachers. Over the past few months, the school has made several considerable renovations: the creation of two state-of-the-art classrooms and an eSports arena; converting the library into a digital research center, the McShain Center for Digital Research and Collaboration; reconfiguring a counseling center; adding a new robotics space, etc.
 
“We’re modifying our spaces in a significant way to match the engaged learning style we’re promoting,” Fyke adds. “Classrooms are being redesigned with mobile furniture that can be reconfigured in different ways, [with] mobile TV monitors that can be positioned throughout the room and movable lecterns to make it easier for teachers to engage with the kids.”
 
At The Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, the focus has been on working to realign and enhance the school’s campus to best meet the changing needs of its students.
 
“Over the last two summers, world events helped us continue to rethink the campus and relocate activities, sometimes permanently, such as moving our middle school to our historic Residence building and expanding our early childhood space there so our vibrant pre-K program had plenty of room to grow,” says Chris Dwyer, Baldwin’s CFO. “This summer, we are building on what we did in summer 2021, where 10 smaller residence rooms became five full-sized classrooms, and putting together four more rooms in this building to house our middle school DREAM LAB® maker space.”
 
Behind-the-scenes tech has gotten quite a face-lift, too.
 
“After two years of upgrades focused on distancing and getting instructional information and activities into cloud-based platforms to facilitate learning anywhere, including in our three new outdoor classrooms, we pivoted back inside to ensure that our campus has network, audio-visual, and smartboard technology, for example, that is better integrated and up to today’s standards,” Dwyer adds. “Fall will also see the opening of our Innovation Center, where we creatively re-used our early 20th century pool house for a flexible, inviting home for interdisciplinary teaching and project-based learning.”
 
“We’re always evolving and adapting, looking at ways we can be doing things better to benefit all of our students and meet their changing needs,” says Christie Reed, director of Baldwin’s upper school. “In addition to focusing on our learning spaces on campus, summer is a great time to focus on making enhancements to our programming and get back up and running after the pause we had with the pandemic. Our Innovation Center, in particular, will allow us to promote interdisciplinary learning and enable us to bring multiple classes together to collaborate on lesson plans in an innovative space that provides all of the equipment and technology our staff and students need.”
 
Programming changes have also led to the need for additional staffing at many institutions.
La Salle has brought on several new faculty members to support upcoming curriculum changes. Beginning this fall, the school will offer a new “Concentrations” program with courses focusing on global business, engineering, and IT professional skills.
 
“These courses were aligned around students’ interests and designed to provide them with real-world experience to help them determine whether they want to pursue careers in these particular professions after high school,” says Fyke. Students will have the opportunity to participate in internships or externships with local businesses in the community. Upon satisfactory completion of all requirements, students will receive an internal credential to recognize their achievements.
 
At AIM Academy in Conshohocken, the growth of programming in science, technology, engineering, art/design, and math, commonly referred to as STEAM, has led to the hiring of a new director of innovation technology, as well as a new makerspace teacher in the lower school and an upper school STEAM and robotics coach.
 
“We’re expanding our Innovation and Tech team, updating our curriculum, and planning for the expansion of our spaces with the construction of a new two-story addition to our main campus in order to support our future-ready learners,” says Annette Fallon, head of school for AIM Academy. “As we have grown and expanded our student body, we’re looking toward growing and expanding our space, and summer is a great time to focus on those projects. We’re constantly thinking about how to build and create collaborative spaces for learning that can support cutting-edge technology and help us determine what the future of our campus looks like.”
 
After a summer of hard work and dedication to supporting their students’ changing needs, school administrators and educators are excited to welcome students back. Upon arrival, students are likely to find innovative, supportive environments better equipped to nurture their academic success.
 
Open Minded
Eager to learn more about recent improvements adopted by private schools throughout the area? Take advantage of upcoming open-house events. Open houses, whether virtual or in person, enable families to determine which school feels like the best “fit” for a student. Tour the campus, ask questions, and meet the educators and administrators tasked with preparing students for college, the working world, or whatever life has in store for tomorrow’s leaders. 
We have done our best to confirm the following information, but we suggest contacting the schools directly for more information and, when applicable, registering for the events in which you may have an interest.
 
BUCKS COUNTY
Archbishop Wood High School
Fall Open House: Oct. 23, time TBD
archwood.org
 
Conwell-Egan Catholic High School
Fall Open House: Oct. 20, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
conwell-egan.org
 
Holy Ghost Preparatory School
Fall Open House: Oct. 23, time TBD
holyghostprep.org
 
Solebury School
Fall Open House: Oct. 23, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Virtual Open House: Nov. 13
solebury.org
 
Villa Joseph Marie High School
Fall Open House: Oct. 2, time TBD
vjmhs.org/openhouse

CHESTER COUNTY
Bishop Shanahan High School
On-campus tours by appointment
shanahan.org
 
Delaware Valley Friends School
On-campus tours by appointment
dvfs.org
 
Malvern Preparatory School
Fall Open House: Oct. 22, 9 a.m. to noon
malvernprep.org
 
The Phelps School
On-campus tours by appointment
thephelpsschool.org
 
Villa Maria Academy High School
Fall Open House: Oct. 2, 9 a.m. to noon
vmahs.org

DELAWARE COUNTY
Academy of Notre Dame de Namur
Fall Open House:  Oct. 2, 10 a.m. start
ndapa.org
 
Archbishop John Carroll High School
Fall Open House: Oct. 15, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  
jcarroll.org
 
Delaware County Christian School
Upper School Open House: Nov. 17, 9 a.m. start
Lower School Open House: Nov. 8, 9 a.m. start
dccs.org
 
Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast Catholic High School
On-campus tours by appointment
bonnerprendie.com
 
Sacred Heart Academy Bryn Mawr
Fall/Winter Open Houses: Sept. 30, Oct. 21, Oct. 28, Nov. 4, Dec. 9, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
shabrynmawr.org
 
The Shipley School
On-campus tours by appointment  
shipleyschool.org
 
Valley Forge Military Academy & College
On-campus tours by appointment  
vfmac.edu

MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Abington Friends School
Fall Open House: Oct. 15 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
abingtonfriends.net
 
Academy of the New Church
Fall Open House: Oct. 22, 10 a.m. start
ancss.org
 
AIM Academy
Contact admissions office for virtual open houses
aimpa.org
 
The Agnes Irwin School
Fall Open House: Oct. 20, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
agnesirwin.org
 
The Baldwin School
On-campus tours by appointment
baldwinschool.org
 
Dock Mennonite Academy
On-campus tours by appointment
dock.org
 
Friends’ Central School
Middle and Upper School Open Houses: Sept. 29, Oct. 12, Nov. 10, 4 p.m. start; Oct. 25, 9 a.m. start
Lower School Open Houses: Oct. 12, Nov. 10, Dec. 7, 9:30 a.m. start
friendscentral.org
 
Germantown Academy
Contact admissions office to visit in person or virtually
germantownacademy.net
 
Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School
Fall Open House: Oct. 2, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
gmahs.org
 
The Haverford School
Fall Open House: Oct. 23, noon to 2 p.m.
haverford.org
 
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
Contact admissions office to visit in person or virtually
jbha.org
 
La Salle College High School
Fall Open House: Sept. 25, time TBD
lschs.org
 
The Meadowbrook School
On-campus tours by appointment
themeadowbrookschool.org
 
Merion Mercy Academy
Fall Open House:  Oct. 2, noon to 3 p.m.
merion-mercy.com
 
Mount Saint Joseph Academy
Fall Open House and Liturgy: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.  
msjacad.org
 
Perkiomen School
On-campus tours by appointment
perkiomen.org

PHILADELPHIA
The Crefeld School
Fall Open House:  Sept. 30, 9 a.m. start
crefeld.org
 
Nazareth Academy High School
Fall Open House: Oct. 15, 9 a.m. to noon
nazarethacademyhs.org
 
Roman Catholic High School
Fall Open House: Oct. 9, time TBD
romancatholichs.com
 
St. Joseph’s Preparatory School
Fall Open House: Oct. 16, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
sjprep.org
 
West Catholic Preparatory High School
On-campus tours by appointment
westcatholic.org

DELAWARE
Archmere Academy
Fall Open House: Oct. 23, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
archmereacademy.com
 
Salesianum School
Fall Open House: Oct. 2, by appointment
salesianum.org
 
Tatnall School
Middle & Upper School Fall Open House: Nov. 5, 10 a.m. to noon
tatnall.org
 
Ursuline Academy
Upper School Open House: Oct. 2, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Lower & Middle School Open House: Nov. 11, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
ursuline.org

NEW JERSEY
The Hun School of Princeton
Fall Open House: Oct. 9, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
hunschool.org
 
The Lawrenceville School
On-campus tours by appointment
lawrenceville.org
 
Notre Dame High School
On-campus tours by appointment
ndnj.org
 
The Pennington School
On-campus tours by appointment
pennington.org
 
Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart
Fall Open House: Oct. 16, 1 p.m. start
stuartschool.org
 
The Wilberforce School
On-campus tours by appointment
wilberforceschool.org
 
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, August 2022.