At Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School, learning abounds beyond the four walls of a traditional classroom. Our students need dynamic environments that can stimulate conversation, foster diverse viewpoints and incubate new ideas to actualize their full potential. To this end, school leadership recently conducted extensive research of the country’s best-in-class academic environments to inform the design of its new spaces.

The new 60,000 SF Upper School Humanities Building will replace the Riley Classroom Building. While we have maximized its function for the past 30 years, it no longer makes financial sense to invest in additional upgrades or retrofit this 1962 building. The new building will support the advanced-level work students are doing in the Program for Global Citizenship and humanities courses by fostering collaboration, innovation and community.

Every child has unique talents and passions. The Lower School awakens those gifts and brings them out in full. Challenged as learners and nurtured by faculty, our Lower School students develop a love for learning while building self-esteem and responsibility. This allows them to thrive in Middle School and Upper School and become confident, ambitious leaders ready to serve as catalysts for change at school, in their local communities and in the world.

The new 39,000 SF Lower School Building will replace our 1970s classroom building and will be designed for children to explore their curiosities in a hands-on way. The new space will empower students to leverage their environment for learning as opposed to working around it—cultivating a resourcefulness they will carry with them throughout their years at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School and beyond.

What truly sets Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School apart is our community. Students are known here. Students are seen—by one another, by their teachers and by fellow families. Our students can be scholars, athletes, artists, team members and leaders. A sense of authentic camaraderie permeates our campus, a feeling that you can only get by being in this place with this community of people.

This next phase of growth will transform how our community functions. Intentionally designed outdoor spaces will facilitate social interactions and deepen the relationships that have fueled our school community for decades. Park-like quads and pedestrian pathways will bring our campus together in new ways, with a new cross county course to encircle the campus. Above all, these campus enhancements will allow us to live into what it means to be a community.

It is time for us to step into our promising future. The campus is bursting with optimism, innovation and a palpable sense of anticipation. Imagine the possibilities when our physical spaces reflect the boundless aspirations of our students.

Imagine a young learner arriving to campus for the day, inspired by his community to ask “what if …?” and create something new. Imagine energized faculty members sitting around a table co-designing a learning experience for their students. Imagine a new generation of empowered leaders that are both compelled and equipped to make their world a better place.

That future is within reach. We all play a role in helping our students flourish into the confident, capable global citizens they were created to be. This is our time. We cannot afford to wait. The more we ask of our students, the more we must ask of ourselves.