St. Andrew’s Receives Support from Leading Educational Foundations

January 14, 2016 – – Ridgeland, MS – St. Andrew’s Episcopal School recently received major grants totaling $550,000 from two leading foundations committed to educational excellence in Mississippi and across the United States.

A $500,000 grant from The Gertrude C. Ford Foundation of Jackson will help fund a new Early Childhood Center on the school’s Fondren campus on Old Canton Road. The Early Childhood Center is one project of the Forward Saints Campaign for St. Andrew’s. The co-curricular building of the new center will be named in honor of the foundation and will be home to vibrant programs in art, science, world languages, dance, music, and includes a library and “little chapel” serving the school’s youngest learners.

The Gertrude C. Ford foundation’s president, Tom Papa, expressed the trustees’ great respect, saying, “St. Andrew’s is an exceptional school that provides an exceptional education.” St. Andrew’s Head of School, Dr. George Penick, said, “We could not be more pleased or more proud. The commitment of The Gertrude C. Ford Foundation, one of the leading philanthropic organizations in our state, is a testament to the outstanding work we do in early childhood education at St. Andrew’s and our important mission to raise educational levels not only for our students but for the larger Jackson and Mississippi communities.”

In November the Edward E. Ford Foundation of New York announced a $50,000 grant to support St. Andrew’s mission-based commitment to serve the greater communities of Jackson and across Mississippi. One of only 18 awarded throughout the country, this grant, which requires a match of 1-to-1, will fund two additional years of collaborative summer workshops for faculty members from Jackson Public Schools and St. Andrew’s, facilitated by faculty members of the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. It has a particular focus on training high school faculty to deal with diversity and difference and to use student-centered, problem-solving pedagogies to increase engagement and improve educational outcomes while building community and setting a powerful example for other independent schools.

This collaborative training program is one component of St. Andrew’s Institute for Learning, Teaching, and Engagement. With a mission to catalyze, integrate, and support curricular and co-curricular programs, professional development for faculty and staff, experiential learning, and collaborative partnerships, the Institute was formed through St. Andrew’s commitment to educational excellence, ongoing improvement, and to serving a larger public purpose. The Institute for Learning, Teaching, and Engagement brings together people and organizations from near and far interested in developing programs and models that will best serve students, teachers, and communities, with educational success and progress at St. Andrew’s helping to reinforce educational progress in other communities, and vice versa.

“The Edward E. Ford Foundation enthusiastically supports St. Andrew’s Episcopal School’s commitment to excellence, not only in terms of the school’s investment in its own faculty and their professional development, but through the active partnership St. Andrew’s has established with other teachers throughout the broader Jackson community,” said John Gulla, the foundation’s executive director. The foundation’s mission is to strengthen and support independent secondary schools throughout the country by supporting efforts to develop and implement models of sustainability, and by encouraging collaboration with other institutions.

“What we have done since our founding is look to the future and ask, ‘How can we better prepare our students for the future they will inherit?’” said Stephanie Garriga, the school’s director of institutional advancement. “This is the inspiration behind the Forward Saints campaign and the school’s commitment to collaborate with educators from Jackson and across the south.”

In fall 2015 St. Andrew’s, a Christian charter school, broke ground on two major additions: The Early Childhood Center on the Jackson campus and a new 65,000 sq. ft. Athletic Healthplex on the school’s Ridgeland campus. “It is really very exciting to see the vision of St. Andrew’s future emerging from the ground,” said Garriga. “St. Andrew’s has long been recognized as the academic leader in Mississippi and among the top independent schools nationally. We are thrilled to grow our outstanding programs through these new and renovated facilities. The new early childhood center, co-curricular building, Discovery Center, and Athletic Healthplex will provide extraordinary opportunities to nurture and grow the mind and body of every St. Andrew’s student.”

St. Andrew’s Episcopal School is a coeducational college preparatory day school serving students on campuses in Jackson and Ridgeland, Mississippi. Founded in 1947 and grounded in the Episcopal tradition, St. Andrew’s is a close-knit community which includes approximately 1,200 students, 2,500 alumni, and 2,300 current parents and guardians. The school emphasizes a comprehensive approach to education and boasts outstanding academic, athletic, and artistic programs, as well as excellent college placement and a nationally-recognized global studies program. The school has a strong commitment to being a diverse and inclusive community.

Contact: Elizabeth Buyan
Capital Campaign Coordinator
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School
buyane@gosaints.org / 601-853-6013

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Contact St. Andrew’s Episcopal School:

Patrick Taylor
601-853-6027
taylorp@gosaints.org
370 Old Agency Road
Ridgeland, MS 39157

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