Lakehill Preparatory School Expands Footprint
A recent addition to Lakehill Preparatory School gives the student population at the six-acre main campus room to grow.
Students were welcomed back to school this semester to a whole new wing at the main campus, following a 15-month expansion process where about 8,000 square feet of existing space were renovated and a 16,000-square-foot facility was added.
Opened in 1971, Lakehill is a top-rated independent school offering a college preparatory curriculum to students in kindergarten through 12th grade. After years of steady growth, headmaster Roger Perry said the campus had reached capacity.
“There is such dynamic growth happening in the Lakewood area,” Perry said. “Everywhere you look, residents are enhancing their own homes. We are thrilled that we are able to enrich the neighborhood with a beautiful new facility. This expansion is a win-win for us and for the community.”
Lakehill last updated its campus in 2009 with the opening of the Alice and Erle Nye Family Environmental Science Center and renovations to the gym.
The school currently educates about 400 students. The renovations will allow Lakehill to accommodate a growing population in coming years.
“While the goal is not to become a large private school, the enhancements to the campus will allow us to grow to 500 students over the next several years,” said Gigi Ekstrom, Lakehill marketing and community relations director.
The expansion provided a new art studio and new lab spaces for science, writing, and computer science. It also provided additional classrooms, meeting and event rooms, and administrative offices.
A centerpiece of the project is a 5,000-square-foot inner courtyard that provides outdoor classroom and performance space.
The addition was funded by school supporters through a $5.6 million capital campaign — allowing the school to complete the project without having to borrow any funds, Ekstrom said.
Hundreds of donors, board members, parents, neighbors, and community leaders joined the entire Lakewood faculty and students for a ribbon-cutting ceremony late August, where board chair Colleen McCall addressed the audience.
“This expansion is not a culmination of Lakehill’s success, but merely a physical manifestation of what we have all known for so long,” McCall said. “Lakehill is a gem to be treasured by all who find it. I am so thrilled for my children, for your children, and for you — faculty and students — to be able to enjoy this beautiful new building.”
