A renovated junior high building, an endowment that doubles in size and improved athletic facilities should result from a $10 million capital campaign under way at Jackson Prep.
The campaign, which is being announced publicly over the coming months, has already seen success.
“Thanks to the generosity of the Prep family, we have more than $8.3 million in pledge and verbal commitments for a stretch goal of $10 million,” said Crisler M. Boone, chief external affairs officer at Jackson Prep.
A feasibility study conducted almost two years ago set the priorities and overall financial goal for The Your Jackson Prep Campaign, which calls for raising $2.5 million for the school’s endowment, $4.5 million to renovate the junior high facilities, $2 million to establish the Institute for Innovation and Creativity and $1 million for athletic facilities.
“The top priority of the campaign is doubling our endowment for long-term substantiality and tuition control,” Boone said. “That’s what came out of our feasibility study.”
Endowment funds are important because they support faculty, cultivate special projects or programs to benefit students and assist in controlling tuition by covering costs that might otherwise come from tuition increases, said Boone, a member of the Jackson Prep Class of 1984.
On May 15, construction will begin on the 50-year-old junior high building that will take it down to the studs and allow for the interior to be reconfigured, Boone said.
When completed, the building will be equipped with shared lab space, hubs for specific grade-level collaboration, a suite for teachers, flexible classrooms and furniture and technology space.
Construction is expected to be completed by Aug.16 when students return to campus. Prep has a junior high enrollment of about 400 students, and sixth and seventh grades are the grades when many students enroll in the school.
The coronavirus pandemic highlighted the need for innovation in education, Boone said, and that’s one reason why the establishment of the Institute for Innovation and Creativity is part of the campaign.
The institute, which is about programming and will not initially require its own space, will encourage teachers to make innovations in the classroom and provide varied offerings to help students prepare for careers.
“The Institute for Innovation and Creativity is a thread that runs through everything we do” Boone said.
Due to the early generosity of donors, artificial turf was installed earlier this year to both the infield and outfield of the baseball field on campus, Boone said. The turf allows the field to be used even after heavy rains.
New flooring will be installed in the practice gymnasium located in the 25-year-old J.O. Manning Patriot Center, starting about the middle of May, she said, and air conditioning will be added this summer.
Almost every student-athlete from sixth graders who play basketball to seniors who compose numerous varsity teams use the gym, Boone said.
Established 50 years ago and set on 84 acres in Flowood, Prep enrolls about 730 students in grades six through 12 and has more than 110 faculty and staff members.
Boone is confident about the campaign and its success. “We are optimistic that we will reach $10 million,” she said.
