A Message from the Head of School


Dear Members of the Academy Family,

What a year we had in 2014-2015! Graduation was held under the “big top” on Wardrop Field, and 68 newly minted graduates passed through our doors for the last time. They are off to impressive colleges and universities that reflect their range of interests and passions. It is interesting to note that our students consistently get into colleges that represent a “step up” for them based on their standardized test scores and GPAs. I have long felt that this was clear and reliable proof that the colleges and universities to which we send our students understand and appreciate the added value of a Sewickley Academy education. This dramatic and routine out-performance on the part of our students reflects the remarkable quality of the educational opportunities to which they have access both in and out of the classroom.

Beginning in the Lower School, recently named the 12th best Elementary School in the United States by TheBestSchools.org, and continuing on to our remarkable Middle School, students are extremely well prepared for the demands of Senior School. They are prepared not just academically, but socially and emotionally as well. Our program seeks, in very deliberate and intentional ways, to support the development of autonomous, resilient, self-motivated, responsible students of good character. Judging from our having been named the #1 Private School in Western Pennsylvania by Niche.com, clearly others can see what we achieve with our students on a consistent basis.

Supporting our students’ educational journeys demands that we push ourselves every day and every year to be just a bit better than the year before. It demands that we ensure that we support student achievement in myriad ways, including state-of-the-art facilities and exceptional teachers to provide outstanding opportunities to learn and grow. To that end, we have continued our regular maintenance and upgrades of our facilities, and in the past couple of years, we have taken on some larger projects. From the rededication of the Oliver Building last fall to inaugurate a new area of focus on science and technology at the Academy, to the ground-breaking for our new Events Center, which is rapidly taking shape, our physical plant is undergoing a series of dramatic improvements that have not been seen on Academy Avenue since the 1998 addition of the Simmons Middle School, the Hansen Library, the Nichols-Snyder School Center, and our Early Childhood building.

Student success in the classrooms, in the art and music studios, and on and off the fields of play is the central measure of any school. Such achievement, however, cannot happen without the collective efforts of many, beginning with the faculty and staff, of course, but requiring the contributions of parents, alumni, and friends, who see that our mission is critical to the future well-being of our students and, not indirectly, to society at large. We always begin with our students and who they are as they enter the Academy, and we embrace with gusto the privilege of supporting their growth and maturation on their journeys to becoming their best selves.

As you peruse this year’s Annual Report, you will see the names of the many generous and loyal contributors who have helped support all that we do at the Academy. I trust you will find your own name among those who have chosen to make a difference. In the end, our benefactors make possible the transformation of children’s lives, and for that I extend my profound and sincere thanks. There is no question that we could not possibly achieve all that we do without the generous financial support of so many who see the vital importance of our work and who want to be part of ensuring the present and the future for our children.

With grateful appreciation,

Kolia O’Connor
Head of School

Kolia
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