As leaders of school and camp, we are charged with being the stewards of a place that is like no other. Our stewardship is about preserving the heart and soul of High Meadows as much as it is about sustaining and growing it toward a brilliant future. In executing those responsibilities, we make tough decisions, always in the spirit of love for the school. We act with the belief in the powerful impact that High Meadows has made on the children of our past and those on campus today, and will make on the children of tomorrow.
That is why, after careful consideration, we have decided to slow the schedule for the next phases of construction. We will be completing the current phase, which consists of:
- the pony barn and surrounding paddock and small animal areas;
- additional parking adjacent to the community center;
- the basketball court located in the former riding ring space;
- the expanded detention pond near the community center; and
- maintenance of the existing detention pond at the back corner of the early years building.
More detail on each of these will follow soon on the web page. The next phase, including the campus drive and the two new buildings, will be paused for further evaluation. No new construction will begin this summer once this first phase is complete.
The reasons are three-fold:
- We honor the deeply-held values on all sides of the conversation and, by including more opinions and ideas, we ensure good guardianship of the entire project moving forward;
- The rainy spring has significantly delayed our schedule causing us to adjust timelines that minimize impact on camp this summer and school in the fall;
- We continually monitor the school's finances and need to further examine changing budget factors as we close out the school year.
As for the rest of the campus plan, we will be revisiting it and engaging the entire community to discuss the future needs of High Meadows and our campus. Over the next several months, we will:
- establish better communications within our community to provide timely information and to give a voice to all stakeholders;
- meet with our contractors, architects, and engineers to determine next steps;
- work with the city and our community on tree replacement plans that align with our mission and values;
- continue to share information via the campus plan update web page.
We encourage you to reach out to us with questions or thoughts. We think that pausing and reassessing our priorities and timeline is the best course of action for our community at this time, and we believe that by doing so we will embrace the opportunity to create the next iterations more collaboratively and inclusively. Thank you for your commitment to our wonderful school and camp.
