Jackson Academy Breaks Ground on Middle School Expansion
December 13, 2022 /
Middle School/All News
Members of the Jackson Academy Board of Trustees, administrators, and capital campaign chairs were on campus today for the official groundbreaking of the new Middle School expansion. Second grader Ford Clark, (center) and his class joined the dignitaries for the groundbreaking photo. Ford was serving as honorary Head of School for the Day with JA’s Head of School Palmer Kennedy.
This morning Jackson Academy trustees, faculty, staff, and students gathered for a celebration. The groundbreaking for expanding the Middle School is part of JA’s multi-phase facilities master plan that launched in August 2022 with infrastructure improvements. The infrastructure phase, which included reworking on-campus parking and all underground utilities, was completed in November. The next phase, which includes adding six new classrooms for Middle School grades, will begin immediately.
Fourth through twelfth grades gathered with Jackson Academy trustees, administrators, and faculty to celebrate the Middle School expansion groundbreaking Tuesday morning. (Drone photo by JA student Samuel Long)
Preschool through first-grade students were the first to visit the site for the groundbreaking of Jackson Academy’s Middle School expansion this morning, all decked out in hard hats and safety vests.
Both the valedictory and salutatory addresses at Jackson Academy’s graduation ceremony on May 15 focused on themes of overcoming obstacles in the future. Valedictorian Sophie Henderson, who plans to attend New York University, spoke to her classmates about facing challenges and finding solutions when the path forward seems unclear. Salutatorian Aniya Bradley, who will be attending Spelman College, gave the opening remarks, emphasizing that the faculty had prepared the Class of 2025 with valuable lessons on treating others, leadership, critical thinking, as well as resilience and grace in the face of trials.
When Jackson Academy senior Emma Ray was in sixth grade, she volunteered to lead a Bible study for her classmates. That moment initiated five additional years of overseeing Bible study for sixth-grade girls.