Strategic Plan 2020-2025

The completion of Phase I of our Campus Master Plan in 2015 has enhanced the front of our campus in extraordinary ways:

• The Academy added two synthetic turf fields that are among the finest in the Philadelphia area and a new running track. The softball field and all-grass playing fields were thoroughly updated. All work incorporated sophisticated storm water management systems and environmentally sensitive landscaping.

• Launfal Fieldhouse was renovated and a new viewing terrace now overlooks the athletic fields.

• A new, second campus entrance now offers convenient access from Godfrey Road.

• New Notre Dame signage has been installed on Sproul and Godfrey Roads.

Phase II of the Campus Master Plan provides Notre Dame students with a dynamic, 21st century learning environment that retains the elegant beauty of a 19th century estate setting:

• In April 2019, the Academy celebrated the completion of the state-of-the-art Riley Center for STEM Education. The Center was designed by SMP Architects, Philadelphia, and anchors the southern edge of campus to define a new academic quad flanked by the Mansion and Connelly Arts Center. The design of the Center reflects the historic nature of Notre Dame’s campus, while introducing a forward-looking facility that embraces twenty-first learning. The Center includes technology enabled active learning (TEAL) environments with eight science laboratories, three lab prep rooms, eight mathematics classrooms, a design thinking and entrepreneurship classroom and labs dedicated to design and innovation, robotics and coding. A suspended kinetic art installation by noted artist and sculptor Brad Howe highlights the Center’s dramatic STEM Gallery.

• The McNeill STEM Gallery forms a transparent architectural link between the Academy’s quad and restored Rose Garden. The Gallery also serves as the crossroads between the two wings of the building, which house math and science classrooms. The math classrooms occupy the north side of the building, which is clad in stucco and stone gables to embrace the traditional campus context. The science classrooms, in turn, occupy the south side and are rotated forty-five degrees to maximize the ideal solar exposure and views. These classrooms are clad in a more contemporary metal siding that is combined with elements of stucco and stone to remain contextual with the campus. To learn more about the Riley Center click here.

• The Campus Master Plan calls for the restoration of the Mansion as the formal “front door” of our campus. The goal of this restoration is to preserve and enhance the rich architectural nature of this building, long considered as the heart of the campus. In 2016, a historically accurate restoration of the Mansion exterior was completed, returning the iconic landmark to its earlier grandeur. In 2017, the Academy was recognized by the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia as a Grand Jury Award Winner. The award recognizes outstanding achievement in the field of historic preservation for projects involving the preservation or protection of historic resources. Planning for the future interior restoration and renovation of the Mansion is ongoing.

The next phase of our Campus Master Plan’s realization includes the addition of a new Auditorium which will serve as the Academy’s Liturgical and Performing Arts Center. Identified as the first priority in Goal 2 of our 2020-2025 Strategic Vision, A Future of Promise, this new Center will serve our entire school community and add new, state-of-the-art event and performance space to the campus.

The final phase of our Campus Master Plan includes a new Student Center or “Commons” and renovated classrooms in Cuvilly.