Sponsored Institutions - Stories

By Will Searcy
Director of Marketing and Communications, Rosarian Academy

Photo Courtesy of Rosarian Academy

May 14, 2024, West Palm Beach, Florida – After achieving a 25-year strategic goal in 2023 by acquiring all of the properties between 7th and 8th Streets east of Olive Avenue, Rosarian Academy kicked off the public phase of its Centennial Capital Campaign on May 1, 2024, with a May Crowning, ribbon cutting, and the blessing of the new Stockard Learning Center. 

The ceremony began in Garvy Gym with the May Crowning, a traditional prayer in the Catholic Church celebrating May as the month in honor of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Leading the procession of hundreds of students, school parents, and community members in the rosary were Father Brian King, Episcopal Secretary to Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito; Sister Mary Therese Napolitan, OP; and Sister Judith Rimbey, OP.  

Afterward, the students returned to class and all parents and guests congregated outside Stockard Learning Center, the school’s new building. Officiating in the ribbon-cutting ceremony were Dr. Linda Trethewey, Head of School; Nick Coleman, Chairman of the Centennial Capital Campaign; Nicholas Coniglio, Chairman of the Rosarian Academy Board of Directors; Shaun McGruder, past Board Chairman; and Danielle Hickox Moore, Palm Beach Mayor and an alum, school parent, and benefactor. Father Brian King blessed the newly unveiled statue of St. Dominic and the new space before participants toured the new classrooms.

“We are very honored and thankful to our donors who have given of their time, their talent, and their treasure,” Dr. Trethewey said. “They have given to our capital campaign and allowed us to expand. This new Stockard Learning Center is a tribute to not only the Fortin Foundation, Lesly Smith, and Dani Moore, but … [to] so many foundations and families that have been here over the years that have come back and given to Rosarian Academy to allow us to make this part of the future.”

Once Rosarian Academy gained ownership of the entire contiguous city block surrounding the school, the Board of Directors, Centennial Campaign Committee, and the Rosarian community at large began developing a phased plan to add classrooms and increase capacity. The ribbon-cutting event celebrated the completion of the first phase of the project.

“We’ve been running a capital campaign quietly,” said Nick Coleman, father of Annabelle (Class of 2026) and Wynne (Class of 2028). “We’re nearly 70% of the way complete. We have a long way to go, but the school has been super supportive. The faculty and staff and community have been wonderful.” 

With more than 65% of the capital goal raised, the Stockard Learning Center – which includes 10 new classrooms and new playgrounds – is scheduled to open for the 2024-2025 school year. The new classrooms allow Rosarian Academy to expand its Montessori preschool program with the addition of a Toddler House classroom, serving 2- to 3-year-old students, and a Children’s House classroom, serving 3- to 5-year-old students. 

Danielle H. Moore, the vice president, secretary, and treasurer of the Fortin Foundation of Florida and a long-time supporter of Rosarian Academy, named the new learning center after Lesly Stockard Smith, her mother and the president of the Fortin Foundation. 

“The academic experience at Rosarian really is very special, and it’s a family affair,” said Danielle, a member of the Class of 1981 and the mother of Leslie (Class of 2023) and Alexandra (Class of 2024). “I see friends that I graduated with, and we have lunch together all the time. We’re actually a better class now and closer friends than we were in 1981, and I think these students and these families experience the same thing.”

The expansion aligns with the school’s strategic plan to grow sustainably while maintaining the hallmarks of the school: small classroom sizes; rigorous academics; and enriching arts, athletics, and faith formation. 

“We are excited to open these 10 new classrooms and to be able to expand the campus and allow our community to continue to grow at a time when it’s difficult in West Palm Beach to have the space to grow,” Dr. Trethewey said. “With many families moving to the area, to be able to fulfill that need for quality education, we were lucky enough that this was a plan that had been in the works for the last 25 years. The ability to take that strategic plan and move it forward has been an honor for me, the Board of Directors, and the whole community.”

Enrollment at Rosarian Academy is at an all-time high, especially for the Montessori preschool program. Dr. Trethewey reported that current enrollment stands at around 450 students. With the new classrooms, Rosarian anticipates increasing enrollment to 480 students with a capacity to grow to 500. The campus expansion will also free up more opportunities to grow as the early childhood students matriculate to elementary and middle school. 

Included in the next phases of the school's expansion plans are revamping the athletic fields, adding a regulation-size grass field for interscholastic competitive sports, relocating the existing turf field, and adding outdoor basketball courts.