Sewickley Academy to welcome students Aug. 29

Sewickley Academy teachers and staff are preparing to welcome their pre-K to 12th grade students back to school.

First day for learners at the private campus along Academy Avenue is Aug. 29.

Officials said 513 students are enrolled for the 2024-25 school year, including 109 new students.

There are 137 full-time employees, including 72 teachers.

Head of school Ashley Birtwell said this month will be the start of something great.

“We are very excited about the school year ahead as we welcome another large group of new and highly talented students to the academy,” said Birtwell. “Our enrollment, pulling students from more than 50 zip codes, has grown to over 500 students, with some grades at capacity. This is a testament to our dedicated, exceptional faculty and staff, innovative academic offerings, growing athletic programs, and vast opportunities in both performing and visual arts.”

Students may notice some facility upgrades that took place over the summer.

The second floor of the lower school was renovated and updated in a continuing effort to improve the learning environment for all grade levels. The overhaul was designed to enhance and modernize classrooms.

The Win Palmer Court in Means Alumni Gymnasium and Events Center was refinished after its dedication to the late Athletic Director and Coach Winthrop “Win” Palmer in January.

Sewickley Academy is also among the first 10 schools in the country to partner with Flint, a company that developed an all-in-one AI platform for schools. It is designed to help faculty develop learning experiences tailored to students’ needs and help them discover solutions to problems without providing answers directly.

“We continue to invest in redesigning our physical spaces to attract and retain faculty, allowing them to teach in innovative ways. Our students also benefit from the latest technology in classrooms and ample breakout spaces that allow for collaboration and creativity.”

Lower School

Sewickley Academy alum and former teacher Jerilyn Scott is in her fourth year as head of Lower School, pre-K to fifth grade.

“Community is one of the biggest parts of it,” Scott said of her time at the academy. “This is such a positive, collaborative energetic group of people. It makes the work fun.”

Collaborative and energetic are also how she describes the 4 year olds in Pre-K, which added another class with increased enrollment.

Scott credits the boon to the blend of structured academics and play-based approach to learning.

Teachers also recently completed some professional development to enhance the reading and writing program.

“That’s what people are looking for in a school of this caliber,” Scott said. “The Lower School students need a really strong foundation in both how to think (and be) problem solvers and the basics of that foundation is what’s going to carry them through the rest of their school career.”

Middle School

Mark Shelley has spent 29 years in education. He joined the academy in the summer 2023 and will start his second year as head of middle school.

His goals include providing more leadership opportunities for sixth through eighth grades.

One of the ways he and his staff plan to accomplish that this year is with the expansion of Community Builders, an application and interview-based program previously for just eighth graders. Sixth and seventh graders will now have a seat at the table.

About 16 total students are expected to participate in organizing events such as school assemblies, fundraisers and charitable endeavors. The older students will also assist new families on campus.

“One of the things we try to do in middle school is the transition from an elementary (student) to someone who is ready for independence and self-advocacy at senior level,” Shelley said.

The student government program will also make its return this school year.

Shelley said those participants are elected by their peers as opposed to being selected in the aforementioned program by teachers.

The seventh and eighth graders have already been elected. A sixth-grade election will take place likely in the coming months.

Shelley said he hopes both programs offer students a sense of ownership at show their voices can be heard. The theme of the year is “Developing a Commitment to Community.”

“The more opportunities you can give for that, the better,” Shelley said.

The middle school is a relatively fresh facility compared to the lower school and did not need many summer repairs.

High School

The high school also did not need much maintenance, but some of its academics and college counseling received some upgrades.

Jamie Nestor, who is in her third year as high school head, will oversee the addition of three AP courses — AP English Literature and Composition, AP African American Studies and AP Human Geography.

Nestor said a strong showing of the school’s Model UN and family interest inspired the new additions as well as “staying on the cutting edge of what colleges want to see.”

There are 21 total AP courses available.

There is a student government and a spirit council at the high school. Both are designed to help bring kids and their community together. Some activities the spirit council has organized include pep rallies and flag football games.

“You can get so focused on academics you forget there needs to be joy in life,” Nestor said.

The high school recently launched what academy officials called Dean Model, an all-encompassing approach to college counseling and student assistance.

All incoming freshmen are paired with a dean who helps them with course selection, internships and extracurricular opportunities.

Nestor said deans also keep an eye on the student’s social and emotional health and help explain how decision in their decisions can have lasting impacts on their future.

More information about the academy and its programs is available at sewickley.org.