Center for the Arts

At the 2012 Annual Meeting, the Board of Trustees announced its plans to expand the FAIS Campus to include a new space for art, music, and movement. Renovation of the recently purchased house and property on Cornell Road will make this possible by transforming the space into the FAIS Center for the Arts.

New Places, New Spaces

One of FAIS’ most immediate challenges is the need for additional classroom space to accommodate our healthy enrollment and the School’s expanding curriculum and educational program for the opening of the 2013-14 school year. Developing a more centralized space for studio arts, music and movement will help us reach our 2013-14 school year classroom requirements in addition to uniting our Fine Arts curriculum for students of all ages, and providing adequate studio learning spaces for years to come.

A New Home for Studio Arts, Music and Movement

To address our campus priorities affordably and efficiently, this plan calls for the renovation of the recently purchased Cornell house and property, located north of the Rose Préau. This resourceful, cost-effective project will help FAIS meet its immediate classroom and program needs without interfering with the long-term campus development plan. The new space will house Lower and Middle School Art, Lower and Middle School Music, and Movement Arts, in addition to providing inspirational outdoor learning spaces and supporting FAIS’ ACE/Arts Week and Summer Programs.

We need your help in meeting the challenge of establishing more classroom space by housing our art programs under one roof. This timely and economical solution will help FAIS continue to serve our students according to our mission and vision of providing world-class excellence in education. We hope you will join us!

Q & A

Q How much will it cost to renovate the Cornell House into a new Center for the Arts, and how will FAIS raise the money?: A
The costs will be $450,000, and these funds will be raised over the next six months in our own community and through grant awards. We are currently in the quiet phase of the campaign, approaching larger donors and corporate parent groups; we also have two pending grant applications. Several naming opportunities are available, so individual donors or groups of corporate parents can name “The ______ Movement Room” or the “_________ Music Room."
Q When will the campaign be officially launched within the FAIS community?: A
In January, we will begin soliciting gifts from our entire community to fund the renovations, which will also start that month. This one-time capital campaign is separate from the Annual Fund, and every family will be asked to participate at a level that is comfortable for them.
Q When will our students get to use the new Center for the Arts?: A
The new Center is slated to open for all FAIS students next fall, 2013, for music, fine arts, and movement arts. The new spaces provided by the Center for the Arts will additionally provide much-needed classroom space on our main campus.