Making History: A Transformative Gift for Dana Hall
On Friday, October 29, Head of School Katherine Bradley used her Family Weekend Convocation remarks to share a historic announcement: Dana Hall School received a $15 million leadership gift towards support of the School’s strategic plan.
The gift, from The Manton Foundation, is the largest in School history and will enable Dana Hall to actively pursue its plan to renovate the Upper School Classroom Building and support other initiatives in the School’s current strategic plan.
The new Classroom Building ensures that the School’s learning spaces reflect and embody the rigorous academics that are at the center of Dana Hall’s 140-year educational mission.
“I know first-hand that Dana Hall helps shape the confident, compassionate, intellectually curious young women the world so desperately needs,” said Sandy Niles P17, 19, Trustee, The Manton Foundation. “Supporting the students, faculty and staff through the modernization of such an important learning space is an investment in our future. We hope that our gift will encourage others to think big when it comes to Dana Hall.”
School administrators and the Board of Trustees are fully engaged in the design and construction planning phase of the project and are working with the Town of Wellesley to secure required permitting. The Manton gift jump starts the fundraising phase of the project, which will require additional resources to meet a planned groundbreaking in the summer of 2022.
“Our Vision 2025 Strategic Plan is a bold and comprehensive plan that builds on Dana Hall School’s impressive history and that brings the School to an even greater level of excellence,” said Dana Hall Head of School Katherine Bradley. “I am deeply grateful to The Manton Foundation for its confidence and generous support of our mission, which remains rooted in educating our students for the challenges and choices they will face as women and citizens of the world. Their generosity inspires us to step in our future—fiercely and fearlessly.”