Morgantown, WV - Last week, West Virginia Academy closed on a 19 acre property that will be developed as its Falling Water Campus. The property is located in the Cheat Lake area of Morgantown and sits between Morgan Run Road and the Bluffs at Falling Water housing development, which the property immediately abuts. "We're really excited about having a property within walking distance to hundreds of homes so that children can walk to school safely on sidewalks," said John Treu, Founder and Board Chair of West Virginia Academy. "We're grateful for the Yass Prize that allowed us to accelerate this development project and we're anxious to see our plans for that area come to fruition."
The property will be developed in phases with the first phase focused on infrastructure and the completion of a facility for athletics and the arts that will also initially house its secondary school and supplement its primary school activities. Lifetime learning in sports and the arts is WVA's primary focus. This translates into unique school facilities that are specifically designed to support development from an early age in basketball, volleyball, golf, racket sports, and running. Hardwood courts for basketball are an important priority as are simulators that will improve skills development from an early age. The sports facility will also have an indoor putting green and golf simulators that will be available to the community outside of school hours. Outdoors, WVA's initial focus will be on a cross country and mountain biking trail through the beautiful wooded areas of the property that will support its competitive distance running and mountain biking programs. A pool, practice green, and miniature putting course are also under consideration. Nearby cheat lake park will be used for water sports like rowing, kayaking, and fishing.
The facility is equally exciting from the perspective of WVA's arts programs. WVA teaches every child to play the piano and read music beginning in the fourth grade, but its programs have been limited due to space constraints in its current rented facility. WVA's performing arts programs are geared toward stringed musical instruments and vocal performance because these talents are more commonly enjoyed into adulthood than some of the traditional public school opportunities like marching band. Digital visual and performing arts labs will be a key feature of the classroom components of the complex. "Our objective as an organization is for our school to be a launching point for our scholars into an enriching lifetime of athletic and artistic growth," says Mr. Treu, "we do not believe it is acceptable for our scholars to peak in either of those areas in their lives during high school."
The second phase of the development, which may be initiated at the same time as phase 1 depending on funding, will be focused on the buildout of classroom space so that the campus will be able to offer PreK to 12th grade levels at the same campus. The academy is also developing some exciting partnerships with key organizations so that its facilities provide meaningful opportunities for the community at large and those partnerships will be announced as agreements are finalized.