Sherwood Christian Academy, Deerfield-Windsor School are in the midst of major construction projects

ALBANY — The 2015 school year will mark major construction projects at Deerfield-Windsor School and Sherwood Christian Academy. Deerfield is adding an 8,000-square-foot wellness center to its main campus on Stuart Avenue, while Sherwood is currently constructing new buildings and renovating its upper campus in preparation for a merger of its upper and lower schools onto one campus.

“This is part of our ‘Meet the Need Program’ at Sherwood Baptist Church and some exciting expansion is taking place,” Sherwood Headmaster Brian Dougherty said. “The scope of this project is to primarily bring the elementary campus on Stuart Avenue over here to Old Pretoria Road next year.

“This will allow our students and staff to come together as a school family. Hopefully, we will soon be celebrating the completion of this project.”

The school is currently adding an elementary wing with eight classrooms, a new standalone media center and new kitchen and cafeteria. Near the end of the current school year, Dougherty said, plans have been made to renovate the existing upper campus with a new brick facade, lighting and major work on a new science lab.

Dougherty said that the lower campus will be combined into the upper campus for the 2015-16 school year. The single facility, he said, will be capable of accomodating 600 students.

“I am looking forward to the impact this project will have on our school,” Dougherty said. “The additional facilities and upgrades will help us better serve our current families as well as future generations to come to SCA.”

At Deerfield, the school was recently reaccredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). DWS is also Accredited with Quality by the Georgia Accrediting Commission, making it the only school in Southwest Georgia to hold these three accreditations.

DWS continues its dual credit program with Darton State College and its concurrent enrollment program with Albany State University. Strong students can earn up to 24 college credits through the ASU program while taking all courses with DWS teachers at the school.

The Edward E. Ford Foundation granted DWS $50,000 for a five-year professional development program, and faculty are attending conferences and workshops using this grant.

The school expects to complete its capital campaign in 2015. This $2.2 million project will provide an endowment for faculty professional development, as well as funding for the Graham P. Lowe Family Health and Fitness Center, which is scheduled to open in July. The $1.5 million, 8,000-plus-square-foot addition/renovation project will add a weight-training facility, wrestling/multipurpose room, expanded athletic trainer’s suite, coaching office and locker room, and storage space.

Several DWS athletic teams have taken advantage of the new “cross-play” policy and have enjoyed competing against teams from the Georgia High School Association. DWS’s cross-country, wrestling, swim, tennis and soccer teams have participated. The school expects to see more cross-play competitions in the near future.

Looking ahead to the fall, the Class of 2016 will be the first class to have had Spanish instruction from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has notified DWS that six members of the Class of 2016 will be recognized in the fall for their performance on the Fall 2014 PSAT.

“Our graduates report that their preparation for college was outstanding, and that is evidenced by our HOPE Scholarship retention. DWS graduates retain HOPE after the freshman year of college at double the state percentage,” Deerfield Headmaster Dave Davies said.