FORT WORTH, Texas (October 23, 2023) – Fort Worth Country Day (FWCD), the oldest co-ed college-preparatory school in Fort Worth, is proudly celebrating its 60th year of excellence in academics, arts, and athletics in 2023. As part of the 60th anniversary celebration, FWCD has unveiled its largest fundraising initiative in school history: the “Forward Together” Comprehensive Campaign, which has already raised $31 million.
On September 9, 1963, FWCD hosted its first day of classes with 210 students and 17 teachers on a 10-acre campus with three original buildings – one housing classrooms, one housing administration, and one housing the cafeteria. Just one year later, in 1964, 80 additional acres of land were purchased, and FWCD opened the doors to its brand-new Annie Richardson Bass Lower School. Sixty years later, FWCD is the proud home of 1,097 students and 159 full-time faculty members across 13 buildings throughout its 104-acre wooded campus in southwest Fort Worth.
To carry forward FWCD’s 60-year legacy of providing high-quality academic, arts, and athletic programs, the “Forward Together” Comprehensive Campaign was created to expand and fortify the school’s financial future, further develop its people and programs, and enhance and improve its teaching spaces. The campaign encompasses four distinct priorities, each of which supports FWCD’s mission while meeting critical goals that serve its students, families, faculty, and the city of Fort Worth:
- Endowment for Sustainability - $8 million
- Lower School New Construction - $24 million
- Athletic Fields Enhancement - $3.5 million
- FWCD Fund - $4.5 million
During the quiet phase of the campaign, $31 million was raised from 100 current families and 70 faculty and staff members. FWCD plans to break ground on its new Lower School in January 2024, with completion slated for spring 2025. Further details will be announced soon.
“A Comprehensive Campaign is one of the most important ways any school at any time over the history of independent schools has been able to take themselves forward,” said Eric Lombardi, head of school at FWCD. “FWCD’s Forward Together Comprehensive Campaign supports a bold vision that, when achieved, will connect our school’s initial 60 years with the next 60, creating a lasting, vibrant, and inclusive community and campus with programs, faculty, and facilities that inspire engagement, excellence, and a sense of belonging.”
Longtime FWCD parents Heather and Ryan Senter serve as the constituent chairs for the campaign’s public phase.
“This campaign is a community-wide effort to secure gifts, pledges, and private financial support for important priorities for FWCD, including a new state-of-the-art lower school building; athletic field enhancements; our endowment, which ensures financial stability sustainability and the continuation of outstanding teaching and academic experiences for our students; and the FWCD Fund, the school’s annual fund, which supports the annual operating budget,” said Heather Senter. “The Forward Together Comprehensive Campaign will essentially provide the means to ensure FWCD continues to fulfill its mission set forth in 1963 and nurture this vision well into the future.”
ABOUT FORT WORTH COUNTRY DAY
Since 1963, Fort Worth Country Day has inspired the passion to learn, the courage to lead, and the commitment to serve through a program that fosters the intellectual, physical, emotional, and ethical development of its students. Situated on 104 acres in southwest Fort Worth, Fort Worth Country Day’s 220 faculty/staff members lead and teach grades JK-12. Offering a comprehensive college-preparatory curriculum, Fort Worth Country Day focuses on the 3A’s—academics, arts, and athletics—to bring balance to students’ experiences, provide opportunities to explore multiple interests, and thrive in a compassionate community. To learn more about Fort Worth Country Day, visit
www.fwcd.org or
www.Facebook.com/FortWorthCountryDay.
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