Hope Academy Breaks Ground on New School Building

Monday, a private pre-k through 12th grade school in Gulfport broke ground on a new building. Hope Academy has been without a permanent home for nine and a half years.

On Monday, 60 students from Hope Academy broke ground on a new land they’ll love, a home of books and learning. Hope Academy was destroyed by flooding in Hurricane Katrina. Since then, the school has been leasing a building, but thanks to a grant from M.E.M.A. and F.E.M.A., Hope Academy can finally build a permanent home. Martin Goldin, Chairman of the Board for Hope Academy, says, "It’s just a great day for all of us. So many people worked on it and just seeing it all come together is overwhelming."

The shovels may have been small, but the vision is big for what this new building will bring to the students of Hope Academy. Kim Raulston, Principal of Hope Academy, says, "What our vision and our goal is for this new school is to be one of the finest private schools anywhere on the Coast and in the State of Mississippi."

The 13,000 square foot school will be tucked away on 16 acres in the heart of Florence Gardens. The school hopes to use the environment around them to help further propel their academic and fine arts curriculum. Raulston also says, "There’s all kinds of resources right here in our backyard where we can build on student learning and that’s what learning is all about, which is to teach students to love learning."

Some kids shared with the crowd their favorite parts of attending Hope Academy. One student says, "I like Hope Academy because I can work and have fun at the same time."

Another student says, "I like Hope Academy because I used to not be very good at my grades and now I’m getting better and better."

The $6 million school is set to be completed in December.