Focusing on the future at Lawrence Woodmere Academy

Lawrence Woodmere Academy students have been out of school for nearly two months, but work continues on the Woodmere campus on a number of renovations and upgrades in preparation for the new school year.

“Every summer, when schools spend that time making sure their building is ready for the fall, we have a couple of bigger-ticket items that we want to get done before we open the doors in September,” Nadia Kalyan, LWA’s director of development, said.

The Woodmere building, which dates back to the late 19th century, will have repainted classrooms, LED lighting upgrades, drop ceilings and a new black box theater, which will expand the school’s arts program.

Hessel Hall will be converted into the theater, for the upper, middle and lower schools. When it is completed, the building will be renamed the Barbra Barth Feldman Performing Arts Center. Feldman, a 1982 graduate and a former headmaster at the school, died in 2019. 

“The arts are definitely a focus of LWA,” Kalyan said. “It’s an area where we’ve had success in the last several years with several of our alumni.”

One of them is Andrew Barth Feldman, Barbra’s son, who starred alongside Jennifer Lawrence in this year’s film “No Hard Feelings.” Feldman graduated from LWA in 2020.

The theater will have a new dance and yoga studio, and upgraded and renovated private lesson space for music and theater students.

To support the theater, which is expected to be completed in September, a fundraiser for the Barbra Barth Feldman Performing Arts Center and Scholarship Fund was created shortly after Feldman died, and other fundraising events have been held to support the center.

“Barbra Barth Feldman was an incredible force to the LWA community,” Ella Schwartz, a member of the school’s board of directors, wrote in a text to the Herald. “A staunch supporter of the arts, her vision for a world-class program is becoming a reality. We are deeply honored that the Barbra Barth Feldman Performing Arts Center will continue Barbra’s legacy for years to come, inspiring future student artists. At a time when school arts programs are being threatened, LWA is embracing the arts and expanding our program. We feel strongly that instrumental, vocal, theatrical, and dance are vital for our students’ growth, development, and exploration.”

The school also has an annual performing arts award that is bestowed on a graduating senior. Titled the Barbra Barth Feldman Excellence in Performing Arts Award.

In January, the school was struggling financially and in danger of closing, and the trustees asked former students and parents for ideas on how it could remain open. Five months later, alumni and parents joined forces in a group called LWA into the Next Century, created by Kalyan with the goal of building long-term financial sustainability.

Asked how much the renovations would cost and where the funds were coming from, Kalyan said the school was always fundraising, and that alumni and community member have been engaged in those efforts.

“What was great about that moment, although it was difficult, was everyone’s love for the school,” she said of the discussions early this year. “People have been continuing to step up, continuing to reach out, asking how they can help, coming up with ideas, and that’s because of the love for this school.”

Hank William Sr. became the school’s headmaster after Brian O’Connell’s contract expired in March. Williams praised O’Connell, who became headmaster in March 2020, just as the coronavirus pandemic began.

“He did an outstanding job keeping this school and doors open,” Williams said.

A former principal in the Hempstead school district, Williams became LWA’s principal last October, and moved up to interim head of school in February, when O’Connell decided not to return for another year.

“I really wasn’t planning on taking on this much,” Williams said. “It’s been quite rewarding, and so many people were kind and the passion has been just rewarding and making me feel like this is where I need to be. My agenda is to really push this school to keep it open. That’s really my only agenda.”