Forest Ridge Academy
History
In
pursuit of continuing quality education through the elementary and middle school
years, a group of parents founded Forest Ridge Academy (FRA) for their children
who had received pre-school education at the Montessori Children's Schoolhouse
in Hammond.
In February, 1982, Forest Ridge Academy was officially incorporated; the school
opened with fourteen children in September of 1982. For the first two
years of its life, the school was housed in Washington School in Hammond; then
it moved to Orchard Park School in Highland. After two short years there,
the school was forced to move again. The only facility available at the
time was the unused Miller School, again in Hammond, which served as the
school's location for five years. A full day kindergarten was adopted at
this time.
Because of a lot of hard work and dedication, a long-held dream became a reality
when in the spring of 1991, the decision was made to proceed with the
construction of a permanent building. Ground was broken at the present
location in early June of 1991; school opened in the new building on September
10, 1991. Dedication ceremonies were held on November 17 of that same
year.
In
the summer of 1997, Forest Ridge Academy added Young Scholars, a preschool
program, to its school. Due to the continued growth of the student
population FRA needed to expand. Once again, due to hard work and
dedication from Parents, Friends and the community, an official groundbreaking
ceremony occurred on June 2, 1998 for the addition of six
classrooms.
Another school dream became reality on
Friday, May 28, 1999. FRA broke ground for its long awaited
gymnasium. With a gym, the school could expand its athletic
activities.
FRA
Home Page
Philosophy
Forest Ridge Academy is an
independent, non-sectarian, co-educational day school enrolling children in
preschool through eighth grade. Families are representative of the racial,
religious, ethnic, and economic diversity of Northwest Indiana and the south
suburban communities of Cook County, Illinois. Students are accepted regardless
of their race, religion, and culture.
Our goal is that students develop
and retain their eagerness to learn. In addition to providing students with
basic and higher level skills, the rich curriculum encourages creativity, a
sense of responsibility, and self-reliance. Materials and methods for
instruction are selected to motivate students to learn both in the supportive
environment of the classroom and in their outside world. Forest Ridge Academy
strives to instill in its students a sense of social responsibility, cultural
understanding, and those ethical values that will help them develop into
healthy, well-rounded individuals.
All elements of the school
community--the faculty and the administration, the parents, the Board of
Trustees and other friends of the Academy, and the students themselves--work
together to exemplify and support the beliefs we articulate in this
philosophy.
FRA
Home Page