After a summer of construction, GA’s renovated Academic Courtyard will be open for the GA community as a place to gather outside and hang out. With the addition of this area, as well as changes to student access in the Live-Well Lobby and the Jordan Center, students can expect adjustments to how they traverse through and use the GA campus.
Located between the Middle School (MS) and Upper School (US), the courtyard was redesigned as a place for both students and faculty to enjoy free time while also keeping its original purpose as a place for science teachers of the MS and US to conduct their classes. Thanks to a sponsorship from the Parent’s Committee, GA was able to work with the Jamie Higgins Landscaping team, along with landscape architect Carolyn Campbell, to create an aesthetically pleasing space with native plants around Fort Washington.
“My hope is that we will have more students outside rather than just sitting in a House Space or sitting in the Pavilion, or frankly even in the Roberts Family Library,” Head of School Mr. Rich Schellhas said. “I think it’s a potentially really good mix of academic and social, and my hope for Upper School in particular is that it’ll become a draw for students to be outside and to be with their friends.”
The Academic Courtyard includes several tables with umbrellas to rest at and a main walkway for easier access from the MS Green Stairs to the MS and US. The walkways contain special bricks with graduate names carved on them, starting with the recently graduated class of 2026.
The Academic Courtyard comes as GA is also changing student access to other community spaces. Starting in the 2026-2027 school year, GA is disallowing students from hanging out in the Live Well Lobby and the Jordan Center during school hours, except for lunch and flex. This is mainly because it’s an all-school space, meaning that US students share the area with MS and LS students; Furthermore, there have been multiple instances of damaged furniture, making the space unsustainable for all-day access.
“We also don’t have many adults down in that space,” Head of Upper School Mr. Dave Samson said. “There was furniture repair, profanity and language, and obviously there were some kids making great choices there and using it well, but it wasn’t being used as what we envisioned it to be.”
Because US students are losing access to this space during portions of the day, the GA administration team is ordering more furniture for the US House Spaces to better foster a tight-knit US community.
“We wanted to make a concerted effort to have more of our student population in the Upper School,” Mr. Samson said. “I think it’s in the best interest of [GA] that our Upper School students are not [in the Jordan Center] unattended for long periods of time.”
With the opening of the Academic Courtyard and new restrictions on other community spaces, students can expect more structured gathering areas in the 2026-27 school year.