Marburn Academy the newest member of New Albany

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Every morning at 1860 Walden Dr., Marburn Academy’s halls filled with the sounds of 236 students, ranging from grades two through 12. The building, part of the Marburn family for 30 of the program’s 35 years, was beloved, but small.

The 236 students piled into the gym for morning meetings, a space that was full more often than not. During lunchtime, students in gym class would file out and a parent volunteer would get to work setting up tables in the space. After lunch, the parent would help clean and replace the tables in their storage space, and gym would resume.

Teachers shared classrooms, and a room that used to be a library was now a sea of cubicles for faculty. Other members of staff turned old storage closets into offices. When Head of School Jamie Williamson invited parents to come in to talk about their children, parents and faculty members were nearly sitting on top of one another.

Everyone in the Marburn family knew that moving was the only solution. But for a program in which every dollar went directly back to the students, moving seemed more like a pipe dream than something that could become reality.

“This had been a discussion for 20 years, and it almost had become kind of a running joke in some ways,” says Williamson. “‘Well, when we get the new building, we’ll have a music room. When we get the new building, we’ll have a pool on the roof.’”

Williamson says this, laughing, from his seat in a brand new office, in a brand new building. Books line the walls of the office, with a circular table in the middle of the room and Williamson’s large desk in the back. A bicycle is suspended from one wall.

New Albany residents may have sensed a new presence in the city, though with its Georgian architecture and classic New Albany appearance, the location on U.S. Rt. 62, just off of State Rt. 161, may have gone unnoticed.

Though Marburn is anything but new, the academy is the new kid in school for New Albany. Still, you won’t hear any of the 236 Marburn students complain about the title.

“We had second-grade kids going to the bathroom with six-foot-tall high school kids, which really creates an interesting sense of community,” says Williamson.

Now, it’s immediately apparent upon walking into Marburn that each group of students has its own area. Elementary-aged children’s walls are bright and vivid, decorated with colorful posters and signs. Middle and high schoolers’ areas are age-appropriate as well. The hallways of Marburn’s high school area are peppered with vending machines and lounge areas. The school maintains its close-knit community, but now allows members of each age group to feel as if their surroundings reflect their maturity.

Marburn serves students who have difficulty in certain subjects, or attentional issues such as ADHD. The students are of average intelligence, “just as bright as any other kid in any other building,” says Williamson.

In order to serve these students, Marburn’s new building has been designed carefully. Each classroom is fitted with chairs that bounce for students with attention deficits as well as speakers in the back of the classroom attached to teachers’ microphones. The classroom is designed to engage all the senses, a major benefit to students who learn in unconventional ways.

However, building the new Marburn Academy was no walk in the park. Because the program had never undergone such an extensive fundraising project, Marburn’s board faced the impossible. Marburn’s budget sat at $14 million. More ambitious yet, the board made an executive decision not to hire a consultant.

“We knew that they were going to tell us that this could not be done,” says Williamson. “We decided to just forge ahead and figure this out.”

One of the leaders for the new building was Rick Milenthal, a Marburn parent and president of the board for more than five years. Milenthal, like Williamson, knew long ago that it was time to move.

“We turned down scores of applicants every year; the demand for Marburn far outstrips our capacity,” says Milenthal. “One in five children have some challenges in reading, and they learn differently. One in five.”

Milenthal says another challenge Marburn faced stemmed from the program’s obscurity. Williamson calls it the “best-kept secret in Columbus for 35 years.” However, the need for the school and the passion parents, students and faculty have for the program were indicators that this was going to be done.

Thanks to a gift of $1 million from L Brands, financing from Huntington Bank and the support of Marburn parents and affiliates, the school is nearing $7 million raised.

“I think you only get a few moments in life when you can do something transformational, something that may last for generations,” says Milenthal. “There were many dark moments when we didn’t know we could achieve this; we didn’t know whether we could succeed. But we kept going and we are just thrilled with the result. … It’s amazing what the human spirit will do.”

Each year, Marburn hosts alumni for a Thanksgiving meal, always held in the school building. Williamson recalls the panic when faculty realized, due to the lack of space in the old building, the 2016 Thanksgiving dinner may have needed to be canceled for the first time in 25 years. After desperately searching for options, Williamson suggested holding the dinner in the new building, which was still under construction at the time.

Daimler postponed construction for a day, Marburn received temporary vacancy for the ground floor only and all Marburn students – alumni and current alike – were invited to Thanksgiving dinner inside the new Marburn Academy, lovingly dubbed Marburn 2.0. And, it turns out, Thanksgiving was the perfect holiday for the Marburn family to be introduced to their new home.

“There were tears when kids walked in,” says Williamson. “It was very touching. Now, they have a spot that they can be really proud of. … This is going to allow us to have a space to shine.”

Amanda DePerro is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at adeperro@cityscenemediagroup.com.

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