Emerson, a Northstar student, sinks a basket to cap off the April 25 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the school’s new gymnasium and community center. (Photo by Mark Newton)
Northstar academy and career center now has what its head of school, Crystal Trent, calls “a powerful symbol of what we believe our students deserve”: a nearly 16,000-square-foot gymnasium and community center. The building, made possible thanks to a $12 million fundraising effort, features “spaces that inspire, include and empower” and an integrated hearing loop to assist those with hearing impairments, which Northstar says is the first of its kind at a K-12 school in Virginia.
The nonprofit, which marks three decades next year, annually serves about 125 students up to 24 years old who have disabilities and face academic, physical or social challenges. In 2022, it moved from its “train car campus” — as Dr. Richard Bennett, chair of the school’s board of directors, calls it — on Shrader Road in Henrico County to the former site of Strayer University near Wyndham, about 5 miles away. This allowed Northstar to build a single, unified campus for its K-12 and career center students.
An April 25 ribbon-cutting was attended by students, board members, supporters, Navi the gator mascot and government leaders including Supervisor Mindy Roundtree, Del. David Owen and U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman. The new facility, the congressman says, “puts Henrico out there as a leader and saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to make the investment in resources and in time and effort to make sure that these great folks in our community have even more opportunities.’”
While the school is already working on its next project — a track and field facility to be completed this summer — the new gym today offers Northstar students a place for sports, clubs, prom and other activities, Marketing Manager Maggie Latimer says. “[It’s] really special for our kids to be able to get that traditional school experience feeling while also having all of the things that make Northstar a special and accommodating place.”
