Alumni Award News

With a goal of $3 million, we need YOU to help us build the future of Thornton Academy! TOGETHER we can ring the victory bell and continue our long tradition of excellence.

Over the last decade, Thornton Academy has grown to become one of the largest and most comprehensive schools in Maine.

By pursuing a long-range, forward-thinking campus master plan, Thornton Academy has succeeded in accomplishing ambitious programmatic goals. Offering 24 AP courses, 7 foreign languages, courses in web design, concert choir and photography, there is something for everyone at Thornton Academy. In recent years the Board of Trustees updated and moved the library, built a technology and media center, dance studio, and cutting-edge science labs to ensure that our facilities can support our growing student population and diverse academic offerings.

Having met the infrastructure needs of the academic and arts curriculum, the Board is now focused on the remaining phase of the Master Plan: the renovation of Linnell Gymnasium and the construction of a field house.

This capital project will allow us to address the competitive and recreational needs of both Thornton Academy students and the greater Saco Community.

Linnell Gymnasium, built as a state-of-the-art facility over fifty years ago, can no longer successfully support the school’s ever-increasing athletic demands. Built in 1963 for a student population of 650, the gym now serves approximately 1,650 students. The floor is worn and the mechanical systems are antiquated and inefficient. The building does not meet modern accessibility and safety standards. It lacks adequate space for weight training, strength and conditioning facilities, locker rooms, coaches’ offices and equipment storage. It can no longer accommodate the entire student body for events, assemblies and ceremonies. The lack of space forces athletic teams to practice well beyond traditional after-school hours and prohibits the school from offering an intramural program or providing recreational space for a broader range of students. Given Thornton’s goal of offering an athletic program broad enough to allow all interested students to participate in sports, the school’s athletic facilities must be renovated and expanded.

“I grew up attending and playing high school basketball games at TA’s Linnell Gymnasium where so many great TA athletes have competed. The tradition of athletics at TA remains strong and vibrant. It’s now time to renovate Linnell Gymnasium and add a field house built to today’s standards,” Board of Trustees President Eric Purvis '81 said.

The 40,000 square foot field house will dramatically increase the number of students who can access indoor athletic space. The field house will provide practice space for teams throughout the year, as well as an early season training venue for spring sports teams. A five- lane indoor track will provide a year-round exercise venue for students, staff and the community at large. Thornton’s new athletic complex will be the premier indoor athletic facility among Maine high schools. More importantly, our goal of serving the athletic and recreational needs of all Thornton Academy students, as well as adding a community resource, will be met.

Purvis says, “Our community has shown overwhelming support for this project, and I’m excited to be part of the campaign that will provide an athletic facility which will serve TA student-athletes for generations to come.”