History

In the 1960’s and 1970’s, Southern Pines / Pinehurst was primarily a public school–oriented community. A group of parents in the area were looking for a different educational setting for their children. Under the leadership of Mary Toerge, a parent looking for another option to educate her son Nick, and the support of other parents, the school was started.

Wallace O'Neal

The Meyer Family owned 40 acres of land along Airport Road. They donated the land to the school with the request to name the school after their daughter’s (Mary Elaine) husband, Wallace O’Neal, who had recently died. The school was incorporated as Sandhills Independent Day School doing business as Wallace O’Neal Day School.

Officially founded in 1971, the 1971-72 school year saw the Wallace O’Neal Day School open with 3 teachers and 35 students in grades 4-6.

More grades were added in succeeding years, until students were enrolled in 1st through 12th grades in 1976. The faculty had grown to 23 teachers by the next year, when the first advanced placement courses were instituted. Kindergarten was added in 1980 and Pre-Kindergarten was introduced in 1987.

Athletic programs complemented the academic curriculum; soccer and volleyball were early emphases. O’Neal’s golf team won its first of three consecutive State Championships in 1979, and the school soon developed a reputation in swimming.

In 1982, O’Neal initiated what is now called the Academic Enrichment Program for students with learning differences. In 1985, the school name was changed to “The O’Neal School”.

In 1995, The Core Knowledge Curriculum was implemented for Kindergarten through Eighth Grade and The O’Neal School became a national visitation site for other schools looking to implement the curriculum.

Phase II of O’Neal’s Campus Master Plan included the 1999 construction of a new Upper School building, Meyer Hall. Students and teachers moved into their new home in the spring of 2000. The building accommodates individual classrooms for every teacher, two well-appointed science labs, and a research lab with study carrels and computers.

With increasing enrollment and a solid financial base, O’Neal was able to initiate the next phase of its campus plan earlier than expected, and Bradshaw Hall was completed in the summer of 2002. This multipurpose facility houses administration (headmaster, admissions, institutional advancement, finance and transportation services), a dining commons, a library with adjacent computer lab, and two art studios. A renovation of the Middle School, Taws Hall, took place in 2003 with gym renovations complete in 2005.

In 2006, as O’Neal celebrated its 35th birthday, Phase III of the Campus Master Plan was underway in conjunction with a $7 million capital campaign to “Complete the Vision”. The 5-year campaign was in an effort to complete the Master Plan and grow endowment funds to enhance teacher salaries and financial aid for deserving students.

Also in 2006, O’Neal hired a transportation services director and bus drivers and purchased six new activity buses. Three routes from Laurinburg, Rockingham, and Sanford run everyday for student pick-up and drop-off.

Phase III of the Master Plan includes the building of a new Lower School and an Activities Center. Ground was broken for the New Lower School in December 2006 and McMurray Hall became operational in January of 2008. The Activities Center opened with the start of the school year, August 18, 2009. The “Complete the Vision” capital campaign has raised $4 million. The campaign’s name changed to “Building Communities” to give new life to the effort in raising the remaining $3 million.

Today, The O’Neal School employees over 75 faculty and staff members. It has a student enrollment of approximately 420.

The O’Neal School continues a proud tradition of educating the whole child and is committed to providing faculty, resources and facilities necessary to make this a reality.