A $1.5 million gift will reshape The Wellington School's Upper Arlington campus. The donation from Ryan and Katarina Robinson funds a nearly 70,000-square-foot transformation that includes demolishing the school's original 1918 building.

Wellington called the gift one of the most significant philanthropic commitments in its history. The school announced the donation Sept. 16 as part of its Bold Leap Strategic Plan. The Robinsons joined the Wellington community during the 2025–26 school year with children in the Early Childhood and Lower School programs.

"We believe great schools are built by generations of families who choose to invest not only in their own children, but in the students who will come after them," the Robinsons said in the announcement.

The project will overhaul the Fishinger Road side of the 22-acre campus at 3650 Reed Road. When finished, Wellington's upper grades will move into a new facility there with a new entrance, enhanced visual and performing arts spaces and outdoor gathering areas. The original 1918 Perry Township schoolhouse, bought by Wellington's founders in 1981 as the school's first home and closed in 2010, will come down to make way for the work.

NBC4 first reported on the broader renovation project in May, when the school said work would begin in June.

Head of School Eliza McLaren praised the Robinsons' commitment in the school's Sept. 16 announcement, saying the gift "speaks powerfully to their belief in our School and its future" and will "shape the experience of students and teachers for decades."

Wellington, founded in 1982, serves 738 students from preschool through grade 12. The Bold Leap plan coincides with the school's 50th anniversary in 2032. The school said the Robinson gift arrived alongside several other leadership-level commitments, though it did not disclose a total fundraising target.

The school partnered with Moody Nolan, Daimler Construction, Edge Landscape Architecture, Korda Engineering, Prater Engineering Associates and the City of Upper Arlington on the project.

Separately, the school's October newsletter noted that four seniors have been named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists: Annabeth Pan, Phoebe Bong, Steven Huang and Lillian Schrader. Four more seniors earned Commended Student recognition: Abbott Arthur, Lily Hashem, Taj Ruegsegger and Andrew Stern.

Applications for need-based tuition assistance for the 2027–28 school year opened Friday, Oct. 2 and are due Monday, Nov. 2.