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The Madeira School in McLean has received a record-setting $60 million donation from an anonymous alumna, giving the private all-girls’ school a major financial foundation for its long-term plans.

The contribution is the largest in Madeira’s 118-year history and, according to the school, the biggest ever made to an independent girls’ school in the United States.

“This gift is a powerful recognition of the impact the School has had on the donor’s life and the lives of countless young women,” Head of School Christina Kyong said. “We are deeply moved by her immense confidence in Madeira’s leadership and our vision to educate students for generations to come.”

The gift carries one condition: Madeira must place the money in an endowment overseen by its board of trustees and cannot spend it for at least five years. Kyong said the waiting period will allow school leaders to carefully determine how the funds can have the greatest impact.

Madeira is currently pursuing a five-year strategic plan that runs through 2027. Its recent priorities have included retaining faculty and staff, expanding hands-on learning opportunities, and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.

The plan calls for hiring a director of belonging and global education by July, creating new computer science courses, and exploring expansions to the school’s equestrian offerings. It also includes continued development of a co-curriculum program that places students in grades 10 through 12 in internships.

The school has renovated its campus dormitories and opened a STEAM Academic Center in 2023. The facility includes mathematics classrooms, a robotics laboratory, a ceramics studio and other spaces devoted to science, technology, engineering, art and math.

“We are definitely gonna expand a lot on those existing things, but we’ve been successful so far in meeting a lot of our strategic priorities,” Kyong said.

Founded by Lucy Madeira in 1906 to prepare girls for college, the school operates on a 376-acre campus at 8328 Georgetown Pike. The college preparatory and boarding school serves grades 9 through 12 and currently enrolls 338 students from 22 states and 43 countries.

Annual tuition is $55,800 for day students and $71,600 for boarding students.

Because the endowment cannot be tapped for at least five years, the donation will likely support priorities established under Madeira’s next strategic plan rather than the one now underway. Kyong said the alumna viewed her education at Madeira as life-changing and wanted future students to have similarly meaningful experiences.

“We’re just so honored and grateful to this donor,” Kyong said. “She wanted to ensure that for the future of our students here today and future students that we will be able to educate.”