A local private school is closing in on a fund raising goal of $4.2 million. Hope Hall believes it will reach that goal by the end of the current school year thanks to an anonymous donor.

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Leaders of Hope Hall call this the happiest day in the school's 18-year history.

An anonymous donor is helping the small private school reach its capital campaign goal to help pay for a new high school wing that was completed two years ago. That donor has agreed to match any gift up to $1.5 million if received by June 30th.

"The $1.5 million match will certainly help us pay off the debt on the high school wing, but because we're going to be getting in donations and gifts from other people, that will help us raise our $1.8 million operating budget. It will also help us raise the $325,000 we need for scholarships,” said Sister Diana Dolce, executive director of Hope Hall.

More than 160 students attend Hope Hall. They come from 19 different school districts from throughout the Rochester area. Many of them struggled academically and socially at their previous schools, but they say that changed once they came here.

The school follows the New York State curriculum. Hope Hall teachers break that down into small units giving students a better chance of grasping what is being taught. Organizational and study skills are just as important at hope hall as math and science.

“If the kids don't have it at an 80 percent level, the teacher immediately does something called instructional correctives. Those instructional correctives means, let’s fix what hasn't worked,” said Dolce.

Students say the teachers at Hope Hall are great because they devote the time and attention they may not receive at other schools. The kids say it's all part of making them a success.

"They do not let you fail. It's proof that they don't let you fail because I'm a high honor roll student,” said Michelle Pittaway, a junior.

It wasn't always that way for Michelle.

"I went to a public school. I was bullied a lot and I didn't get a lot of grades. My grades were horrible."

Some students come to Hope Hall with auditory processing delays, ADD, ADHD, or some form of autism. The school helps them build confidence so they graduate college ready.

"Another school, they were telling me, 'oh you're not going to do anything, you're not going to amount to anything,' but the first day I visited Hope Hall, they made me feel at home and they told me I was going to amount to a lot," said sophomore Robert Doleman.

Hope Hall's first senior class graduates in June. The capital campaign will help make it possible for more students to attend the high school and be part of future graduating classes.