In February 1971 the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction approved Providence Day School as a private school. A new facility that included 13 new classrooms, administrative offices and a teachers's lounge were constructed prior to the 1971–72 school year. Also in 1972 Douglas C. Eveleth was named new headmaster, joining Providence Day from Cape Fear Academy in Wilmington, North Carolina. The student body grew rapidly in the early 1970s and by October 1974 had an enrollment of 670 students in grades 1st through 12th. In December 1975 the school received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.