the Path Forward

the path

forward

Your Imprint on the Future

1575 Indian Trail Road | Norcross, Georgia 30093 | greateratlantachristian.org/path-forward

T h e C a m p a i g n f o r G r e a t e r A t l a n t a C h r i s t i a n Sc h o o l

Tomorrow: That’s what I think about when I see GAC’s over 1,800 students plus faculty and staff. I see their gifts … who they are becoming … what they can be … their future.

And their future makes me smile.

Today, times are different. American education can’t remain even close to its current quality levels. Faith is in flux. Leadership is in short supply. And all that … is opportunity! An opportunity for this rising new generation of Atlanta’s best and brightest to take it all on with fresh ideas – if we prepare them well.

So leaving Your Imprint on the Future is also a responsibility, something God is expecting of every one of us. He plants within and around us the resources to further His purpose. And He is calling us up. Greater Atlanta Christian is ready for that call.

I invite you to take a look at The Path Forward campaign.

But more than look – I hope you’ll ask what He expects of you in making The Path Forward possible.

Will you join me? Let’s make a difference, an Imprint on the Future, that lasts. And we will have even more reason to smile.

Looking forward with you,

Dr. David Fincher, President

Tomorrow: That’s what I think about when I see GAC’s over 1,800 students plus faculty and staff. I see their gifts … who they are becoming … what they can be … their future.

And their future makes me smile.

Today, times are different. American education can’t remain even close to its current quality levels. Faith is in flux. Leadership is in short supply. And all that … is opportunity! An opportunity for this rising new generation of Atlanta’s best and brightest to take it all on with fresh ideas – if we prepare them well.

So leaving Your Imprint on the Future is also a responsibility, something God is expecting of every one of us. He plants within and around us the resources to further His purpose. And He is calling us up. Greater Atlanta Christian is ready for that call.

I invite you to take a look at The Path Forward campaign.

But more than look – I hope you’ll ask what He expects of you in making The Path Forward possible.

Will you join me? Let’s make a difference, an Imprint on the Future, that lasts. And we will have even more reason to smile.

Looking forward with you,

Dr. David Fincher, President

the path forward

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C A M P A I G N I N I T I AT I V E S

ACADEMICS Faculty Associate Program & Faculty Recruitment Program Page 8 Ignite Conference Center Page 10 Enhanced Assessment & Reward Grants Page 11 Junior and Senior High Redesign Page 12 Leadership & Entrepreneurial Program Page 14 Environmental Center Page 15

Building the character of the next generation of leaders – in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

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ARTS Art & Design Center Page 18 Performing Arts Expansions Page 20

ATHLETICS Multi-Sport Complex & Upgraded CrossCountry Trail Page 25 Field House, Elementary Adventurescape & Elementary Practice Field Page 26

FAITH AND FUTURE Center Stage, Cross Tower & Hollis Smith Quadrangle Redesign Page 30 Christian Life Fund, Financial Aid Endowment, & Sustaining Endowment Page 32

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Academics GAC is prototyping classrooms that promote collaboration among students and between teachers. A traditional classroom is designed for students to sit and listen. The new classrooms are being designed for students to be engaged. Our guiding principle always is ‘What is going to be best for the students?’ L AURI FIELDS SENIOR HIGH LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHER

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ACADEMICS

Just 23% of new teachers in the U.S. come from the top third of their college classes; 47% come from the bottom third.

MCKINSEY & CO., 2010

37% of teachers in private schools plan to retire or leave the profession by 2016.

NAIS, 2011

Advancement of Teaching Excellence

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esearch and personal experience makes it clear: Great teachers

make a crucial difference for our children. However, a limited pool

of outstanding candidates has turned the recruitment of highly skilled and deeply caring faculty into a significant challenge.

In addition to focusing on recruitment, we need to provide the resources necessary for our faculty to be extraordinary in the classroom. Two key areas that need investing in are professional development and rewarding excellent teachers.

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Our strategy to make Greater Atlanta Christian the nexus for the best Christian teachers nationwide includes:

• Attracting & Selecting the Best • Advancing Teachers’ Skills • Enhanced Teacher Assessment and Reward Grants

Attracting & Selecting the Best

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e must identify and cultivate extraordinary teachers and purposefully seek dynamic faculty who share our Christian values. Your support

will establish a model for teacher recruitment through two initiatives, a Faculty Associates program and a Faculty Recruitment program.

FACULTY ASSOCIATES

By creating one-year internships for top college graduates, we can put them to work in our classrooms while we evaluate their ability to make long-term contributions to our community. These associates will learn the profession along side GAC leader-teachers, support the instruction of students, and be involved in all activities. After one year, the very best associates may be offered continuance as faculty.

FACULTY RECRUITMENT PROGRAM

This initiative proactively seeks out experienced teachers nationwide who match GAC standards in field expertise, pedagogy, commitment, and Jesus-centered care for students.

The endowment covers necessary staffing and expenses in perpetuity, and will allow an intentional focus on teacher recruitment.

THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGE Faculty Associate Program: Funding this program for five years: $1,250,000

Faculty Recruitment Program Endowment: $1,200,000

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ACADEMICS

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ven strong teachers can’t stand still in their skills. GAC must invest in the professional growth of new and veteran faculty in the new frontiers of learning.

Advancing Teachers’ Skills: Ignite Conference Center

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The Ignite Center will provide a vibrant

place for the continuous advancement of teaching. In this on-campus conference center, we can build the kind of stimulating, inventive, and individually focused teaching that expresses our mission. It will benefit: faculty by providing a high-quality environment for developing best practices to support professional development.

students for special studies, providing a rich environment with resources in addition to the traditional classroom. parents by offering seminar and meeting space to address the challenges and opportunities of raising children and teens in a rapidly changing time.

THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGE $ 250,000

Enhanced Assessment & Reward Grants

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y converging two concepts – rewarding excellence and developing accountability – GAC can promote great synergy in our educational community. Two initiatives will help teachers foster leadership in areas including growth of involvement in student spiritual opportunities, expansion of academic programs, and extension of co-curricular programs.

ENHANCED TEACHER ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

Reflection, peer reviews, and formal evaluations lead to stronger teachers and an elevated learning world for students.

GAC will fund new resources in time and people to bring together faculty, administrators, parents, and students to implement research-based best practices for assessment.

We will use new tools to collect real-time data to better appraise teacher practice. By implementing enhanced teacher evaluation, teachers and students alike will advance.

REWARDING EXCELLENCE WITH TEACHER GRANTS

This program will allow the rewarding of teachers who perform at the highest levels. We will encourage

top quality professional development by providing faculty growth grants to fund teachers’ participation in innovative professional experiences across the U.S. These institutes, conferences, and special field studies will provide deeper learning to our faculty who will return to GAC with rich dividends for our students.

THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGE Funding this program for five years: $500,000

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ACADEMICS

Junior and Senior High redesigned for inventive thinking

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lassroom buildings sometimes reflect a different time – when the teacher alone spoke and the student passively listened. Current research makes it clear that to grow creative thinkers, learning areas must be designed more for teacher interaction rather than lectures, and for team work, creativity, and problem solving. GAC will renovate two of its largest and oldest educational buildings – the Senior High Complex and the Junior High Building.

THE SENIOR HIGH COMPLEX

This near total renovation will provide learning opportunities for GAC students and teachers that our current design does not allow. It will provide

collaborative spaces for best practices, exciting engagement, and even more impressive learning results.

THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGE Approximate Total: $5,700,000

The renovation of these two major facilities will be one of the most important advances for learning at GAC in decades.

Initially designed in 1968, the 34,000-square-foot facility’s classroom wings and hallways look much as they did 40 years ago despite a remodeling of the connecting center facade and office spaces in 2005.

THE JUNIOR HIGH BUILDING

Completed in 1988 as an Elementary building, the 35,000-square-foot facility changed color schemes in 2003; however no other classroom or education-related renovations have been done since then.

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ACADEMICS

Leadership & Entrepreneurial Program

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oday’s graduates must be able to navigate an ethically complex world, make challenging decisions based on biblical principles, and positively impact their community.

LEADERSHIP THROUGH LIFE CALLING

Your contributions to The Path Forward will establish a learning model that integrates 21st-century leadership skills.

At GAC, leadership is rooted in discerning God’s special purpose for each child, their life calling. This new curriculum, serving grades K to 12, will train the next generation of Christian leaders by using the best practices and research in leadership development.

This new curriculum dynamically combines: • l eadership training with character building

• a Senior High entrepreneurial course developing skills to start both for-profit or non-profit businesses • mentoring by community and business leaders with special expertise • an annual speaker series featuring diverse leaders who have attained high levels of success in their field of expertise.

• a Senior High course teaching ethicallygrounded financial skills

THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGE Funding this program for five years: $900,000 14 | the path forward

Outdoor Learning ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER

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he world of food, water, fish, soil conservation, and ecosystems has never been so alive. With teachers and a horticulturist, a hands-on, sustainable practices center will be created with a sizable chicken coop, turtle pond, student-directed greenhouse, and a focus on sustainable practices such as edible forests, vermiculture, and aquaponics. By aligning our science curriculum with experimentation and real-world challenges, our students’ ability to frame problems and devise solutions will accelerate.

THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGE $450,000 The Campaign for Greater Atlanta Christian School | 15

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Art is a place of self-discovery, where we learn and change and grow in a very visible way. The new art building will allow me to have more kids in my classroom and a more organized space, with room to move around. It also will provide a true, formal gallery space for exhibitions and student critiques.

BRITNEY RAY ’06 JUNIOR HIGH FINE ARTS TEACHER The Campaign for Greater Atlanta Christian School | 17

ARTS

Art & Design Center

Art & Design Center, Front (Artist’s Rendering)

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omentum in the arts at GAC has skyrocketed in the past ten years. With increased student participation, our course options in the visual arts have increased by 133%. That explosive growth has led to a shortage of space in the Sara D. Williams Fine Arts Center.

Your gifts will help us align our arts curriculum with STEAM – the integration of artistic and design-driven education with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is time for our spaces to

match the needs of our ever-growing, award-winning program.

A NEW ART & DESIGN CENTER

With the recent purchase of GACS 1500 Center, and the subsequent move of some operations staff, the visual arts at GAC will relocate to the former Business & Development Center. This building is available, ready for expansion to 16,000 square-feet, and will be dedicated to GAC Visual Arts including: Sculpture, 2D and 3D art classes, Photography, AP art classes, and more. GAC’s top-tier art faculty will have the updated tools and space to guide rising artists.

THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGE $1,450,000

Art & Design Center, Back (Artist’s Rendering)

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ARTS

Performing Arts Expansions – An Extraordinary Opportunity

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and, Theater, Choir, Orchestra, School of Music, School of Ballet – every one is a hallmark of GAC excellence. But they are beyond out of room. Stage time is short. Seating can be sparse. Practice spaces are non-existent due to competing priorities and performance schedules for each of these growing programs. Simply put – for GAC Performing Arts, the status quo no longer works.

Current Campus Chapel Building

AN ENTIRE NEW PERFORMANCE VENUE

WILLIAMS FINE ARTS CENTER EXPANSION

Plans were underway for a modest expansion to the Sara D. Williams Fine Arts Center, that would have helped some, but not all of these needs. And then…along has come one of God’s extraordinary opportunities.

In late 2014, GAC was presented with the invitation to acquire the Campus Chapel Building, adjacent to GACS property. The 34,000-square-foot building has the potential to serve as an entire second venue for the GAC Performing Arts including a second stage, a Black Box (intimate theater), larger Choir Rehearsal room and new space for AP Music, Chapel Practicum, arts faculty and more. Already engineered to add a balcony, the new venue could seat up to 1,000 guests, providing the first true Concert Hall setting for GAC’s band, orchestra, dance, choir and other performance groups. The building will be renovated with a stage 65% larger than any other GAC stage, wood beams, chandeliers, and finishes that perhaps becomes GAC’s most stunning venue.

For GAC’s top instrumental program with its seven bands, our growing orchestra program, and the hundreds who participate in individual lessons through the GAC School of Music, Williams Fine Arts Center changes dramatically for the better as well.

A completely renovated Band Rehearsal Hall comes alive with nearly double the space. Orchestra gains almost double in total rehearsal space as well. Studiostyle practice and private lesson rooms for students grow from 8 to 19.

Every GAC performance program will advance. Your support will take their hearts, minds and talents to new heights, making this the largest advance in the GAC Arts history come to life in a time of great need and opportunity.

THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGE Williams Fine Arts Expansion & New Performance Venue $6,600,000

New Balcony Performance Venue Cross Section (Artist’s Rendering)

Foyer Black Box Theater

Theater Chapel Practicum New Classroom & Faculty Space

Foyer

Theater

GAC Choir Room

New Stage

Black Box Theater

Performance Venue Main Floor (Artist’s Rendering)

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Athletics My job is seeing that young men develop their ability to persevere, both spiritually and athletically. Being here is a blessing on a personal level, for me and my family.

As a professional, I’m excited about what the school stands for. Our team culture values getting high AP scores and scoring touchdowns.

TIM HARDY HEAD FOOTBALL COACH The Campaign for Greater Atlanta Christian School | 23

ATHLETICS

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Multi-Sport Complex

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ith a long tradition of sportsmanship and winning athletics, GAC’s 74 teams need more space. Locker rooms are overloaded; restrooms and closets now serve as “temporary locker rooms.” Teams must often wait for field space to practice or play games off campus. Our athletes lack adequate training space, equipment storage, and places to hold team/parent meetings.

The new multi-sport complex for field sports like football, girls’ and boys’ soccer, girls’ and boys’ lacrosse, and Elementary athletics will provide a place for additional teams to practice as well as a venue for JH/ JV games. A specially designed infieldonly park at one end of the turfed field, an innovation for our baseball and softball teams, will allow one team to conduct field practice, while other teams utilize the Coan Softball Field and the recentlyrenovated Spartan Baseball Stadium.

UPGRADED GODLESKI CROSS-COUNTRY & NATURE TRAIL

The existing crosscountry trail does not meet the GHSA (Georgia High School Association) required 3.1-mile length without runners doubling back on the marked trail.

We plan to expand the length of the trail as additional campus space becomes available.

THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGE New Multi-Sport Complex $1,800,000

Multi-Sport Complex (Artist’s Rendering)

Upgraded CrossCountry Trail $150,000

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ATHLETICS

Field House (Artist’s Rendering)

Field House

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ith the recent turf improvements to Reynolds Field, Spartan Stadium is now the year-round home to seven sports. Constructed in 1997 as a game-day facility, the stadium does not have enough locker room space. During the spring season, when track teams share the field with boys and girls lacrosse, bathrooms and closets are utilized for preparing for practice. There are currently no team meeting rooms and the training room is an old storage closet.

This new home of the Spartans will provide three large locker rooms, a trainer/injury treatment clinic, coaches’ offices, team rooms, and a uniform laundry room. It will also showcase on the outside a new large electronic scoreboard with video and an improved sound system.

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THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGE Field House $2,900,000 Elementary Adventurescape $350,000 Elementary Practice Field $400,000

ELEMENTARY ADVENTURESCAPE

Capitalizing on the natural ability of young children to learn through activity, play, and touch, the sizable and thoughtfully designed Adventurescape is one of a kind. It will offer a rare learning world with movement, brain development and a unique spark of creativity.

ELEMENTARY PRACTICE FIELD

An upgraded and turfed play field will allow for free-play and organized recreation during school. It also will give our growing Elementary after-school sports teams that currently must meet away from GAC a place to practice right on the campus.

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Faith & Future Our school would not exist without the faith of those who came before us. As it is with the “great cloud of witnesses,� they are spurring us on to build up these young people in their walk with God since we know that our school is not about bricks and mortar, but about hearts and souls.

When I have a child ask me to pray for them, there is no higher honor.

I am grateful every day for the opportunity to build character in our children through faithful acts.

KRISTY SHELTON ELEMENTARY TEACHER The Campaign for Greater Atlanta Christian School | 29

FAITH & FUTURE

Heart of the Campus

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AC is blessed with 80 acres, yet none define our mission. There is an opportunity to create a space in the heart of our campus that will speak to who we are and what defines us forever.

The opportunity unfolds in three ways: Center Stage, Cross Tower, and Hollis Smith Quadrangle redesign.

CENTER STAGE

Incorporated as part of the Campus Green, this fully developed outdoor venue will include a raised platform and gathering space for up to 200 students and teachers.

This versatile space offers opportunities for educational discussions, student performances, special speakers, and concerts.

CROSS TOWER

Bringing the core theme of Jesus beautifully and symbolically to life, the wonder of the Cross will be the focus of the re-developed Campus Green. Surpassing adjacent buildings in height, the Cross Tower will remind GAC students, teachers, and families daily of our greater purpose and to whom we belong. A beautiful sight by day and lit at night, the Cross Tower will become a place of future traditions, from Senior Walks to student baptisms in the pool at the base.

REDESIGNED HOLLIS SMITH QUADRANGLE

Current Smith Quad & Campus Green

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The completely redesigned quad will include new spaces to facilitate small group and collaborative experiences, offering new outdoor classroom learning for Junior High and Senior High students.

THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGE Redeveloped Campus Green

Center Stage & Cross Tower: $975,000 Hollis Smith Quadrangle Re-design $325,000

Cross Tower & Reflecting Pool/ Baptistry

Cross Tower (Artist’s Rendering)

Center Stage

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FAITH & FUTURE

Ensuring G the Future

ifts for endowment and future campus expansion require the ability to look ahead. Your support for GAC’s future will ensure the school stays fully committed to God’s will – values, ethics, and faith. Future-minded supporters will contribute to a lasting legacy for future generations, GAC’s long-term health, and incredible Christian education for Atlanta.

CHRISTIAN LIFE FUND

This endowment is dedicated to works that foster spiritual growth and servanthood within GAC students, family, and faculty, including: • Local and worldwide student mission trips • Christian speakers, musicians, and authors • Support for chapels and chapel practicum class • Scripture messages and art throughout the GAC campus • Funding of spiritual retreats Requests from the Christian Life Fund exceed availability every year. By growing this endowment, we can answer yes to more of the requests that allow our students to grow in faith.

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THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGE Christian Life Fund $1,250,000 Financial Aid Endowment $1,000,000 Sustaining Endowment $2,250,000

Endowment Approximate Total $ 4,500,000

FINANCIAL AID ENDOWMENT

SUSTAINING ENDOWMENT

Each year, financial aid requests far exceed our ability to provide need-based assistance to wonderful, qualified students who otherwise could not attend GAC. Only by increasing this endowment can we fulfill our goal as an inclusive and diverse community.

The growth of this endowment will facilitate an ongoing reliable level of support for learning, operations, and the long-term health of the GAC mission.

Despite prudent planning, unbudgeted challenges and opportunities do surface.

The Sustaining Endowment ensures GAC and Christian Education will be here for future generations.

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the path forward

Join us on the path forward

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rom a seed planted by God nearly 50 years ago, Greater Atlanta Christian School has climbed from remote humble beginnings to its current stature – recognized as a leader in Christian education offering academic excellence with outstanding co-curricular programs.

Though grateful for her heritage, we realize there is a Path Forward ahead: Launched in 2010, we seek to fully implement our strategic plan by 2017. The Path Forward

campaign will provide the resources to prepare GAC for the next 50 years.

Just as God made each student for His unique purpose, we believe each supporter of our campaign has been uniquely prepared to shape GAC students for His purpose. You have been called to make The Path Forward possible.

We invite you to pray about the possibilities and the students whose lives will bear the imprint of your generosity.

Please consider making a generous multiyear pledge based on your resources to support GAC in The Path Forward.

These gifts may be paid between now and December 31, 2017.

Katherine White

Heni Jordan

Vice President of Development

Leadership and Planned Giving Officer

kwhite@greateratlantachristian.org

hjordan@greateratlantachristian.org

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ACADEMICS Faculty Associate Program ......................... $1,250,000 Faculty Recruitment Program.................... $1,200,000 Ignite Conference Center.............................. $ 250,000 Enhanced Assessment & Reward Grants......$500,000 Junior and Senior High Redesign................$5,700,000 Leadership & Entrepreneurial Program........$900,000

CONTACT US

greateratlantachristian.org/path-forward

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C A M P A I G N I N I T I AT I V E S

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Environmental Center................................... $450,000

ARTS Art & Design Center..................................... $1,450,000 Performing Arts Expansions.........................$6,600,00

ATHLETICS Multi-Sport Complex.................................. $1,800,000 Upgraded Cross-Country Trail...................... $150,000 Field House................................................... $2,900,000 Elementary Adventurescape ........................$350,000 Elementary Practice Field ............................ $400,000

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FAITH AND FUTURE Center Stage & Cross Tower...........................$975,000 Hollis Smith Quadrangle Redesign...............$325,000 Christian Life Fund....................................... $1,250,000 Financial Aid Endowment............................ $1,000,000 Sustaining Endowment................................ $2,250,000

Total Campaign Goal.....................$29,700,000