Welcome to
PACE ACADEMY est. 1958
Every family has a story. For the Pace family—our students, teachers, staff, parents, alumni and friends—the story begins more than 60 years ago when an interfaith group of community leaders envisioned a stimulating learning environment based on Judeo-Christian values. They imagined an intimate academic community that prepared students to THINK BIG about themselves, about others and about the world around them. Under the leadership of the school’s dynamic first headmaster, Frank D. Kaley, and his successors, Pace grew into an institution focused on academic excellence and the development of the whole child—a community in which each student is known, loved and encouraged to live out Pace’s motto: “To have the courage to strive for excellence.” It is not insignificant that our first classroom building was once a home, for it remains so today. Our footprint has expanded and our family has grown, but Pace’s core values and commitment to excellence endure.
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Our PAST 5
1931
1958
1959
1961
Construction of Pace Academy’s iconic “Castle,” originally the private home of the Ogden family, is completed using stone quarried on the property.
Pace’s founders imagine an educational environment open to fresh ideas and debate. They acquire the Ogden family estate and open Pace Academy for the purpose of “training and educating children and operating a school and kindergarten.” Pace’s initial enrollment is 178.
Frank D. Kaley becomes Pace’s first headmaster and serves from 1959 to 1972. Kaley creates the school’s coat of arms and motto, “To have the courage to strive for excellence.”
Bridges Hall opens its doors. The building includes classrooms, a cafeteria and a library. New fields support the school’s burgeoning athletics program.
Pace Academy
TIMELINE
2000
2004
2005
Pace dedicates the multi-purpose Inman Student Activities Center, which includes athletic facilities, a new cafeteria, faculty offices and additional parking.
The 57,000-square-foot Middle School opens and includes 25 classrooms and labs, a 200-seat natatorium, faculty offices, an assembly hall and art, music and computer facilities. For the first time, Pace is segmented into three divisions: the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools.
Pace welcomes current Head of School Fred Assaf. The Board of Trustees embarks on an ambitious long-range and master campus plan that outlines the school’s commitment to remaining a small, family school and educating the whole child. The school acquires property for two satellite athletic facilities: an 8-acre baseball/ softball complex and a 23-acre tract that accommodates football, baseball and practice fields. The Lower School facility expands.
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1964
1971
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1976
1990
1997
Pace graduates its first senior class of 13 students and adds Boyd Gymnasium to its growing campus.
A natatorium is erected behind Boyd Gymnasium. One hundred new students join the student body, and Pace launches its successful debate and service learning programs.
George Kirkpatrick becomes the school’s second headmaster.
Pace purchases the Randall family property adjacent to the school. First used to house fine arts programs, the Randall House later becomes the Lower School.
The state-ofthe-art Fine Arts Center opens. The Atlanta Chapter of the American Institute of Architects names the building one of 10 outstanding architectural additions to the city.
Michael Murphy, previously Head of Lower School, is named headmaster.
2009
2014
2017
2021
Pace launches a global education program to offer curriculum-based travel and communityengagement opportunities.
The Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School opens. The 75,000-squarefoot facility includes the Woodruff Library, a Student Commons, stateof-the-art classrooms and labs, an Academic Resource Center and a College Counseling suite. The global education program grows to become the Isdell Center for Global Leadership.
Following the sale of its satellite softball facility, Pace constructs a new home field within its Riverview Sports Complex.
Pace will open a three-story, state-ofthe-art Lower School facility to house science, STEAM and arts programs, as well as administrative offices, performance and play spaces and a new Academic Resource Center.
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Our MOTTO • To Have the Courage to Strive for Excellence
Our CORE VALUES
• We create success through partnership with parents, students and faculty. • We are dedicated to developing the whole child. • We have respect for others and their unique ideas and beliefs. • We have pride in our accomplishments and our heritage.
“We, the students, realize we are not just names in a file, but, as individuals, are considered of utmost importance to Pace. We will proudly wear the name of the first graduating class of Pace Academy.” LYNN BALLOU CLASS OF 1964 9
Our PRESENT
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We’d like to think that Pace today is exactly what our founders had in mind. We are a community of engaged, energized individuals committed to fulfilling our mission to create prepared, confident citizens of the world. We accomplish that mission first and foremost by emphasizing close student-teacher relationships; our students question, explore and succeed because they know they have the support to THINK BIG.
“Pace Academy is a school that you should not be afraid to leave. No matter how long your stay at the Academy was, you are definitely now more prepared to take on the challenges of the ‘real world’ than you were upon entering.” WILL MOVSOVITZ CLASS OF 2017 AND A PACE LIFER
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And while we touch hearts… We teach minds. Our rigorous academic curriculum and college-placement success rank Pace among the nation’s finest independent schools. Innovative programs like Design Thinking, Social Entrepreneurship, Global Leadership and Community Engagement encourage students to think critically, solve problems, embrace failure, strive for excellence and ultimately discover their passions.
“I love who I am as a person, and I love who I’m becoming. Pace really nurtured that.” EMILY SCHMITT CLASS OF 2019
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We focus… On further developing each child’s interests and strengths through our outstanding athletics and arts programs, and we encourage students to participate in a wide variety of extracurricular activities. You’ll find one of our track stars playing trumpet for the fall musical and a state-champion debater broadcasting live from a Friday-night football game.
“At Pace, ‘to have the courage to strive for excellence’ means that you aren’t afraid to do the best you can do. You don’t give up. You just keep trying.” RILEY WALSH CLASS OF 2024
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We know that excellence… In academics, arts and athletics is vital to a well-rounded education, but we also understand that an education today is more complicated than the three As; it’s about providing global perspectives in the classroom and an integrated experience before and after the bell rings. Educating the whole child starts on our beautiful campus, where state-of-the-art spaces such as the Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School and the Garcia Family Middle School fit seamlessly into our residential aesthetic. The warmth you feel as you observe an Upper School assembly in our 600-seat auditorium or dine with Pre-First students in the Lower School cafeteria radiates across our 34 acres, facilitating lasting connections. While we’ve matured in size and stature over the past 60 years, those connections between our exceptional, nurturing faculty and our students remain fixed. We seek out and cultivate diverse teaching talent, and we provide opportunities for personal and professional growth that ultimately enrich the student experience. Pace teachers are expert educators, passionate about their craft and invested in their students’ success—in the classroom, but more importantly, in life. As a result, building character is at the heart of everything we do. Pace students develop a deep understanding of the world and the people around them. Our graduates want to be successful, and they realize that true success means making a positive difference. We champion these values through our Isdell Center for Global Leadership (ICGL), which frames all educational experiences within an overarching global lens. By exploring an annual theme, the collaborative, cross-divisional program supports a well-rounded global education for every graduate. Our students, faculty, staff and alumni THINK BIG.
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Our MISSION
• To create prepared, confident citizens of the world who honor the values and legacy of Pace Academy.
Because of our founders’ ability to THINK BIG, we now create prepared, confident citizens of the world who do the same.
“Pace is a family. It always has been. That won’t ever change for me. Pace was like my second home.” RAINA WILLIAMS CLASS OF 2019 19
Pace has been a vibrant part of the Atlanta community for 60 years and continues to make an impact on our city and world today. But we’re nowhere near finished. Our 2016–2021 Strategic Plan holds fast to our founding principles, while celebrating growth and envisioning an ever-greater place for children to live and learn. We’ve structured our strategic endeavors around five focus areas and, within those areas, prioritized specific initiatives: AC A D E M I C A N D I N S T I T U T I O N A L E XCE LLE N CE • Faculty development, STEAM education, the Academic Resource Center, college counseling and placement, arts, technology, facilities and physical education E N R O LLM E N T • Enrollment management, legacy families, diversity and inclusion, and financial aid and affordability G LO B A L C I T I Z E N S H I P • The Isdell Center for Global Leadership, community engagement and external partnerships S T U D E N T LI FE A N D SCH O O L CU LT U R E • Health and wellness, character development, extracurricular programs, athletics and debate CO M M U N I T Y A N D CO M M U N I C AT I O N S • Parents and parent organizations, alumni, Board of Trustees, advancement and communications, our neighborhood and community
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Our FUTURE 21
As we enter our seventh decade… We embark on the creation of a new strategic plan and $50-million capital campaign—initiatives that will impact our campus and community for years to come. Construction on a three-story, 36,500square-foot facility to replace our Lower School’s Randall House commences during the 2019–2020 school year. The space—home to science, STEAM and arts programs; performance, gathering and play spaces; a new Academic Resource Center; and offices—will magnify the inescapable warmth of our Lower School community, better facilitate the close student-teacher relationships that define the Pace experience and take learning to new levels. And we’ll renovate and expand our iconic Castle—now the school’s administrative hub—to bring students back into our very first classroom building and create a space where innovation, creativity and imagination thrive. In the years ahead, our efforts to advance our mission through the ICGL will continue as we explore new global themes, travel the world and serve as a resource to institutions interested in growing their global-education initiatives. Put simply, our task going forward is to expand our efforts to ensure that Pace students become ethical, empathetic, innovative, culturally competent and adaptable citizens of the world.
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Our Isdell Center for Global Leadership provides a resultsoriented program that builds effective global leadership capabilities among students and faculty.
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LEADERSHIP
GLOBAL
ENGAGED
CULTURAL
INTERNATIONAL
ABILITY
MINDSET
CITIZENSHIP
APPRECIATION
EXPERIENCE
Our strategic vision… Safeguards Pace’s culture of inclusion and respect for future generations, and inspires our alumni to continue to strive for excellence in the ever-changing world they encounter.
We THINK BIG. “I have developed skills that I know will help me—not only throughout my time in school, but also in my professional career. Pace’s emphasis on community, the Vital Signs in the Middle School and the ICGL program prepares students to be strong, kind and smart global citizens. The love of learning, especially research, I have gained while at Pace makes me really excited for the future.” ISABEL BATTISTA CLASS OF 2021
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“Our family believes Pace’s continued success will be measured by the contributions of its graduates to enhancing the quality of life for Atlantans, Georgians, Americans and our fellow citizens of the world.” DR. STEPHEN DAWKINS FORMER PACE PARENT AND LIFE TRUSTEE
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“As a parent of one Pace student and four alumni, a classroom teacher and a member of our administrative team, I can think of no better place for a child to live, learn and be loved than our school. Pace has been the best decision of my life.� FRED ASSAF HEAD OF SCHOOL
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Our PACE
Pace is an institution rooted in history and tradition, yet we embrace new ideas and innovation while adapting to our ever-changing world. We start small and THINK BIG.
We are Pace.
“A lot of people ask, ‘What are you passionate about?’ But what I found at Pace was just passion—passion for each other more than anything.” CHARLIE HIRSCH CLASS OF 2019 31
“Global education is the platform we use to help students become leaders. If we honor the idea of a ‘citizen of the world,’ we really can develop cohorts of young people who go on to make the world a better place by wanting to lead and doing so naturally.” KATIE SANDLIN LOWER SCHOOL TEACHER
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Learn more about life at Pace, our curriculum and the application process on our website. www.paceacademy.org
966 W. Paces Ferry Road NW Atlanta, Georgia 30327 www.paceacademy.org