Pace Academy: Three Published Entry Years, Wide Opportunity, and a Commute to Test

One Buckhead campus, three divisions, and a full day

Pace Academy brings about 1,150 students together on a 34-acre campus in Buckhead, from Pre-First through Grade 12. It is an independent, coeducational school accredited through SAIS and Cognia, divided into Lower, Middle, and Upper divisions.

The day here suits a child who likes to jump into everything. An accelerated classroom day sits beside a campus life where 84% of Middle and Upper students play a school sport, the arts program has a Fine Arts Center with a 600-seat theater, and study tours take students across the globe.

Pace has no daily school bus and draws families from 79 ZIP codes, so making that full schedule work requires real family planning.

Three entry years and the Fall 2027 calendar

Pace has three main intake years: Pre-First, Grade 6, and Grade 9. The school typically admits 60 new students in Pre-First, 30 in Grade 6, and 30 to 35 in Grade 9.

Grade sizes grow from roughly 60 in Lower School to 90 in Middle School and 125 in Upper School. Applications to other grades are considered only when a current student leaves.

Pre-First is Pace's name for academic Kindergarten. Applicants must turn five by September 1, though starting ages can range from five years up to six years and three months.

Pace can issue a “Wait-A-Year” decision if it views a child as developmentally young.

Applying to Pre-First requires Ravenna materials, a family statement, a teacher evaluation, a Pace observation, and an individual evaluation through the Joint Admissions Testing Program (JATP), which takes 35 to 90 minutes. A report card, which Grades 1 through 5 require, is not part of Pre-First.

For Grade 6 and Grade 9, applicants submit an SSAT score, report cards, math and English teacher evaluations, a principal or counselor evaluation, a family statement, and a student interview. Upper School applicants also submit a student essay.

Pace accepts SSAT scores through the January 30, 2027 test date and allows multiple test submissions.

Both sixth- and ninth-grade applicants are invited to a morning shadow visit, where they join a morning assembly, attend classes, eat lunch, and spend time with current students.

Applications for Fall 2027 open October 1, 2026, and close February 1, 2027. Supplemental records and financial aid applications are due February 15, 2027.

Open house is scheduled for November 21, 2026, with separate sessions for Lower School and Middle and Upper School parents.

Decisions follow the Atlanta Area Association of Independent Schools (AAAIS) common timeline: decisions are mailed on April 2, 2027, released online on April 3, 2027, and parent responses are due April 13, 2027.

Accelerated learning, honors pathways, and the workload

Pace runs an accelerated academic program starting in Lower School. Classrooms average 20 students with two full-time teachers.

Alongside core reading and math, children see specialist teachers for STEAM, science, technology, Spanish, arts, library, strings, music, and physical education, and daily unstructured recess is still built into the day.

Middle School introduces departmental classes across English, math, history, science, world language, physical education, arts, STEAM, and rotating Discovery courses. Math splits into regular and honors tracks in every Middle School grade.

Assignments and tests are tracked on Google Classroom. Students are expected to keep handwritten daily agendas too.

Morning extra help begins at 7:45 a.m.

Upper School coursework spans College Preparatory, Honors, and Advanced Placement levels, with a standard load of six courses each semester. Honors access considers testing, prior subject performance, and faculty, department, and division recommendations.

Every AP student must take the corresponding exam.

Graduation requires 46 total units: 42 academic credits, four elective credits, physical education, and 40 hours of community service. Transcripts are weighted, and Pace does not report class rank.

Those details come from the 2025–26 school profile, the most recent one posted.

Learning support, mental wellness, and student safety

Pace coordinates academic help through its Academic Resource Center. In Lower School, learning specialists work with children in small groups during the school day on reading, writing, math, and executive functioning at no extra charge.

In Middle School, three learning specialists assist students with study strategies, content, and executive skills, by teacher referral, parent request, or a student who asks. The Middle School Backpack Club meets every afternoon.

Upper School students have access to individual and small-group tutoring, peer tutoring, time-management coaching, and writing workshops.

Each division has counselors who offer preventive guidance, small-group sessions, individual meetings, and coordination with families and outside specialists.

For campus and athletic safety, Pace requires all visitors to sign in. The athletics program employs athletic trainers, strength staff, and school nurses through its sports-performance team.

A Pace sophomore suffered a traumatic brain injury during a September 2020 football game, and his family sued Pace and medical providers, alleging delayed oxygen; Pace disputed liability.

The Georgia Court of Appeals granted Pace an interlocutory appeal on January 15, 2026, which is a procedural step, not a finding, and the case had no public resolution as of September 1, 2026.

Values, community, and belonging

Pace says it has no church affiliation and follows Judeo-Christian values. The founding group was interfaith.

In Lower School, the annual “Light One Candle” tradition brings students together around both Hanukkah and Christmas stories.

The student body includes 39% students of color, drawing from 79 ZIP codes across the metropolitan area. The school's 2026–27 community theme is “Anchor in Belonging,” with 16 student affinity groups representing Black, Asian, Hispanic, and LGBTQ+ student communities.

Arts, athletics, and the Isdell Center

Arts run through all three divisions: music and ensembles, theater, visual art, photography, ceramics, drawing, painting, and sculpture, with a Fine Arts Center that includes a 600-seat theater and dedicated studios.

Pace reports that 84% of Middle and Upper students participate in school sports. Practice and competition take place on the main Buckhead campus and at the 24-acre Riverview athletic complex in Mableton, supported by dedicated training and conditioning staff.

Global learning runs through the Isdell Center for Global Leadership, which maintains 41 partner relationships and ran 21 study tours for 358 Middle and Upper School travelers in 2024–25. Study travel begins after Grade 5 under faculty leadership.

Pace provides one airfare grant during Middle School and one during Upper School. Families contribute toward the remaining tour costs.

Tuition, the full bill, and financial aid

Published 2026–27 tuition is $37,360 for Pre-First through Grade 5 and $43,020 for Grades 6 through 12.

Tuition does not represent the full bill. Required non-tuition essentials add an estimated $100 to $500 in Lower School, $1,300 to $2,000 in Middle School, and $1,600 to $2,500 in Upper School.

Books are included in tuition through Grade 5. Middle and Upper School families purchase books separately.

When tuition and mandatory essentials are combined, published benchmark costs total $37,460 to $37,860 for Pre-First, $44,320 to $45,020 for Grade 6, and $44,620 to $45,520 for Grade 9.

Discretionary extras sit on top of those figures. Families participating in Isdell Center travel contribute an estimated $2,000 to $3,500 for Middle School tours and $1,800 to $3,500 for Upper School tours.

For younger children, aftercare costs $100 monthly or $25 per session for Pre-First dismissal through 3:30 p.m., and $250 monthly or $35 per session for care through 6:00 p.m.

Pace says it awards more than $5.5 million yearly, is need-blind, and meets 100% of demonstrated need. Aid is need-based, not merit-based.

It covers required books, technology, global tours, arts, and athletics. Reapplication is required every year.

Families apply for aid through Clarity by February 15, 2027, and parents in separate households submit separate filings. The Pace Access Fund may offer about 50% assistance to selected Pre-First families in a middle-income range; Pace does not publish the income band or how many families it serves.

The campus, the commute, and aftercare

Pace's main campus covers 34 acres in Buckhead. The 24-acre Riverview athletic complex sits about six miles away in Mableton.

School transport serves that athletic trip, not the daily commute from home.

Pace says families come from 79 ZIP codes and admission staff try to facilitate carpools. A carpool is not a bus route.

Drive both peak directions yourself, and test a late activity pickup.

School bell schedules vary by division. Lower School starts at 7:55 a.m. Pre-First dismisses at 2:15 p.m., while Grades 1 through 5 dismiss at 3:00 p.m. Middle School classes run from 8:15 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with faculty extra help available at 7:45 a.m. The school FAQ also lists a 7:55 a.m. start.

Upper School runs from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., followed by extra help until 3:30 p.m.

Families who need extended care can use Knight Crew, Pace's auxiliary program on campus. Pre-First students can stay from their 2:15 p.m. dismissal until 3:30 p.m., and children in Grades 1 through 5 can stay until 6:00 p.m., with both annual enrollment and drop-in daily options available.

Pace on summer birthdays, sports balance and the commute

Pace publishes three entry years, so ask how summer birthdays are handled at Pre-First, how families balance sports, and how the commute works from your ZIP code.