Admissions FAQs

Pace Academy enrolls students from Pre-First (academic kindergarten) through 12th grade. Our primary enrollment points are Pre-First, sixth and ninth grades. We typically admit 60 new students in Pre-First, 30 in sixth grade, and 30-35 in ninth grade. While we welcome applications to other grades, spaces are based on attrition.

Pace Academy has an enrollment of approximately 1,150 students across all grades. Our Lower School consists of about 60 students per grade, the Middle School 90 and the Upper School 125.

The Lower School’s average class size is 20 students with two full-time teachers. In the Middle School, there are approximately 17 students in any given classroom. In the Upper School, as course offerings expand, this number decreases to about 13 students per class.

Pace Academy was founded in 1958 by an interfaith group of community leaders. Although we are not affiliated with a specific church or religion, we adhere to Judeo-Christian values and place a major emphasis on character development.

Pace's strong commitment to both family and community engagement stems from our founding in 1958, when an interfaith group of community leaders envisioned an educational environment open to fresh ideas.

At Pace, we believe that a diverse and inclusive learning environment is key to quality education and that cultural fluency and compassion are hallmarks of a 21st-century leader. Beyond ethnic, cultural and religious diversity, the Pace student body embraces diversity of interests. Our students do not define themselves by singular attributes; rather, we encourage them to explore and cultivate a multitude of activities through which they can interact, relate and connect with students of many backgrounds.

Students of color make up 37% of our student body, and 30% of our faculty members are people of color. Pace’s diversity programming includes: faculty workshops; a Diversity Speakers Series; partnerships with local schools and community agencies; an eighth-grade Civil Rights trip; the Isdell Center for Global Leadership with study abroad opportunities for students in all divisions; and Step Up to Bullying, a comprehensive bullying program in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League. Our diversity initiatives are supported by curricular offerings and student organizations.

For more information about Pace’s commitment to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive learning environment as well as our Action Plan for Racial Equity, please visit our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion site.

Tuition costs at Pace include lunch, fees, school accident insurance, science and computer lab fees, school publications and academic extracurricular field trips (with one or two exceptions). In grades Pre-First through five, books are included in tuition; in grades six through 12, books are additional. Other items such as school supplies, art and photography fees, and PE uniforms are extra and are purchased separately by the student.

Each year, Pace awards over $5 million in need-based financial assistance to students in Pre-First through 12th grade, providing access and opportunity to the brightest and most remarkable young people across metro Atlanta. A separate application is required. We do not offer merit-based scholarships.

We do not provide transportation to or from school. We do provide transportation to and from our satellite athletics facility for practices and games. All of our coaches are licensed to drive Pace mini buses, and we also have staff members licensed to drive two full-sized buses.

Lower School begins at 7:55 a.m. Pre-First dismisses at 2:15 p.m.; first through fifth grades dismiss at 3 p.m.

Middle School begins at 7:55 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m.

Upper School begins at 8 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. (with an after-school extra-help session from 3-3:30 p.m.).

Students applying to Pre-First grade must be five years old by Sept. 1.

In scheduling tours, Pace gives priority to families interested in applying for the upcoming school year. However, you are welcome to contact our office if you would like to attend a tour a year prior to your admissions year.

Spending time on campus is one of the most important ways to determine whether a school is a good fit for your child and family. Each type of visit, however, is different and provides different insights for different children. We recommend contacting the admissions representative for your child’s prospective division to discuss.

Yes! Please check the athletics* and arts calendars often for details about upcoming events. If you are uncertain about which events may be best to attend, don’t hesitate to contact the admissions representative for your child’s prospective division to discuss. 

*Please note that many of Pace’s athletics events take place at our Riverview Sports Complex, located at 5700 Riverview Road, Mableton, GA 30126.

Yes. For Lower School students, we offer various after-school enrichment programs, as well as regular after-school care. We also have after-school extracurriculars available for Middle School students.

We recommend scheduling the JATP (for Lower School applicants) at your earliest convenience. Because the norms of the tests used in JATP compare children within a narrow age range, there is no advantage to scheduling the testing later in the admissions season.

Every student has varying levels of familiarity with standardized tests. Please contact the admissions representative in your child’s prospective division to discuss. The Jan. 31, 2026, SSAT test is the last “standard” test that we can accept for consideration of admission for the fall of 2026. While not required or expected, if a child takes the test more than once, families may submit both sets of scores to Pace.