Atlanta Classical Academy
Atlanta Classical Academy is an open-enrollment, public charter school open to students who reside within the Atlanta Public Schools district. The school opened in 2014 with grades K-8 and has added a grade each year as students have advanced. ACA is now a K-12 academy, graduating its first class of seniors in 2019.
The mission of Atlanta Classical Academy is to develop students in mind and character through a classical, content-rich curriculum that emphasizes the principles of virtuous living, traditional learning, and civic responsibility.
The ACA Story
From an aspirational start-up to a model classical school
| 2014 | Atlanta Classical Academy is founded by parents seeking an education worthy of their children’s hearts and minds. They select the classical education model for its focus on the liberal arts, emphasis on virtue, and measured use of technology. ACA opens with 486 students in grades K-8. |
| 2019 | ACA reaches a K-12 configuration, serving over 682 students, and graduates its first class of high school seniors. |
| 2023 | ACA graduates fifth class of seniors, reaching 199 graduates. |
| 2024 | ACA serves 681 students in grades K-12 representing 27 different zip codes with 1,500+ students on the waitlist. |
Setting the standard of educational excellence for 10 years
- Achieved the highest SAT and ACT scores in the district with multiple National Merit scholars.
- Named a Literacy Leader by the Georgia Department of Education.
- Ranked #1 performing school in Georgia on US History Milestone and #1 in district in all high school subjects.
- Received the Henry Salvatori Prize for Excellence in Teaching twice (2019 and 2023), marking ACA as a leader in classical education. Maintained a faculty retention rate of 90- 95%.
- Maintained 100% college acceptance and 86% college retention with a cumulative $24,881,000 in merit-based scholarships.
“Schools celebrate the work of teaching students to think critically for themselves, but we should not forget to consider what students are studying. To what ideas are graduates applying their newfound skills of analysis? What questions do they ask? Most importantly, what do they love? At Atlanta Classical, hearts and minds are trained together and we seek to order a student’s affections toward what is worthy of contemplation: truth, goodness, and beauty.”
Mr. Josh Andrew, Head of School