Roswell Private School Opens New Academic Wing

ROSWELL, GA -- The Atlanta Academy, a Roswell-based private school, opened a new academic wing for its students.

The Burkett Family Performing Arts Wing and an Innovation Center were the culmination of the school’s $1.9 million capital campaign, which included donations from Sally and Vincent Burkett and the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation, as well as contributions from Atlanta Academy Board members, parents, community members and local organizations.

Atlanta Academy Board Chairman Joshua Harrison, community leader Malon Mimms, school leadership and special guests held a ribbon cutting on Friday to celebrate the additions.

“We are thankful to have so many friends of Atlanta Academy who have been willing to donate to help make these beautiful buildings possible,” said Angela Naples, head of school. “We know that they will become so much more than buildings, as our students begin to grow, learn and thrive in them.”

One community organization that assisted with fundraising was Cross and Crown Lutheran Church. The church building was to be sold, and church leadership asked for suggestions on how the funds from the sale could be donated. Church members, along with Atlanta Academy students Ber Erwin and Ellie Erwin, suggested making a donation towards the school.

The church gladly donated to Atlanta Academy and the stage in the Burkett Family Performing Arts Wing will be dedicated in honor of the church’s former music leader, Robert W. Rylander.

Additionally, parents of Natalie Henderson, a former Atlanta Academy student who recently lost her life, also attended the ribbon cutting. The sound booth will be named in honor of the 17-year-old, who enjoyed performing in plays, talent shows and other productions when she attended school there.

The new academic wing has 15,000 square feet of space, and includes nine classrooms, tutoring rooms, a conference room, teachers' lounge and a courtyard. The wing will be part of the school’s lower school, grades kindergarten through third.

The Burkett Family Performing Arts Center is named for long-time supporters and volunteers Vince and Sally Burkett, whose three sons attended the school. It features a 300-seat theater, state-of-the-art lighting and sound technology and music education rooms.

Innovation Center will be a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math lab used by grades kindergarten through eighth. The center will be text book-free, and encourages students to create, design, invent, build and collaborate together on projects.

Image via Shutterstock