Applicant Sanyang Virgestine submitted a special use permit to the City of Atlanta to operate Pearl Academy, a private and non-profit education institution at 658 Plainville Drive SW, as a satellite campus providing college preparatory coursework and agricultural-based programming for local youths and seniors in the Wildwood Lakes area.
Neighborhood Planning Unit-H reviews the special use permit during their meeting scheduled for January 6, 2022. The Zoning Review Board will also hear the permit request on Thursday, January 6, 2022.
According to the application documents, the entrance to the proposed educational facility is proposed to be located in the southwest end of the property and will accommodate commercial, industrial, and large vehicles. Staff will enter the property from the gated entrance located at the southwest end. The property provides over fifty feet of a buffer, including screened shrubbery on all sides of the building. It is anticipated that there will be on average thirty-five passenger vehicles arriving and departing from the facility each day.
The satellite school will operate between 7:30 am-5:00 pm Monday through Friday and from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm on Saturdays. Supporting the school will be five full/part-time instructions in addition to community volunteers, parents, and career presenters. Documents submitted to the City indicate that approximately 30-40 clients will be served daily at the facility ranging from school age (ages 5-17) and adults participating in a proposed GED program.
According to the Academy’s website, for the past 21 years, the mission of Pearl Academy has been the advancement of academic excellence with a particular emphasis on math and science and an environmental approach to sustainability. In addition, Pearl Academy stresses the development of character, high academic standards, and a life-long pursuit of excellence.
In addition to the proposed satellite campus, Pearl Academy has the main campus on a 5-acre wildlife habitat located at 1722 Harbin Road SW and is home to the Elementary, Middle and High Schools.
