Pine Forge Academy

Pine Forge Academy is a co-educational, Seventh-day Adventist Christian boarding school that serves grades nine through twelve. Part of the Seventh-day Adventist education system, the world's second largest Christian school system,^[2][3][4][5] it is located in Berks County, Pennsylvania.

Pine Forge Academy
Location
Pine Forge, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	40°16′56″N 75°42′11″W
Information
School type	High School
Motto	"Where Excellence is no accident"
Founded	1946
Principal	H. Clifford Reynolds
Faculty	25 (on FTE basis)[1]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	148[1] (2019–2020)
Student to teacher ratio	13.9:1[1]
Athletics conference	Penn-Jersey Athletic Association
Affiliation	Seventh-day Adventist Church
Website	http://www.pineforgeacademy.org/

History

The land for the school grounds was purchased for $46,000 by the school founders from the family of 18th-century abolitionist and ironmaster Thomas Rutter. The building used for the headmaster's residence (the Manor House) was once used as a staging point for the Underground Railroad. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Pine Forge Mansion and Industrial Site in 2004.^[6]

Academics

The required curriculum includes classes in the following subject areas: Religion, English, Oral Communications, Social Studies, Mathematics, Science, Physical Education, Health, Computer Applications, Fine Arts, and Electives.

Principal history

Throughout the History of Pine Forge many great principals have passed through the institution. This is a table documenting the names, and tenures of the principals of Pine Forge Academy.

#	Name	Tenure
1	J. L. Moran	1946-1948
2	Robert L. Reynolds	1948-1951
3	Ercell I. Watson	1951-1961
4	Charles L. Brooks	1961-1963
5	Luther Palmer	1963-1966
6	Cleveland Tivy	1966-1969
7	Adrian T. Westney Sr.	1969-1976
8	Auldwin Humphrey	1976-1979
9	Paul Robert Jones	1979-1981
10	Dr. Rothacker Smith	1981-1982
11	W. Augustus Cheatham	1982-1985
12	Conrad Gill	1985-1989
13	Richard Mills	1989-1991
14	Stephen Richardson	1991-1993
15	Richard Smith	1993-1996
16	Diana A. Carguill	1996-2003
17	Dr. George E. Thornton	2003-2004
18	Cynthia Gibson-Poole	2004-2009
19	Delmas F. Campbell	2009-2014
20	Nicole A. Hughes	2014-2018

Buildings

Pine Forge school building

There are five buildings on the campus of Pine Forge Academy: Handy Hall, Kimbrough Hall, Jessie R. Wagner Hall, and North Hall and the gymnasium. Handy Hall is named after Ronald L. Handy, a member of the Pine Forge Academy staff for 18 years. Kimbrough Hall is named after Dr. Grace Kimbrough, one of the founders of the Pine Forge Institute. Wagner Hall is named after John H. Wagner, the former president of the Allegheny East Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists church. North Hall is the music building, and is directly north of the Manor House (also known as the Thomas Rutter House.)

Spiritual aspects

As a denominational school, Pine Forge Academy emphasizes its practices of Adventism in a variety of ways. While Chaplains serve in strengthening the spiritual aspect of the campus, the students are encouraged to play a part as well. Prayers are often said at the beginning of each class, before examinations, before cafeteria meals, and before church services. Church services are mandatory, and the students are given the opportunity to participate in different parts of the service, such as the praise and worship segments, prayer segments, musical selections, vesper thoughts and sermonettes located at the Pine Forge Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Chapel services are mandatory as well, where student-dean interaction is present. They take place every day except Friday and Saturday (Sabbath) in the evening and are separated by dorm.

Sports

Pine Forge Academy has a total of 5 sports teams, soccer, volleyball, track & field, basketball, and cheerleading.

Notable alumni

• Barry C. Black, the 62nd Chaplain of the United States Senate, is an alumnus of Pine Forge Academy. He was the first African-American, the first Seventh-Day Adventist and the first military chaplain to hold the office of chaplain in the United States Senate.^[7]
• Debra Anderson - Communications Director for Former Congressman Chakka Fattah (D) Philadelphia.^[8]
• S. L. Fordham - former Senior Advisor to the Mayor and Deputy Secretary for External Affairs of Philadelphia. Served as the Campaign Manager for former Mayor John F. Street (D) Philadelphia (2000-2008). Served as the Executive Director for the Philadelphia Gaming Advisory Task Force. Appeared also on Showtime's, "American Candidate" ^[9][10]
• Phife Dawg - Rapper and member of A Tribe Called Quest^[11]
• Therry Thomas - A singer in Committed
• Clifton Davis - An American actor, songwriter, singer, and pastor. Davis starred on the television shows That's My Mama and Amen. Davis also wrote several hits for The Jackson 5, including "Never Can Say Goodbye" and "Lookin' Through the Windows."
• Sydney Freeman Jr. - Educational theorist, author, and social scientist at the University of Idaho
• David A. Arnold - The late stand-up comedian, sitcom writer, producer, and actor

See also

• Christianity portal
• Schools portal
• Pennsylvania portal

• List of Seventh-day Adventist secondary schools
• Seventh-day Adventist education

References

1. "Pine Forge Academy". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 3 January 2011. Total Students: 174 (2007-2008)
2. http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/1115/For-real-education-reform-take-a-cue-from-the-Adventists"the second largest Christian school system in the world has been steadily outperforming the national average – across all demographics."
3. "Seventh-day Adventists - Christian Denomination | Religion Facts". Archived from the original on 23 March 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
4. "Department of Education, Seventh-day Adventist Church". Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
5. Rogers, Wendi; Kellner, Mark A. (1 April 2003). "World Church: A Closer Look at Higher Education". Adventist News Network. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
6. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 9 July 2010.
7. "Chaplain of U.S. Senate returns to Pine Forge". Reading Eagle. 9 July 2006. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
8. [congressional-staff.insidegov.com/l/19915/Debra-C-Anderson "Debra Anderson"]. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
9. Moore, Martha. "Reporter". USATODAY.
10. "Register".
11. Coleman, Brian (2007). Check the Technique. Random House. p. 436. ISBN 978-0-8129-7775-2.