Pinecrest Academy was established under the inspiration of the Legionaries of Christ, as an elementary school serving the northern part of Atlanta. It opened on September 8, 1993 with 29 students in a rented former school in Crabapple and moved in 1995 to the Catholic parish activity center in Dunwoody. In 1998, when enrollment had reached 153, it was accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission. It moved in fall 1998 to its own campus in Cumming. The high school was added in 2003, expanding the campus from 53 to 68 acres, and the first high school class graduated in 2007.[3][4] The first headmaster was Dr. Brian Tierney, appointed in 1998.[4]
The campus includes separate buildings for the lower, middle, and high schools, a main chapel and two additional chapels, and sports facilities including two gymnasiums, two athletic fields, and a cross country trail. There is also an outdoor Stations of the Cross.[4][8]
In 2014, Pinecrest was named a National Blue Ribbon School. At that time, its enrollment was almost 800.[9] It has been recognized by the Cardinal Newman Society as a School of Excellence since 2007.[10] In 2020, the high school was rated the best Catholic high school in Georgia by Niche.[11]
Extracurricular
The school sports teams are the Paladins. An athletics hall of fame was inaugurated in 2016.[12]
