Pine Forge Academy is a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

that serves grades 9 through 12. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist education system, the world's second largest Christian school system. It is located in

Berks County, Pennsylvania Berks County ( Pennsylvania German: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading. The Schuylkill River, a tributary of the Delaware Ri ...

. The land for the school grounds was purchased for $46,000 by the founders of the school from the family of Thomas Rutter, who was an abolitionist during the 18th century. 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 The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as the

Pine Forge Mansion and Industrial Site The Pine Forge Mansion and Industrial Site, also known as Thomas Rutter's Mansion and the Pine Forge Iron Plantation, is an historic, American iron plantation and mansion and national historic district located in Douglass Township, Berks County ...

in 2004.

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.

Buildings

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 Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

Notable alumni

Barry C. Black Barry Clayton Black (born November 1, 1948) is the 62nd chaplain of the United States Senate. He began serving as Senate chaplain on June 27, 2003, becoming the first African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans ...

, 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. * Debra Anderson - Communications Director for Former Congressman Chakka Fattah (D) Philadelphia. * 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" *

Phife Dawg Malik Izaak Taylor (November 20, 1970March 22, 2016), known professionally as Phife Dawg (or simply Phife), was an American rapper and a member of the group A Tribe Called Quest with Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (and for a short time Jarobi W ...

- Rapper and member of

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

* Therry Thomas - A singer in Committed *

Clifton Davis Clifton Duncan Davis (born October 4, 1945) is an American actor, singer, songwriter, minister, and author. Davis wrote The Jackson 5's No. 2 hit "Never Can Say Goodbye" in 1971. He appeared on Broadway in the musicals '' Two Gentlemen of Verona ...

- 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." * Eric J. Cantrell - Former basketball player. Current Director of Athletics at Walla Walla University and head coach men’s basketball * Sydney Freeman Jr. - Educational theorist, author, and social scientist at the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

References

{{authority control Boarding schools in Pennsylvania Christian schools in Pennsylvania Educational institutions established in 1946 Private high schools in Pennsylvania Schools in Berks County, Pennsylvania Adventist secondary schools in the United States 1946 establishments in Pennsylvania