![LEAD Academy Administrator Frank Lay discusses plans for the new private school's 30-acre site. [AARON LITTLE | Press Gazette]](http://127.0.0.1/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ghows-DA-4bcff092-1932-432f-e053-0100007fb917-00d348d0-scaled.jpeg)
PACE — LEAD Academy officials plan to break ground this summer on a new campus with expanded learning opportunities.
Administrator Frank Lay announced in January at the annual Pace Area Chamber of Commerce banquet that he would build a new Christian school in Pace. The campus’ current location, at 4106 Berryhill Road, serves pre-kindergartners through eighth-graders.
Thursday, LEAD Academy held a pastor’s appreciation breakfast, during which Santa Rosa County spiritual leaders prayed at the school’s future 30-acre site. The new campus, which will serve 400 to 425 pre-kindergartners through 12th-graders, is located on the corner of Chumuckla Highway and Joppa Road.
“This school will be geared toward the world of work,” Lay said. “We have to be careful of telling all kids they’ve got to go to college.”
The 21,000-square-foot campus will feature a basketball pavilion and a fine arts building on the north side; it will have a baseball diamond and football field to the south.
About 45 people attended the breakfast including pastors and church associates. After the meal, many traveled to the school’s new site and prayed for its success.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: LEAD Academy eyes expansion, prays for success