1994-1996

It all began with two families. Jim and Ann Goodnight and John and Ginger Sall of SAS. On a peaceful evening on her back porch Ann Goodnight said – What if we could build a school based on accomplished faculty, interdisciplinary curriculum, and innovative pedagogy? What if we could create a community of global citizens committed to academics, service, and social change while, at the same time, recognizing the importance of centering the school on the concept of the whole child? What if tomorrow’s leaders began on an unassuming lot of fifty-two acres of undeveloped land here in Cary, North Carolina? When Cary Academy opened its doors on August 18, 1997, some of those dreams became a reality and continued to do so twenty years later.

Cary Academy has always emphasized community values. From school-wide rituals like the handshake ceremony to class trips and foreign language exchanges, communal beliefs about relationships, risk taking, and personal responsibility permeate the environment. Students at Cary Academy are empowered to design curriculum and shape their own educational inquiry, but they also know how to have fun! These photos exhibit the humor and the school spirit that floods our campus, from Halloween Halls to Wacky Olympics to painting the Senior Rock. These photos showcase civic engagement and a commitment to causes, including tutoring at local elementary schools, taking in food for various needs-based charities, and participating in community initiatives such as the “Dress for Less” prom and Snowflake Ball. These photos demonstrate the innovative teaching techniques of faculty who work with students to stage experiential learning exercises such as the Y1K celebration, experimental dance choreographies, and physics explosions! And these photos illustrate the diverse array of student initiated clubs and activities from camping trips with the Outdoors Club, tournaments featuring our Speech and Debate competitors, and Cyber Smarts classes taught by National Honor Society members in the Middle School.

Groundbreaking was in the Spring of 1996 with the aim of the school opening its doors to students 18 month later.

Today, as Cary Academy celebrates its twentieth anniversary in the 2016-2017 school year, the school is defined by its success. A place where students thrive in an atmosphere of exceptional educational opportunity and support, while policy makers and educational leaders regard Cary Academy as a model for excellence and innovation. We invite you to explore our history through these photo galleries. We hope that you might join us for the next twenty years.

Ann Goodnight explored new approaches to invigorate the educational process. She brought together a planning team who consulted specialist in every field and attended conferences asking tough questions, soliciting perspective and advice to create the school that would prepare students to thrive as citizens the 21st century’s global context.

With the charge of designing a school that would reflect our best traditions and history combined with a concept that would foster multiple teaching modalities, architect Louis Cherry created the plans for Cary Academy. Groundbreaking was in the Spring of 1996 with the aim of the school opening its doors to students 18 month later.