One afternoon recently, Benjamin Wills took me on a quick tour of Peace Preparatory Academy, its well-appointed classrooms and new playground, then led me to a small second-story office to explain how the small English Avenue school came to be.
Wills, a 30-year-old bespectacled father of three with a penchant for slim jeans and bow ties, was educated in the public schools of Duncanville, Texas, where, he said, “There weren’t a lot of teachers for me, who affirmed my gifts.”
Wills, though, found motivation in those things lacking in his life, that were void of moral support, and worked to create the culture he wanted for himself.
By that, he means a place where the whole child is educated, whole families are supported and the whole community is given opportunities to grow in a Christ-centered learning environment.
And so at just 28, Wills founded Peace Prep, a kindergarten class of 12 mostly black students poor enough to qualify for federally subsidized lunch. It was English Avenue's first school in more than 20 years. The last one, English Avenue Elementary, closed in 1996.
The idea for Peace Prep came to him in the Lenten season of 2012, during which Wills, who earned a master’s degree in educational leadership in 2013 from Central Michigan University, spent 40 days and 40 nights petitioning God to allow him to dream about how God would use him to love his neighbors well.
Years earlier, he and his wife, Sara, had spent a year serving together at the Andrew P. Stewart Center in Reynoldstown working with the after-school program. When their mission work ended in 2007, they returned to Dallas, where Wills spent the next four years as a midlevel manager overseeing short sells and loan modifications for GMAC Mortgage.
When they decided to return here in 2011, Wills decided to pursue his first love — teaching.
He was teaching middle school history, life skills, Bible and PE at the Atlanta Youth Academy when he began seeking God for an answer to his prayer.
“Coming out of the Lenten season, the vision was very clear to me,” Wills said. “Whole children. Whole families. Whole communities.”
In addition to educating them, he intended to care for the mental, physical and spiritual well-being of children and their families.
And so in 2012, Wills began putting together a board and sharing the vision God had given him. He spent all of the 2014-2015 school year fundraising and building a network of people to support the work, and on Aug. 4, 2015, Peace Prep opened its doors to 12 kindergartners in one small classroom at another church in English Avenue. They moved to the first floor of the Lindsay Street Baptist Church’s Heritage Hall in March 2016 to provide room for growth.
This year, they have served as many 19 kindergartners and first-graders. About 40 children up to fifth grade participate in Peace Prep's after-school program offered through a partnership with oaksATL, a ministry focused on whole life discipleship and life skills. Next year, a second-grade class will be added, with plans to add a grade each year until Peace Prep is a K-12 school.
Parents say the small school, which charges tuition on a sliding scale, is a godsend.
“The teachers there are top-notch,” said April Lamar. “They put a lot of effort in what they do, and it shows up in my daughter. You can tell they care about your child.”
Lamar, 47, enrolled her 8-year-old daughter at Peace Prep the first year the school opened after finding out about it from an older daughter’s mentor.
In addition to the school having engaged teachers, Lamar said she was particularly drawn to its small class size and willingness to give students one-on-one attention.
“And Mr. Wills, I can’t say enough about him,” she said. “He even calls me to discuss my daughter. He goes above and beyond to make sure every student is successful.”
Lamar said she plans to enroll a grandchild there next year and has been encouraging friends to consider enrolling their children at Peace Prep.
“I really like the school,” she said.
Peace Prep has an operating budget for the 2016-2017 school year of $310,000, 72 percent of which is money raised through individual donors. About 26 percent of that comes from foundations and the rest from local churches and businesses. The school has five full-time employees and one part time, including Wills and his wife. He plans to add two staff next year and is looking to move into a more permanent home by 2019.
The son of Herman Wills and Rebecca Isaak, Wills grew up in the church and has counted himself a Christian since age 17, when he first felt a call into the ministry, being the hands and feet of Jesus Sunday through Saturday.
It was at that time, he said, that he started to ask himself if he wanted his life to model what that looked like, what would it look like vocationally.
“I still have a pastoral heart to counsel and care for people,” he said. “This is living it Monday through Friday. We want to be a humanizing force that causes our city to take note that there is something special about caring for people and being a part of their transformative journey.”
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