Our Story
Thirty Years in the Making.
Built for This Community.
The story of Zoe Preparatory Academy starts long before the charter application. It starts with one educator who refused to write off a single student, and one word that changed everything.
Zoe Means LIFE. That Word Is Not an Accident.
In Greek, "Zoe" means life. We chose that word intentionally, because our school exists to resuscitate hope in students who have been told, directly or indirectly, that school is not for them.
In 2006, Dr. Kimberly Gore lost her younger brother, Kory, to a senseless act of violence in DeKalb County. Two days after learning of his death, she discovered she was expecting a child. Amid unimaginable grief, she attended a service at Zoe Baptist Church in Atlanta. The pastor said: "Zoe is Greek for LIFE." In that moment, she felt a leap in her womb. She named her daughter Zoe, because that child brought LIFE back to her after tragedy.
What she did not know then was that God was weaving something far greater into her story. That name, that moment, that grief transformed into purpose, would one day become a school. Zoe Preparatory Academy is not named after a concept. It is named after a LIFE.
Our Why
We Believe Every Student Communicates Something.
Our Job Is to Listen.
For more than 30 years, Dr. Kimberly Gore has worked with students that schools gave up on. What she found every single time was not a problem student. She found a student whose needs were not being met.
At Zoe Preparatory Academy , behavior is communication. Disengagement is a signal. We do not escalate. We ask why. Then we pour LIFE into the plan.
Built on Purpose. Driven by LIFE.
We Develop Bold Thinkers
Zoe Preparatory Academy develops bold thinkers and compassionate leaders who are equipped for LIFE—grounded in strong character, driven by purpose, and prepared to collaborate, think critically, and lead with integrity in an ever-changing world.
We Empower Learners
Zoe Preparatory Academy envisions a community of empowered learners who excel academically, demonstrate strong character, and use their voice and talents to lead, serve, and thrive in a diverse and ever-changing world.
Our Founder
"I do not see problem students. I see students communicating unmet needs. There is a difference, and that difference is LIFE."
Dr. Kimberly Gore, Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Gore was born and raised in Atlanta, a proud product of Atlanta Public Schools. She graduated at 16, ranked in the top three of her class, and earned a full basketball scholarship to Southern University, where she completed her B.S. in Psychology.
For over 30 years she has served as a special education teacher, assistant principal, Chief Academic Officer for incarcerated youth, Director of Special Education, and senior leader in higher education. In every role, her focus has been the same: the students everyone else has trouble reaching.
She built Zoe Preparatory Academy because she believes every student in Clayton County deserves a school that pours LIFE into their future, not just their test scores.
A Second Chance for Students Who Got a First Chance That Didn't Work
Excellence Does Not Require Compliance. It Requires Belief.
Dr. Gore's path to founding Zoe Preparatory Academy was shaped by three decades in Georgia's most challenging educational environments. She has worked in continuation schools, juvenile justice facilities, and alternative learning environments where students arrive broken by systems that failed them.
What she discovered is that these students do not lack intelligence. They lack environments that honor their complexity. Schools built for average do not serve children who are extraordinary — especially those whose extraordinary shows up as anger, defiance, or distrust.
At Zoe Preparatory Academy, we do not punish survival instincts. We redirect them. We teach students that the traits that got them in trouble in one context can become assets in another. Independence becomes leadership. Resistance becomes critical thinking. Energy becomes creativity.
A School Clayton County Deserves
Zoe Preparatory Academy is not another public school option. It is a movement. A promise. A commitment to excellence grounded in relationships, rigor, and results.
What We Stand On
Our Foundation Stands on Five Pillars. Five Principles. One Purpose. LIFE.
Everything we build at Zoe Preparatory Academy grows from five core commitments. These are not aspirational statements on a wall. They are the daily operating principles of every classroom, every LIFE Plan, and every relationship in our building.
We cultivate originality and the confidence to bring new LIFE to every idea.
Students learn to express themselves clearly in person, in writing, and in the world.
We teach students to question, analyze, and solve. Thinking is a LIFE skill.
We root every student in relationships, responsibility, and belonging.
Because almost nothing worth doing is done alone.