Pensacola Private School of Liberal Arts

What Pensacola Private School of Liberal Arts does

Pensacola Private School of Liberal Arts (SoLA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit private school founded in 1969 in Pensacola, Florida, serving students in grades 7 through 12. It is one of the only non-sectarian private schools in the Pensacola region and operates with an intentionally small footprint, capping class sizes at 10-18 students and maintaining a 1:16 teacher-student ratio across roughly 7 staff. The school's core pedagogical technology is a block scheduling system organized into four eight-week units, in which students focus on one to two classes at a time to enable deeper learning, with explicit emphasis on reading, writing, verbal skills, critical thinking, research, and oral presentation confidence.

The business model rests on three revenue streams: (1) annual tuition of $7,865 per student for grades 7-12 (the primary stream), (2) Step Up For Students Florida scholarship funding, which provides an average of approximately $7,700 per eligible student and serves as the primary payment mechanism for many families, and (3) tax-deductible donations and fundraising proceeds (including the William J. Holston Scholarship Fund and annual Night on The Tracks event), processed via PayPal, CashApp, Venmo, and mail. Ancillary fees include testing ($10), uniforms ($25), books (~$250), activities ($250), graduation ($175 for seniors), and a non-refundable registration fee ($150).

Distribution is a direct, community-led admissions funnel with five steps: inquiry form submission, a Meet & Greet tour, a student shadow day, WRAT5 norm-referenced assessment testing ($50), and application review. Marketing is conducted through the school's own website, Facebook events, email newsletters, and Google Forms-based inquiry capture, targeting Florida families seeking a non-sectarian, small, inclusive learning environment. SoLA is governed by a Board of Directors chaired by Elizabeth Williams, with Dr. Bryan Oakes serving as the school administrator; the school purchased an adjacent building at 307 E. Gadsden St. in 2023 to support campus expansion.

Name

Pensacola Private School of Liberal Arts

Legal name

Pensacola Private School of Liberal Arts

Website

https://thepensacolasola.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pensacola Private School of Liberal Arts (SoLA) is a 501(c)(3) non-sectarian private school in Pensacola, Florida, founded in 1969, serving students in grades 7-12 through intentionally small classes (10-18 students) and a block scheduling model, with tuition of $7,865 annually supplemented by Florida Step Up For Students scholarships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Secondary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAJABAF

Classical Education K–12 Schools

Education/K–12 / Primary & Secondary Education/Private & Independent K–12 Schools

Keywords

• Private secondary education
• College preparatory school
• Non-sectarian education
• Liberal arts school
• K-12 private school

Headquarters

HQ city

Pensacola

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition: Annual tuition revenue from students in grades 7-12, representing the primary revenue stream for the private school.
2. Step Up For Students Scholarships: Florida scholarship program providing approximately $7,700 average per eligible student to cover tuition at the private school, acting as the primary payment mechanism for many families.
3. Donations and Fundraising: Tax-deductible donations through PayPal, CashApp, Venmo, and mail to support campus beautification, maintenance, and scholarship funds including the William J Holston Scholarship Fund.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Pensacola Private School of Liberal Arts (SoLA) is a non-sectarian private school delivering college-preparatory education for students in grades 7 through 12. The school operates with intentionally small class sizes of 10 to 18 students and a 1:16 teacher-student ratio, using a block scheduling system of four eight-week units that allows students to focus on one to two classes at a time for deeper learning. The program emphasizes reading, writing, verbal skills, problem-solving, critical thinking, research, and oral presentation in an inclusive, community-oriented environment.

Product overview

Pensacola Private School of Liberal Arts (SoLA) is a non-sectarian private high school offering a single unified educational program for students in grades 7-12. The core product is college-preparatory private school education with intentionally small class sizes (10-18 students) and a 1:16 teacher-student ratio, delivered through block scheduling of four eight-week units. The school supports its core educational services with admissions inquiry and enrollment processing, WRAT5 assessment testing, transcript request services, and donation/scholarship management. SoLA partners with Step Up For Students to provide Florida families with scholarship funding averaging $7,700. The institution operates as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, accepting donations through PayPal, CashApp, and Venmo to support campus beautification, senior trip activities, and the William J Holston Scholarship Fund. Annual tuition is $7,865 with additional fees for testing, books, activities, and registration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Private School Education (Grades 7-12) College-preparatory private school education for students in grades 7-12, featuring intentionally small class sizes of 10-18 students, a 1:16 teacher-student ratio, block scheduling of four eight-week units, and a non-sectarian inclusive learning environment.
• Admissions Inquiry and Enrollment Services Multi-step admissions process including inquiry form submission, Meet & Greet tours, student shadow days, WRAT5 assessment testing, and transcript review for prospective students entering grades 7-12.
• WRAT5 Assessment Testing Norm-referenced academic assessment used as part of the holistic student evaluation during admissions, with a non-refundable testing fee.
• Step Up For Students Scholarship Support Participation in the Florida Step Up For Students Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program, providing eligible families with scholarship funding averaging approximately $7,700 per student toward tuition.
• Donation Processing Acceptance of tax-deductible charitable donations through PayPal, CashApp, Venmo, and mailed checks for the 501(c)(3) non-profit school, supporting campus beautification, maintenance, senior trip, and scholarship programs.
• Transcript Request Services Official transcript issuance for alumni, with identity verification and 3-5 business day processing, available via email or mail.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Regional players

• Admiral Farragut Academy: Florida-based private college-preparatory K-12 boarding and day school with a liberal arts and STEM focus. Comparable in Florida geography and college-prep mission, though structured as a boarding school with broader programmatic offerings than SoLA.
• Pensacola Catholic High School: Catholic college-preparatory high school in Pensacola, FL serving grades 9-12 with rigorous academics and athletics. Comparable in geography and serving the same secondary school market as SoLA, but differentiated by religious affiliation.
• Academy of the Holy Names: Catholic private K-12 school in Pensacola, FL, one of SoLA's most direct local competitors for private secondary education in Escambia County. Comparable as a small private school in the same geography, though differentiated by its Catholic identity versus SoLA's non-sectarian positioning.
• East Hill Academy: Small private school in the Pensacola area offering personalized K-12 education. Comparable in size, regional focus, and emphasis on individualized learning, though serving a broader grade range than SoLA.

Broad incumbents

• Great Hearts Academies: Large network of tuition-free classical liberal arts charter academies operating across multiple states, with a focus on the Western philosophical and classical tradition. Highly comparable to SoLA on pedagogy (classical liberal arts, small classes) but operates at vastly greater scale and as a charter network.
• BASIS Charter Schools: National network of high-achieving college-preparatory charter schools with accelerated liberal arts and STEM curricula. Comparable in serving college-bound families and emphasizing academic rigor, though much larger in scale and charter-funded.
• Hillsdale College K-12 Initiative: Hillsdale-affiliated network of classical K-12 schools emphasizing a traditional liberal arts curriculum rooted in Western civilization. Comparable on educational philosophy and target families seeking non-progressive, content-rich schooling, though backed by a major university and operating at national scale.

Direct peers

• Country Day School of the Sacred Heart: Independent private K-12 school offering a college-preparatory liberal arts curriculum with small class sizes. Comparable to SoLA on academic model and target family profile, though Catholic-affiliated.
• Trinity Preparatory School: Independent college-preparatory K-12 school in Winter Park, Florida emphasizing classical liberal arts, small classes, and character formation. Comparable on pedagogy, scale, and Florida geography, though larger and more established.
• The Athenian School: Independent private K-12 school in Danville, California emphasizing liberal arts, critical thinking, and small class sizes in a close-knit community. Highly comparable to SoLA in pedagogical philosophy (liberal arts, student-centered, non-sectarian) and intentional small-scale operating model, though in a different geography.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/1307354777208858
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pensacola-private-school-of-liberal-arts-inc

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pensacola Private School of Liberal Arts