Our History
Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School was founded in 1951 by Archbishop Gerald P. O’Hara, who purchased seven and a half acres in a rural Atlanta suburb for a new school, chapel, and convent. Monsignor Joseph Moylan invited the Religious Sisters of Mercy, an order founded in Dublin in 1831 by Catherine McAuley, to lead the school, continuing a ministry the Sisters had begun in Atlanta with St. Joseph’s Hospital in 1880.
OLA opened its doors on September 2, 1952, with 176 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Growth came quickly: by 1957 enrollment had tripled to 652 students, and by the 1960s it ranged from 800 to 1,000. Accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1971 brought smaller class sizes, and enrollment has since settled at around 590 students.
A Growing Campus
As the school and parish grew, so did the campus. The Murray Center, an activity center for physical education, art, and parish programs, was dedicated in 1985. In 1988, OLA transitioned to an all-lay faculty as Sr. Judith Diane McGowan retired after more than a decade as principal, and pre-kindergarten was added, extending the school to ten grades.
Mercy Hall, honoring the Sisters of Mercy’s nearly 45 years of service, opened in 1998 with a new library, labs, classrooms, and the Chanel Center. Technology kept pace with the times: Smart Boards arrived in 2006, iPads in 2011, and Chromebooks for middle schoolers in 2016 — culminating in a 2020 initiative that put a device in every student’s hands.
The most significant expansion came through the Building Together capital campaign, launched in 2016 with Archbishop Wilton Gregory’s blessing. Construction added STREAM and computer labs, a commercial kitchen, a middle school wing, and elevator access, opening to students in November 2018. Further renovations followed in 2020–2021, converting the original entrance into classroom space and transforming the former parish offices into McAuley Hall.
OLA Today
Academically, OLA students consistently rank in the top ten percent nationally on standardized tests, and the school earned Blue Ribbon School of Excellence honors in 2011 and 2019. More than 97% of graduates go on to Marist, St. Pius X, or Blessed Trinity High Schools, along with other leading private and public schools. Performing and visual arts thrive at OLA, from the annual school musical to student artwork displayed throughout campus.
In 2021, OLA celebrated its 70th anniversary alongside a continued 50-year accreditation from Cognia.
Recent Milestones
Thanks to the generosity of OLA families, the playground was renovated in 2024, funded by that year’s Gala. That same year, the school received a landmark $2 million grant from the David R. Clare and Margaret C. Clare Foundation to enhance STEM education, funding a new STEM playground and guaranteeing continued program support for four years. The grant reshaped the campus with a dedicated outdoor STEM learning space, complementing the school’s existing curriculum with hands-on, exploratory activities for students of every grade. This space was officially dedicated on February 5, 2026.
Campus upgrades continued through community fundraising: the PE field turf was replaced in summer 2025 through proceeds from the 2025 Bobcat Bolt, and the gym floor and roof were replaced in part with funds from the 2026 OLA Gala Fund the Need, further evidence of a community that continues to invest in OLA’s future.
This school year, OLA marks its 75th anniversary, with celebrations planned throughout the year to honor three-quarters of a century of faith, knowledge, service and community.