 Packard sold personal possessions to raise money and planned a school in Atlanta near Morehouse College, supported by The American Baptist Home Mission Society.The Woman's Society reversed its original decision and, in March 1881, commissioned Packard and Giles as missionaries and teachers to begin a school in Atlanta.On April 11, 1881, in the basement of Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta, the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary opened with 11 students.