Education Face Lifts

Elm Street Elementary School students assembly on the field for a student rally to kick off the new school year - Courtesy Coweta County Schools

In Coweta & Fayette

By Collin Kelley

Fayette and Coweta counties public school systems are in the process of getting the equivalent of face lift with a number of renovation and construction projects finishing up or in the works.

 

Fayette County Public School System

Fayette County Schools continue to expand, in number of students, facilities and opportunities. There are 22,338 students currently taking advantage of the superior education they offer and that number grows by approximately 500 new students each year.

After more than a decade of lobbying, Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone finally got an auditorium, after the chorus and theater departments spent years performing in the cafeteria or at other schools' venues. The facility opened in 2004 with 20,569 square feet of space and 570 seats, according to board of education spokeswoman Melinda Berry-Dreisbach.

This past year, McIntosh High School in Peachtree City transformed its old gymnasium into an auditorium with 22,272 square feet, with 584 seats. The school already has a black box theater for plays. A new gym opened last February with seating for 418 spectators.

Construction on a new middle school on Lester Road (an official name had not been chosen at press time) began in last October and is expected to open in Fall 2007, Dreisbach says. "The school will be similar to our other middle school campuses," she adds.

The facility will have 158,633 square feet of educational space with a media center, gym, five science labs for each grade

for a total of 15 labs, and space for technology, computer, band, business, art, chorus and strings.

With all the construction going on, the school system has also managed to rack up some impressive awards, including a gold medal ranking from Expansion Management magazine, which evaluates school systems on their test scores and graduation rates.

Fayette was the only school system in Georgia to receive a gold rating, placing it in the top 17 percent of the 2,800 secondary school districts that were ranked nationwide. Expansion Management Magazine is a monthly publication aimed at executives of companies who are actively looking for a place to expand or relocate their facilities.

Fayette County Schools also received the 14th annual What Parents Want Award in 2005. According to SchoolMatch, the nation's largest school selection consulting firm, Fayette County education is giving parents what they want.

Each year, SchoolMatch surveys the 15,573 school systems in the US; Fayette County is among the 16.2 percent (2,528) that meet the criteria of what parents look for in schools, most notably, competitive academic test scores, accreditation, national recognition for excellence and small class sizes. SchoolMatch helps corporate employee families find schools that match the needs of their children. The service is offered as an employee benefit by 500 companies including Office Depot, United Parcel Service and Hewlett Packard.

And Georgia State University has selected Huddleston Elementary School for a pilot teacher training program. The new program, called Vertical Supervision, places interns and student teachers in all grade levels, K-fifth, at the school. After completion of their degree requirements, GSU students who have been in the program from start to finish will have experience working in all levels of elementary education.

Huddleston is the only Fayette school with the Vertical Supervision program and the only school in the state that is a test site. Principal Becky Maddox says GSU's selection of Huddleston is the result of several years of working and developing a relationship with the university to increase the number of student teachers it places in the county.

"Most students go to systems that are closer to GSU. We have had student teachers at Huddleston in the past but not as many as this fall," says Maddox.

Coweta County Schools

The Coweta County school system passed a milestone of 20,000 students as it began the 2005-06 school year, its enrollment growing by over 800 to 20,403 students. That growth­typical of what Coweta has experienced for a decade­is the reason two new schools will open in August, 2006, and is the reason for upcoming classroom expansions and ninth-grade campus additions starting this year.

At the end of the 04-05 school year, Central Educational Center was honored as a National Model High School. The school ­ a charter high school serving Coweta's three regular high schools ­ has served as a model charter school and a model technology and career-oriented school in Georgia since opening five years ago.

Jim Allen, the Assistant Principal of Madras Middle School, was also the named the 2005 Middle School Assistant Principal of the Year for the state of Georgia by the Georgia Association of Middle School Principals.

The biggest stories in 2005 and 2006 involve new construction in the Coweta County School System. Coweta County school enrollment has grown by 8,000 students since 1995, requiring ongoing school construction, school expansion and improvements to older schools over the last decade. Most recently, Grantville Elementary School opened in August, 2004, following the opening of Willis Road Elementary in 2002.

The School Board, with community support, has also provided expansion of art and athletic venues, including the recent addition of the new Johnny Brown Gymnasium and stadium improvements at Northgate high school, a new gymnasium at East Coweta Middle school, and the 2004 opening of the Centre for Performing and Visual Arts on Lower Fayetteville Road.

The school system is finishing construction on Lee Middle School, on Willis Road in eastern Coweta County, on a site adjoining Willis Road Elementary School. Welch Elementary School­on Mary Freeman Road, southeast of SummerGrove in the Olmstead neighborhood­will also be completed by the summer of 2006 and will open in August. Both schools are named for former Coweta County School Superintendents--Dr. Robert Lee and Bobby Welch.

Those two projects, and a major classroom expansion and complete renovation of Ruth Hill Elementary School begun in October, represent the last major projects to be built under the school system's 2002-2007 sales tax.

To keep up with the demands of a growing community, Coweta voters approved passage of the school system's third Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax in July of 2005. The five-year sales tax will replace the current tax when it sunsets in July of 2007, and the assured continuance of the building fund has allowed the school board to finance up to $58 million for an early start to several projects promised to voters in the 2007-2012 SPLOST.

The first projects under the new building program will be a classroom expansion at Eastside Elementary School, and three 650-student classroom wings, added at each of the three Coweta County High Schools. These projects will begin in 2006.

The new high school wings will be used as Ninth Grade campuses, housing all new freshmen to Coweta three high schools: East Coweta, Northgate and Newnan High.

The designs for the campuses will consist of two two-story buildings on each campus housing a cafeteria, media center, classroom and lab space. The projects will be finished before the 2007-08 school year.

The ninth-grade additions will expand the capacities of all three schools to accommodate growth, and will postpone considerations for a fourth Coweta County high school. But relieving overcrowding isn't the only purpose for the buildings.

"The campuses will be a total program aimed toward ninth-grade students with a curriculum and a climate designed specifically for new high school students," says Coweta School Board member Sue Brown.

Future plans under the 2007-2012 building plan include three new elementary schools and a new middle school, and numerous other school expansions and refurbishments. Sites for the future new schools have not been determined yet, though the school board has indicated that it would like to begin construction on two of the elementary schools soon.

The Bedford School

Students with learning disabilities can develop the skills to succeed at The Bedford School, which grew out of a summer camp founded by educator Betsy Box in the 1980s. The Bedford School is located on Milam Road in north Fayette. The Bedford School serves children in the first through ninth grades. Small classes and language-based instruction help the 139 students conquer their limitations and find their strengths.

Counterpane School

Counterpane School is philosophically Montessori, creatively bent, ethnically diverse and strictly college preparatory. Founded in 1974, Counterpane matriculated its first students to college in 1991. All of the graduates have enjoyed acceptance to four year colleges or universities. To date, over 90% of their graduates have received undergraduate degrees or are currently studying in an undergraduate program; of those who have undergraduate degrees, over 40% have gone on to graduate study.

Students get to know themselves well at Counterpane, developing self-awareness, an intellectual perspective and a creative base required for our increasingly global society. Whether the student is three, nine or eighteen years old, his or her academic opportunities are seasoned with personal, artistic expression. Weaving, papermaking, primitive clay making and firing, composing music, writing and directing plays, painting, photography, sculpting ­ the list is as varied as the students themselves.

Learning at any age becomes more dynamic when the hand, the eye and the ear are engaged creatively. At the Primary level, Counterpane is committed to a pure AMI Montessori experience. Montessori education begins between two and three years of age and Counterpane's reputation and success pivot on good practice in these early years. The three and four year olds are in school from 8am-12noon five days a week. Once a child turns five, the typical school day is 8am-3pm.

At the Lower School level, time management, academic choices and accountability are integral to the learning program. The Upper School community closely resembles a workplace with individual contracts, group projects, team meetings, class discussions and student/teacher appointments.

Counterpane is recognized by the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) at the Primary level. Counterpane is a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) and is accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission (GAC). Learn more at www.counterpane.org.

The Heritage School

Preparing students for college is one of Heritage's primary functions. In the class of 2005, 100 percent are continuing their education, which is the norm for Heritage grads. The school can offer 13 advanced placement courses.

The Heritage School mission statement is "Mens, Corpus, Spiritus and Sodalitus"­mind, body, spirit and camaraderie. It is with this philosophy that students are taught critical thinking, problem solving, individual growth and cooperative learning with others. Students learn from an early age in an integrated curriculum environment which encourages learning from many viewpoints and in many different ways. Reading and Writing across the curriculum and critical thinking skills form umbrellas across all areas of the curriculum.

Heritage sits on 63 acres on US Highway 29. The college preparatory school from grades Pre-K to 12th and currently has 384 students. A large pecan grove occupies the front campus and the grounds include an outdoor adventure area, an Alpine Tower and a nature trail. The wooded campus is a favored site for cross-country meets. Twelve school buildings house an athletic complex, a student life center, a writing lab, a state-of-the-art science lab, classrooms and a new library and technology center. The school offers a variety of sports including soccer, baseball, softball, tennis, golf, basketball, cheerleading, dance team, track, cross country and a wide variety of extracurricular activities including an award winning Fine Arts department.

Dr. DeCotis Honored as 2005 Volunteer of the Year

Fayette County Board of Education Superintendent, Dr. John DeCotis, received the 2005 Volunteer of the Year award at the annual recognition dinner for Metro Atlanta area YMCA volunteers. The dinner was held November 17, 2005 at Atlanta's Hyatt Regency.

Dr. DeCotis has been involved with the Fayette Family YMCA for more than 15 years; he is a current board member and has served as a board chair in the past. His leadership skills have been invaluable in helping the YMCA with its projects. Most recently, he has been instrumental in driving their capital development committee to build an aquatics and arts facility in Fayette County.

Dr. John DeCotis (at left) accepts the 2005 Volunteer of the Year award from Pam Young, YMCA Board Executive, and Rick Schlosser, Fayette Family YMCA Branch Board Past Chair.

A Bounty of Choices continuing education in the region

Students from all three Coweta County high schools attend the Central Education Center to benefit from technology, media, business, medical or other career-oriented classes offered at the charter school. Above, L to R, students Undrea Rawls (East Coweta High), Andrew Chuhrun (Newnan High) and James Price (East Coweta High) collaborate on a graphic arts project. CEC is a National Model High School and has hosted over 400 national and international groups who have come to see how to create a similar school in their own communityby collin kellyCourtesy Coweta County SchoolsThe Central Educational Center began its fifth year in August, 2005. The school­Coweta County's first charter school­serves Coweta's three main high schools, and provides technology and career-focused classes in areas like CAD and graphic arts, media, culinary arts, computer programming, health and dental care, business formation, horticulture and industrial and electronics, among others.

CEC was formed by an unusual partnership between local business leaders, the Coweta a County School System and West Central Technical College, and has long served informally as a model for communities who want to form their own version of the school. Over 400 groups from most U.S. states and 15 other countries have visited CEC in the last several years to see what the school has accomplished.

That became formal on a national level last year, when CEC was recognized as a national model high school by a consortium including the International Center for Leadership in Education, the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National Governors Association, High Schools That Work, Project Lead The Way, and others.

At a 2004 Model Schools Conference in Washington, Coweta citizens involved with CEC spoke to more than 2,000 educators from around the nation about the origins and design of CEC, a description of the charter school's unique educational partnership and results of its first years of operations.

After renewing its state charter­which governs the school's unique design and keep it accountable to its educational goals­the state of Georgia also awarded CEC a federally-funded "Dissemination Grant" which funds the charter school to work with other communities in starting their own versions of CEC.

The core dissemination grant project team is composed of CEC CEO Mark Whitlock and CEC's leadership, technical assistance consultants from the Academy for Educational Development (AED) and researchers and web developers from Florida State University, as well as teachers and leaders from CEC, West Central Technical College, the CEC Board of Directors, employer partners and others.

CEC's Dissemination Grant will allow Whitlock and CEC to provide direct technical assistance in the start-up of similar charter schools in Whitfield, Walton and Douglas counties.

Whitlock and the dissemination team he leads will consult with the counties and develop materials to serve as guides to school districts throughout the state on the practices and strategies employed by CEC and its protégé schools in launching and sustaining successful charter schools. To establish their own CEC, those communities must identify funding, choose a school model that fits their community, and gather extensive information about the types of classes and curriculum their communities need.

Clayton State University

As part of its on-going effort to make higher education more accessible to area residents, Clayton State University (CSU) began offering academic courses for college credit at Fort McPherson in January 2006. CSU offered five, three-credit courses -- part of the University's Degree Completion program -- at the base in East Point during the Spring 2006 semester.

The Degree Completion program enables students to transfer into the University in order to complete a degree through eight-week blended courses, on-line instruction and on-campus and off-site classes. In addition to the Fort McPherson classes, the Clayton State School of Technology also offered four on-line courses in the Spring 2006 semester as part of the Degree Completion program.

The CSU campus is located in Morrow, but holds classes at several off-campus locations in the area including the River's Edge Golf Center in Fayetteville, Eagles Landing High School in McDonough and McCalrin High School in College Park.

Coweta and Fayette County Schools at a Glance

In the Coweta County School System there are 28 schools in all, including 17 Elementary Schools (grades pre-K-5), 5 Middle Schools (grades 6-8) and 3 High Schools (grades 9-12), the Central Educational Center (a business-partnership charter school serving the three base high schools), 1 Alternative High School (grades 7-12), and 1 pre-K school. One new middle school and one new elementary school will start in August, 2006, following a 2005-06 redistricting effort.

Coweta County serves 20,403 students with 1,510 certified teachers, counselors, administrators and/or media specialists, and 1,465 classified personnel (non-certified administrators, secretaries, clerks, school nutrition program, after school program and bus drivers).

Coweta County schools have produced three Georgia Teacher of the Year honorees since 1992, ­ more than any of Georgia's 181 school systems ­ and their 2002 Teacher of the Year Lorraine Johnson was honored by President George Bush as one of four National Teacher of the Year finalists. Other recent honors include a 2004 School of Excellence (Jefferson Parkway Elementary), a 2005 National Model High School honor (the Central Educational Center) and a 2005 Georgia Association of Middle School Principals Assistant Principal of the Year (Jim Allen, Madras Middle School).

For additional information go to www.cowetaschools.org or contact the Coweta County Board of Education at 770-254-2800.

In the Fayette County School System there are 30 schools in all, including 17 Elementary Schools (grades K-5), 5 Middle Schools (grades 6-8) and 5 High Schools (grades 9-12), the LaFayette School, 1 Alternative High School (grades 9-12) and 1 Evening High School (ages 16-adult)

Fayette County serves 22,338 students with 1,915 certified teachers, counselors, administrators and/or media specialists, and 821 classified personnel (non-certified administrators, secretaries, clerks).

The Governor's Office of Student Achievement and the Georgia Department of Education recognized 14 Fayette County schools for academic performance: Platinum (Kedron and Peeples Elementary), Gold (Braelinn, Crabapple and Tyrone Elementary), Silver (Brooks, Cleveland, Huddleston, Sara Harp Minter and Spring Hill Elementary; McIntosh and Starr's Mill High), and Bronze (East Fayette Elementary and Rising Starr Middle). Three Fayette schools were named Title I Distinguished Schools (North Fayette, Robert J. Burch and Peachtree City Elementary).

The Fayette County School System received the Pacesetter Award, recognizing excellence in the education of students with disabilities, for the third consecutive year and was named a 2004-2005 Super District for Quality Schools by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Rising Starr Middle School's Principal Len Patton was awarded the Georgia Association of Middle School Principals Effective Program Award.

For additional information go to www.fcboe.org or contact the Fayette County Board of Education at 770-460-3535.