Athens Christian School

Summary

Athens Christian School (ACS) is a private, PreK12 non-denominational Christian school located in Athens, Georgia, United States.

Athens Christian School
Address
Map
1270 Highway 29 North

, ,
30601

United States
Coordinates34°00′26″N 83°19′35″W / 34.00722°N 83.32639°W / 34.00722; -83.32639
Information
School typePrivate, coeducational Private Christian School
Motto"Quality Education in a Christian Atmosphere."[1]
Religious affiliation(s)Christian
Established1970[3]
FounderDrs. Buhl and Lois Cummings
School number(706) 549-7586
Head of schoolSteve Cummings
GradesPreKindergarten – 12
Enrollment494 (2021-2022[4])
 • Grade 948
 • Grade 1070
 • Grade 1163
 • Grade 1241
Average class size19–70
Student to teacher ratio11.7
Classrooms40 +
Campus typeurban
Color(s)Purple and gold   
SportsBaseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, flag corps, football, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track, volleyball, wrestling
MascotGolden Eagle
Team nameGolden Eagles
AccreditationGeorgia Accrediting Commission[2]
Websitehttp://www.athenschristian.com

History edit

Radio minister and bookstore owner Buhl Cummings opened Athens Christian School with his wife in 1970. They offered Bible study and opened each day with worship and prayer.[5][6]

The initial enrollment consisted of white children whose parents wanted to avoid enrolling them in racially integrated public schools.[7] According to historian Ashton Ellett, white elites enrolled their children in Athens Christian School as part of the transition to a class-based system of racial exclusion that was nominally colorblind and revolved around the rhetoric of individual rights, personal freedom, and meritocratic enrollment.[8]

In 1995, an Athens Christian School representative stated that the school was seeing additional applications in response Clarke County School District's "controlled choice" plan to reduce school segregation.[9]

Academics edit

ACS is accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission.[1][10]

Notable alumni edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Private Christian School in Athens, Ga - Athens Christian School". www.athenschristianschool.org. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  2. ^ GAC. "Georgia Accrediting Commission – 2012 Private School Programs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-17. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  3. ^ "About Athens Christian School". Archived from the original on 2014-11-11. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  4. ^ "Search for Private Schools - School Detail for ATHENS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL". nces.ed.gov. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  5. ^ "White Students Lose Quality in Private Ones". The Atlanta Journal. 1970-11-10. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  6. ^ "School Has It All, Including Tax Break". The Atlanta Journal. 1970-11-16. p. 10. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  7. ^ Knight, Monica Dellenberger (2007). Seeking Education for Liberation: The Development of Black Schools in Athens, Georgia, from Emancipation through Desegregation (PDF) (Doctor of Philosophy thesis). University of Georgia. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  8. ^ Ellett, Ashton G. (2013). "Not Another Little Rock: Massive Resistance, Desegregation, and the Athens White Business Establishment, 1960–61". The Georgia Historical Quarterly. 97 (2): 215. JSTOR 24636699. Although many white Athenians—both members of the business establishment and not—were content with the second-class status of most African Americans in social, economic, and political life, support for open schools and acceptance of desegregation orders was less complicated for this particular collection of white Athenians. These individuals were often the most insulated and removed from the local black population by virtue of residential living patterns. Most also possessed the financial means to send their children to private or parochial schools if they so desired, and approximately seven hundred white children left the Athens public school system in the first half of the 1970s. Undoubtedly, many of these children found their way into public schools in the surrounding counties or private schools like Athens Academy and Athens Christian School, which opened in 1967 and 1970, respectively.
  9. ^ "School choice plan spurs private school applicants". Ledger-Enquirer. 1995-06-26. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  10. ^ "Georgia Accrediting Commission, Inc. 2022/2023 Private School Programs" (PDF). Georgia Accrediting Commission, Inc. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Hangin' with: Athens Christian's Alan Busenitz". Online Athens. May 4, 2007. Archived from the original on 2012-01-04. Retrieved May 31, 2017.

External links edit

  • Official website