Athens Christian School
| Athens Christian School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
1270 Highway 29 North , , 30601 United States | |
| Coordinates | 34°00′26″N 83°19′35″W / 34.00722°N 83.32639°W |
| Information | |
| School type | Private, coeducational Private Christian School |
| Motto | "Quality Education in a Christian Atmosphere."[1] |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Christian |
| Established | 1970[3] |
| Founder | Drs. Buhl and Lois Cummings |
| School number | (706) 549-7586 |
| Head of school | Steve Cummings |
| Grades | PreKindergarten – 12 |
| Enrollment | 494 (2021-2022[4]) |
| • Grade 9 | 48 |
| • Grade 10 | 70 |
| • Grade 11 | 63 |
| • Grade 12 | 41 |
| Average class size | 19–70 |
| Student to teacher ratio | 11.7 |
| Classrooms | 40 + |
| Campus type | urban |
| Color(s) | Purple and gold |
| Sports | Baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, flag corps, football, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track, volleyball, wrestling |
| Mascot | Golden Eagle |
| Team name | Golden Eagles |
| Accreditation | Georgia Accrediting Commission[2] |
| Website | http://www.athenschristian.com |
Athens Christian School (ACS) is a private, PreK–12 non-denominational Christian school located in Athens, Georgia, United States.
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 1985, Athens Christian School suspend a student for participating in an off-campus theater's production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Headmaster Buhl Cummings explained that school banned dancing because "it inflames the passions of youth". Rock-n-roll music was also banned because the "jungle type beat" was reminiscent of the "drums of Africa where they don't know the gospel".[9][10]
In 1995, an Athens Christian School representative stated that the school was seeing additional applications in response to Clarke County School District's "controlled choice" plan to reduce school segregation.[11]
Academics
[edit]ACS is accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission.[1][12]
Notable alumni
[edit]- Alan Busenitz, baseball player[13]
- Seaver King, baseball player[14]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Private Christian School in Athens, Ga - Athens Christian School". www.athenschristianschool.org. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ GAC. "Georgia Accrediting Commission – 2012 Private School Programs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 17, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
- ^ "About Athens Christian School". Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
- ^ "Search for Private Schools - School Detail for ATHENS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL". nces.ed.gov. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ "White Students Lose Quality in Private Ones". The Atlanta Journal. November 10, 1970. p. 1. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ "School Has It All, Including Tax Break". The Atlanta Journal. November 16, 1970. p. 10. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Hannon, Kent (April 21, 1985). "'Superstar' role stirs religious debate". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 3d.
- ^ "Student leaves private school over objections to his acting". The Macon Telegraph. April 15, 1985. p. 4.
- ^ "School choice plan spurs private school applicants". Ledger-Enquirer. June 26, 1995. p. 12. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ "Georgia Accrediting Commission, Inc. 2022/2023 Private School Programs" (PDF). Georgia Accrediting Commission, Inc. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
- ^ "Hangin' with: Athens Christian's Alan Busenitz". Online Athens. May 4, 2007. Archived from the original on January 4, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
- ^ "Athens Christian's Seaver King to compete at GHSA state track meet". Athens Banner-Herald. May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
External links
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