Barrow County Schools Announce Opening of Third High School

Barrow County Schools announced today that the College and Career Preparatory Academy will open in August.

Functioning as a third high school alongside and , the school will serve students in a smaller, non-traditional learning environment.

“The mission of The CCPA will be to provide a challenging, non-traditional learning environment serving incoming 9th through 12th grade students to prepare a 21st century competitive workforce," Wanda Creel, superintendent of schools, said in a news release. "The CCPA will provide small learning communities that will promote student engagement while providing flexibility, individualized learning, differentiation, facilitated with a technology rich, blended teaching model that maximizes each students highest potential.”

The school will be housed in the building that was formerly home to and the Barrow County Early Learning Center.

The CCPA will also house the , which will be moving from its current location on Ga. Highway 211. The , also located in the current PLC building, will be relocated to the teacher recruitment center on Church Street.

“The district is creating this school in order to provide students and parents with additional school choice options in a non-traditional setting," Dr. Claire Miller, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, said in the release. "In order for some students to achieve optimal success, they require an entirely different environment to support their multiple and varied learning needs. In this environment, students will have access to more individualized instruction than is possible in traditional settings. They will also have the opportunity to set their own personal learning goals and timeframes for completion. The focus will be on earning credits and not on doing seat time.”

Eighth-grade students at all Barrow County middle schools and students in grades nine through 11 at both high schools will be receiving information outlining what the CCPA offers and will be encouraged to consider whether the CCPA is a fit for their academic needs. Students who are interested in learning more about the CCPA, along with their parents, are invited to attend a town hall meeting at 6:30 p.m. April 13 in the boardroom at the Barrow County Professional Development Center. Follow-up meetings with individual students and their parents who express an interest in attending the CCPA will be held between April 25 and May 6.