Leaping onstage, Richmond County Superintendent Dana Bedden showed his excitement Monday night for good news for one of the top schools in the country.
A.R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet High School is expanding to include seventh and eighth grades next school year. It's the first expansion of Richmond County's popular magnet program since the International Baccalaureate Programme was added to the Academy of Richmond County in 2003.
On Monday, A.R. Johnson filled its new 430-seat auditorium to capacity, and even more parents and prospective students stood to learn about the magnet school during its open house.
Dr. Bedden applauded the school's successes, including its national ranking by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best high schools in the country. But he challenged the school to move up in the rankings.
Principal Deborah Walker said she accepts the challenge and feels that A.R. Johnson is positioned to do that. Expanding to include the two extra grades will allow A.R. Johnson to prepare students for its rigorous curriculum in much the same way John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School does. Davidson has middle and high school grades.
The new grade structure will introduce students early to engineering and health sciences and will ensure that they are fully prepared for freshman year, she said.
Hazel Brooks, whose daughter is a seventh-grader at Freedom Park Elementary School, attended the open house and said she was glad to learn about the expanded grades.
"It's a good feeling knowing there's another option out there," Mrs. Brooks said.
Her daughter is on the waiting list to be admitted to C.T. Walker Traditional Magnet School.
A.R. Johnson is a great opportunity for students, and more students will have access, said Eddie Birt, the father of an eighth-grader.
"It gives them a chance to get their feet wet," he said, adding that the school's hands-on environment reminds him of a college setting. "You're not just sitting around and reading books all the time."
Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851 or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.
HOW TO APPLY
Applications will be available online at arjohnson.rcboe.org, at the school and at Richmond County middle schools in mid-December. Applications will be accepted Jan. 5-31.
Students must submit an application, recommendations and a transcript. Entering ninth-graders must also be tested. It hasn't been determined whether entering seventh- and eighth-graders will be tested.
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