Way to go, ARJ. With dedicated teachers like Dr. Wilson and Mr. Roper, you can only get better. Keep up the good work!
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.
Comments
Way to go, ARJ. With dedicated teachers like Dr. Wilson and Mr. Roper, you can only get better. Keep up the good work!
I wonder how many out of zone prospects were there?
jack- it's a "Magnet" school. Zones are out- good grades and serious students are in.
LOL..fedupc..jackie likes to whine even when he hasn't a clue..
Jack is a bum. Tries to rain on everyone's parade. Way to go ARJ!
Thats excellent. Now C.T. Walker students can really get a jump on their education.
Go Johnson!
Let me say it this way: I wonder how many SC, McDuffie and Columbia County out of zone prospects showed up.
CONGRATULATIONS to Dr. Bedden as well as the A.R. Johnson student body, their parents/guardians, its faculty, staff and administration for this magnet school's national recognition!
Jack may mean students from Columbia County, which we did have a few "out of zone" students from Columbia that used alternate addresses so that their students could attend ARJ because they know ARJ students are the best!
hey, since a r johnson works so well why not change one of the non-performing school into one. like josey or laney. if you turn josey into a magnet school this will allow more good students to get a decent education away from the "wanna-be" thugs and other disruptive and disrespectful students. well that sounds too much like good sense for the good of the children who want to learn. another plus is that it will force parental involvement from the trifling parents who don't care whether her children can read of write.
Maybe these students (if they don't already) could help mentor and tutor the students from other Richmond County Schools. Either way, good job, great school.
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