Education

Students living on the installation attend Richmond County schools. Many military dependent children attend schools in neighboring Columbia County or in Aiken County, South Carolina.

Neighboring Fort Gordon to the Northwest is the Columbia County School System. In Columbia County, the Board of Education operates 18 elementary schools, 8 middle schools, 5 high schools, and one alternative school. All schools are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The student population is approximately 24,700.

Bus service is widely available at no cost. Breakfast is offered at a nominal cost. Gifted and talented students are transported to specific schools one day each week for special programs. Summer school is available for a fee.

Information on home schooling and other alternative schooling can be obtained from the Director of Student Services at 706-541-0650.

Exceptional Children Programs

Columbia County Schools provides services to students with disabilities in a continuum of educational environments from regular class placement with special services in students' home schools to full-day programs in specialized facilities. Students receive evaluations in all suspected areas of disability. The Individualized Education Program (IEP) determines the type and degree of required services. Students and parents are afforded all due process procedural safeguards as outlined in the individuals with Disabilities Act 1997 (IDEA). Contact the special services office listed in the contacts for this topic for more information.

Grading System

Grading system is as follows: A 90-100, B 80-89, C 75-79, D 70-74, F 0-69.

High schools typically offer a variety of extracurricular programs. All have school publications, academic clubs, student government, and cheerleading. All high schools have varsity football, basketball, baseball, track, tennis, girls softball, and golf. Soccer, girls volleyball, swimming, wrestling, and lacrosse, and

JROTC are also available in most high schools.

Richmond County Schools

The Richmond County School System (RCSS) operates 33 elementary schools, 11 middle schools, 8 high schools, 4 magnet schools. The student population is approximately 37,000. Schools are accredited annually by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

RCSS operates Freedom Park School on the installation for Families residing on post with children in Grades PK-8. High school students living on post are zoned to attend the Academy of Richmond County (ARC), which is located off-post.
Bus service is widely available at no cost. All schools offer breakfast and lunch at no cost, and most elementary schools offer after-school care through the YMCA Prime Time program.

Gifted and talented students are transported to specific schools one day each week for special programs. Summer school is available, although there is a charge for high school summer programs. Parents will need to contact their child's school regarding dress code as there is no mandatory standard school uniform policy encompassing the school system as a whole.

For information regarding home schooling and other alternatives, please contact Ms. Linda Heggs at 706-826-1129.

Exceptional Children Programs

Services are available for students with disabilities. Moderate and Severe and Profoundly handicapped children are transported by special school buses. They are transported door-to-door with assistance from on-board aides. For less severe cases, special education is available at all schools. Information is available year-round by calling the special education office listed in the contacts for this topic.

Parents with special needs children can facilitate the transition from their child's previous schools placement to enrollment in Richmond County Schools by ensuring that they have a copy of their child's current Individual Educational Plan (IEP). This document contains the information that is essential for determining the most appropriate placement for the student here in Richmond County. When a special needs student is enrolled, an Interim Placement is generally made to provide the student with the support he or she requires, based on the information in his/her IEP. The Interim Placement allows Richmond County to provide special education services to students while obtaining any information necessary to establish the student's continued program eligibility under Georgia Department of Education Guidelines. Parents can facilitate this process by obtaining copies of their child's most current Eligibility Reports; Educational Evaluations; Psychological Evaluations; and as appropriate, Medical Records. Sharing this information along with the IEP, upon registration, facilitates the placement decision process. Once all eligibility information is collected an eligibility / IEP meeting is scheduled to determine appropriate programming for the student under Georgia guidelines.

Grading System

Grading system is as follows: A 90-100, B 80-89, C 75-79, D 70-74, F 0-69.

Typically, high school extracurricular programs include school publications, academic clubs, student government, fine arts, JROTC, marching band (except Davidson and AR Johnson), chorus, color guard, and cheerleading.

At most high schools, varsity sports include football, basketball, baseball, track, tennis, soccer, golf, girls softball (fast pitch), and girls volleyball. As in most of the South, high school football is the number one sport and draws big crowds on Friday nights.

Davidson has a swim team and youth may also participate in the Augusta Jr. Rowing Club. Students attending AR Johnson may try out for varsity cheerleading, in which students would cheer at the Westside High School games.

Aiken County Public School District (South Carolina)

Situated east of Fort Gordon is the Aiken County Public School District. In Aiken County, the Board of Education operates 20 elementary schools, 11 middle schools, 8 high schools, and 2 charter schools. All schools, except charter schools, are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The student population is approximately 24,700.

Bus service is widely available at no cost. Breakfast is offered at a nominal cost. Gifted students in Grades 3-7 receive services via a resource room and are pulled from class. Gifted students in Grades 8-12 have a designated classroom. Summer school is available for a fee; however schools can receive state grants and may be able to offer summer school for free.

Information on home schooling and other alternative schooling can be obtained from Kim Fralick at 803-641-2421.

Exceptional Children Programs

Aiken County Schools provides services to students with disabilities in a continuum of educational environments from regular class placement with special services in students' home schools to full-day programs in specialized facilities. Students receive evaluations in all suspected areas of disability. The Individualized Education Program (IEP) determines the type and degree of required services. Students and parents are afforded all due process procedural safeguards as outlined in the individuals with Disabilities Act 1997 (IDEA). Contact Dr. Sal Minolfo for more information on special services at 803-641-2624.

Grading System

Grading system is as follows: A 93-100, B 85-92, C 77-84, D 70-76, F 0-69.

High schools typically offer a variety of extracurricular activities that may include the following: school publications, academic clubs, student government, cheerleading, football, basketball, baseball, track, tennis, softball, golf, volleyball, swimming, wrestling, lacrosse and JROTC.