Education

Public School Information

Active duty children, assigned to Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, living aboard the installation may attend Dougherty, Lee or Worth County schools.  The installation School Liaison Officer will assist parents in selecting the school district that is most conducive to their child's needs. Please contact the MCCS School Liaison Office at 229-639-7497 or (DSN) 312-567-7497 for additional information or email the School Liaison Office, mclbaschoolliaison@usmc.mil.

Dougherty County School System

Currently, Dougherty County School System has 14 elementary schools, 5 middle schools, and 3 high schools and 6 other learning centers. Learning centers include Oak Tree Psychoeducational Center, Magnolia Pre-K Center, Gifted Education, College and Career Performance Learning Center, Commodores Conyers College, and Career Academy, and Southwest Georgia Achievement Center.

Children of active duty stationed at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, and reside in Dougherty County, have the option to attend the school of their choice in Dougherty County School System. DCSS provides bus transportation aboard the base. The bus picks up and drops off in Lincoln Housing. Your child will need to go to the nearest bus stop for pick up and drop off. Please contact School Liaison for bus schedules.

When registering your child for school, a proof of residency form must be completed. Please have a copy of your housing lease agreement, and/or proof of active duty military orders to present to the Dougherty County Board of Education Registrar. Registration can also be completed online and then you can contact your school of choice to complete any other documentation needed to complete the registration process. You can also call 229-431-1264 for more information or www.docoschools.org.

Worth County School System 

Currently, there are 4 schools in Worth County. Worth County Primary (K-2^nd grade), Worth County Elementary (3^rd-5^thgrade), Worth County Middle School (6^th-8^th grade) and Worth County High School(9^th-12^th grade). Worth County also has a Pre-K center for children entering Pre-K. Per state of Georgia educational guidelines, your child must be 5 years of age on or before September 1, of the current school year.

Children of active duty, stationed at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, and reside in Dougherty County, can attend Worth County School System. Bus transportation is provided by WCSS,. The bus does pick up and drop off in Lincoln Housing. Please contact the School Liaison for bus schedules. Registrar office is located at each perspective school in Worth County for registration, visit www.worthschools.net.

Lee County School System

Currently, there are 8 schools in Lee County. Lee County has Lee County Primary (K-2^nd grade), Kinchafoonee Primary (K-2^nd grade), Lee County Elementary School (3^rd-5^th grade), Twin Oaks Elementary School (3^rd-5^th grade), Lee County Middle School (EAST and West Campus 6^th-8^th grade), Ninth Grade Campus and Lee County High School (10^th-12^th grade)

Lee County also has a Pre-K program for children entering Pre-K. Per state of Georgia educational guidelines, your child must be 5 years of age on or before September 1, of the current school year.

Children of active duty stationed at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, and reside aboard the installation; have the option to attend the Lee County School System. Parents must provide transportation. If you are a Lee County resident, bus transportation is provided. Please visit the Lee County website and complete the online registration. You will need a copy of your lease agreement or rental agreement for your home. If you do not have a proof of residency, you can present your military orders to Lee County Registrar office and you will have 30 days to provide proof of residency.

Once you have completed the online registration, you will then contact Ms. Vicki Langston, 229-903-2133, Registrar Director at Lee County Board of Education,

The Voluntary Education and Personal & Professional Development Office has the latest information on local colleges, continuing education, tuition assistance and adult education. In-state rates apply for the active duty military and their family members. The Base Education Office should be your first stop if you are considering starting or completing your higher education goals. For additional information, please contact the Lifelong Learning Staff at 229-639-5426/5767.

School Liaison Program (SLP)

The SLP mission is to identify and coordinate community resources to reduce the impact of the mobile lifestyle on military school-age children and families, to implement predictable support services that assist children/youth with relocations, life transitions, and achieving academic success, and to provide a wide range of resources that facilitate successful school transitions for parents, students, schools, commanders, and communities.

School Liaisons provide direct connection between commands, military parents and schools and shall only be involved in organizational K-12 educational issues including transition into kindergarten and transition to post-secondary education.

The School Liaison for Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany (MCLBA) takes pride in providing educational assistance to our military families. Information is provided to our families that have school-age children grades K-12 on educational matters relating to public, private, and home schooling.

There are no Department of Defense schools located aboard MCLBA; therefore, our active duty families assigned to MCLBA who live aboard the installation have a choice to attend Dougherty, Lee, or Worth County schools. If a military family chooses to lives out in town, then your child(ren) will attend the school district in which your home resides.

Please contact the School Liaison Program for questions and assistance with school information, (229) 639-7497 or MCLBASchoolLiaison@usmc.mil.

There are no Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) aboard Marine Corps Logistic Base Albany.

MCLB Albany is located in Dougherty County.  Students living aboard the installation may attend Dougherty, Lee or Worth County Schools.  While no tuition is charged, parents must provide transportation for their children to the school if that school is outside the base's designated school district. 

The Dougherty County School system has 26 schools, 15 elementary, three of which are magnet schools: six middle schools, two magnet schools and one offering an Baccalaureate curriculum at the six grade level for the first time in 2005-2006: four high school, one of which is a high honors magnet (a school within a school); and one alternative school. The system Exceptional students center and Pre-Kindergarten center also serve students. The system serves 24,000 meals daily (breakfast/lunch). Breakfast is free for all students. System buses transport 13,500 students daily.

Schools are accredited annually by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Average class sizes range from 20 students to 28 students, with the exception of special classes and targeted small group classes. An Extended Day Program for K-8th is also offered at many, but not all elementary and middle schools.

Bus service is widely available at no cost. All schools offer breakfast. 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; there is a charge for high school summer programs.

Registration Requirements

All Dougherty County children who will be five years old on or before 1 Sept will be of legal age to enroll in kindergarten for the current school year. In order to register, children will need a birth certificate, Georgia immunization certificate, a Georgia eye, ear, and dental screening certificate, social security card and verification of address. The immunization certificate and eye, ear and dental certificate may be obtained from the Health Department on S. Slappey Blvd., a local physician, or the Naval Branch Medical Clinic.

Pre-kindergarten

The Child Development Center offers a Pre-kindergarten program, funded by the state of Georgia, for children who will be 4 years old on or before 1 September of the current school year. The on-base capacity is 40 students. To register parents will need to provide a certified copy of their child's birth certificate in addition to the items listed in the paragraph above. There is also a 3 year old Head Start program at the CDC, operating 2 classrooms.

Immunizations & Health Certificates

Georgia Law requires a certificate of immunization for a student to be enrolled in a public school. All students, regardless of grade and including foreign exchange students, must have the Georgia Department of Human Resources (DHR) immunization certificate on file unless any of the following situations exist.

• Medical exemption authorized by a medical doctor
• Conflict with religious beliefs verified by parents sworn affidavit
• Waiver of 30 calendar days granted to Georgia residents by the superintendent or designee
• Waiver of 90 calendar days granted by the superintendent or designee to students entering Georgia public schools from out of state, provided that documentation is on file from the county health department or a medical doctor stating that an immunization sequence has been started and can be completed within the 90-day waiver period.

Immunizations are required for measles, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, polio, mumps, whooping cough and hepatitis B. Georgia DHR Form 3231 is acceptable for students in pre kindergarten programs; the Georgia DHR Form 3032, Certificate of Immunization, must be used for students in grades K-12. A local health department computer-generated form is acceptable.

For entrance into the sixth grade, each student must have at least one additional dose of MMR vaccine. Georgia DHR Form 3189 is acceptable for showing this additional immunization.

Completion of the hepatitis B series will be required for all children born after January 1, 1992, to enter school or day care.

A student, regardless of grade level, who has never been in a Georgia public school must also provide certification of eye, ear and dental examinations. Any child admitted to school without a certificate must present one within 120 calendar days. The form for this examination is DHR Form 3300. All DHR forms may be obtained at the local public health departments.

Exceptional Children Programs

Services are available for exceptional children. 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 Dougherty County Schools by insuring 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 Dougherty 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 the school to provide special education services to the student for 30 school days 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 70-79.

Activities

Typically, high school extracurricular programs include school publications, academic clubs, student government, fine arts, ROTC, color guard (usually associated with marching band), 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.

Lee County Schools

Many military dependent children attend schools in neighboring Lee County. Lee County is a rapidly growing, recently developed area with many newer schools.

In Lee County, the County School System is comprised of one Pre-K campus, two primary schools for grades K through 2, two elementary schools for grades 3 through 5, one middle school for 6 through 8, one 9th grade campus and one high school for 9 through 12. Average class size ranges from 20 to 28 students, with the exception of special classes or targeted small group classes.

Bus service is widely available at no cost. Schools offer breakfast at a no cost. Some 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 for a fee.

Information on home schooling and other alternative schooling can be obtained from the Director of Student Services.

Lee 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 is as follows: A 90-100, B 80-89, C 70-79.

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.  Some have soccer, girls volleyball, swimming, and wrestling.