As Georgia-Cumberland Academy begins its 46th year, the school has made an effort to improve its high school education by refining its facilities and academic programs.

Nancy Gerard, GCA director of development and alumni, said the construction efforts fit with the overall school mission.

“An important indicator of a quality school is that it’s constantly striving to better itself,” Gerard said. “I think that defines who we are in our efforts to be the best we can be.”

GCA is a private school operated by the Seventh-day Adventist church for grades 9-12. A majority of GCA students come from around the southeast and abroad and live in the dormitories on campus, while a good number live locally.

According to Gerard, landscape and construction improvements began this summer and are still continuing.

“Our school has (felt) like a construction zone for most of the summer,” Gerard said, pointing out ladders leading to the roof and the exposed grounds below.

Fresh hardwood floors and carpet, financed by alumni donations, have already been installed in the GCA chapel and new seating, paint and lighting will also be added in the weeks ahead.

New steel roofs will replace the school’s hail-damaged roofs and should be complete sometime in October.

“With the insurance settlement and help from the Georgia-Cumberland Conference the school was able to up-grade roofs that were in need of replacement,” Gerard said.

Academic Strides

While renovations and restoring the buildings will leave lasting changes that all can enjoy and see, Gerard said “most of what we do to improve this school takes place in less visible and more important ways.”

Gerard explained that in the past three years, under a focused school improvement initiative, GCA has added additional math and science courses, increased the number of Advanced Placement (AP) courses and reduced the number of students on academic probation.

“Plans for improving academic performance, initiatives to provide meaningful work for students and continually pursue more effective ways to bring young people into a relationship with God are the improvements that matter most,” Gerard said.

Providing a Course of Excellence

Dr. Greg Gerard, principal of GCA, said that school improvements are ongoing and important to the school’s ability to attract high quality students.

“When students graduate from GCA we want to make sure they are equipped to do well in college and are prepared for a lifetime of service,” he said.

Don Short, vice-principal and history instructor at GCA, echoes those same sentiments and points out that GCA students have opportunities to grow spiritually, too.

“We emphasize an education that develops the whole person. In addition to our strong academics, students are encouraged to participate in overseas and U.S. mission trips, and to get involved in spiritual activities, as well as European study tours,” Short said.