Last Saturday (November 30), Athens Academy senior Graham Blanks continued one of the best cross country seasons in Georgia history. He finished first place in the Nike Southeast Regional race which is a qualifier for the Nike Cross Country Nationals. His time of 14:57 placed him first in the race which qualified him for the Championship this Saturday (December 7) in Portland, Oregon.
Graham's first place finish is only the second time in Georgia history that a Georgia runner has won a national level qualifying race. The only other was Travis Grindstaff in 1987. This race comprised the top runners in 11 Southeast states and the District of Columbia.
Athens Academy held its sixth annual International Education Week Lecture and World Language Induction Ceremony on Wednesday, November 20. This year’s speaker was Mr. Justin Jeffery, director of International Student Life at the University of Georgia. Following Mr. Jeffery’s speech, Upper School students were inducted into World Language Honor Societies. A record 52 Upper School students were inducted into one of three--Latin, French, or Spanish--national language honor societies. This nomination is bestowed upon students who have demonstrated excellence of accomplishment throughout three complete years of study of language at the Honors Level, and who have demonstrated a commitment to furthering their study of language and culture.
Three members of the Athens Academy faculty have been recognized by the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) for their outstanding work in independent schools. Marion Marvel, Jeff Stachura, and Nita Woodruff each received the Distinguished Service Award for having dedicated 25 years of service to independent education. In addition, these three individuals have a combined 85 years as part of the Athens Academy community!
On Friday, November 8, Athens Academy was proud to be recognized as the #2 private high school for STEM education in the state of Georgia by Newsweek magazine’s “Top STEM High Schools 2020” edition. Athens Academy ranked #10 in the state for all schools (public and private) and #415 in the entire country, and Athens Academy is the only school in Oconee and Clarke Counties to rank in the top 1,400 of the list of 5,000 schools. Click here for more information and the full listing.
Athens Academy Recognized Nationally for Excellence
The U.S. Department of Education announced on Monday, October 1, that Athens Academy has been named a 2018 Exemplary High Performing National Blue Ribbon School. Athens Academy is one of only 49 non-public schools across the country to receive this honor.
“Our faculty and students work hard each and every day to make magic happen on our campus, and it is great to be validated by the National Blue Ribbon School program,” says Head of School John Thorsen. “We are proud of our school and our accomplishments, yet still recognize that we must always strive to be even better. It’s great to be a Spartan!”
National Blue Ribbon Schools are on education’s cutting edge, pioneering innovative educational practices from professional learning communities and project-based learning to social and emotional learning and positive behavior systems. Schools must complete a comprehensive and detailed application about school practices, student test scores, academic programming, and more.
