Parents Still Learning About Proposed Byron Peach Charter High School

FORT VALLEY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Peach County parents could soon have a new option when it comes to where their kids go to high school.

Members of the Byron Peach Charter High School Association are hard at work at making their proposed school become a reality.  The group hosted a public forum tonight at the Peach County Courthouse to hear parents’ concerns and answer questions.

Right now, Peach County High School in Fort Valley is the only high school in the whole county, and test scores there aren’t as high as they could be.

That’s why this group wants to create a new option for students.

The association has applied with the Peach County Board of Education and the Georgia Department of Education to create a new school.  If approved, the doors could open as early as fall 2014.

While it will be publicly funded, this school is going to be a bit different than public schools.  Its focus will be on academics and getting kids prepared to enter college and the workforce.

The school day will be an extended day, adding one extra hour in for study hall, and the school year will also be longer than usual — about 190 to 200 days.

To get students involved in the community, every student will be required to complete 20 hours of community service each year.

There’s still no official word yet on the exact location of the planned school, but the association says for the first year, it will only house 9th and 10th grade students.

Eleventh grade will be added in 2015 and 12th grade in 2016.

Each grade will have a 125 student maximum and once that is reached, a lottery system will be used to accept students.

If you have any questions and you missed tonight’s forum, they are planning more as this school’s planning phase continues.

For more information now, write to BPCHS2013@GMAIL.com or check out the school on Facebook or Twitter.  You can also call (478) 396-5803.