FORT GORDON, Ga. (Sept. 26, 2014) - School officials from Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken counties met during the Fort Gordon quarterly Parent and Youth Advisory Council meeting Sept. 19 at Gordon Conference and Catering Center. Hosted by Child, Youth, and School Services, the meeting was an opportunity for school officials from each district to discuss topics relevant to the military community. It was also a time for Fort Gordon's garrison commander to update school officials on installation happenings pertinent to the schools.
Much of the meeting centered on exponential growth associated with the transformation of Fort Gordon to the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence. Schools across the CSRA are already feeling the impact of what military officials have deemed a years-long process. And although the growth is bringing challenges, many school officials are embracing it. Dr. Sandra Carraway, Columbia County superintendent, is one of them.
"We say bring them on," Carraway said of forthcoming students.
According to Carraway, Columbia County schools were expected to grow by about 395 students this school year. That number was about 185 students shy of what came in. With an estimated 580 new students this year, Columbia County has experienced its largest amount of growth in almost a decade.
"All of this growth coming in, certainly we are feeling it," Carraway said. "And we are doing everything within our power to have our students in buildings and to have properly allocated classrooms for teachers."
Carraway said the school board is well aware of the growth and is working hard to maintain optimal learning throughout.
"People get really concerned with that growth, but the good news is the teachers are allocated based on class sizes, so it doesn't matter how big we grow," Carraway explained. "Our class sizes really do stay the same," he added.
To prevent overcrowding, some schools have had to resort to portable classrooms, which Carraway assured is a short-term fix.
Columbia County Board of Education approved the addition of 10 classrooms at Baker Place and Cedar Ridge Elementary Schools, both located in one of the county's fastest growing areas. Construction on those classrooms will begin in January 2015. By 2017, a new school will be built in Grovetown to help relieve the growth, and one of the district's oldest buildings -- Grovetown Elementary -- will be rebuilt to allow for rezoning.
Aiken County has been impacted in a largely positive way. Last year, 270 military students joined Aiken County schools, pushing the district to join Richmond and Columbia counties as Tier 1 schools.
Newly instated superintendent of Richmond County schools, Dr. Angela Pringle, is actively seeking ways to enhance the county's schools. Sworn in Sept. 4, Pringle said her primary intent during her first three months is going into classrooms and focusing conversation on strategic goals.
"What happens in the classrooms is at the top of our agenda every meeting and will continue to be that way," Pringle said. "We are now looking at our curriculum to ensure that it's robust."
Col. Samuel G. Anderson, Fort Gordon garrison commander, told school officials he anticipates adding 3,700 military families over the next five years at a rate of about 500 to 800 per year. That number doesn't include children, which Anderson said could be higher. At a time when other military installations are being forced to cut back and in some cases close, Anderson described Fort Gordon as experiencing a different set of circumstances -- one which he credited the Central Savannah River Area's schools with playing a key role.
"In my mind, one of the reasons the decision was made to move (U.S. Army Cyber Command) here is because of the relationships we have with the local school systems and the quality of education that our Soldiers' children are getting here in the CSRA," Anderson said.
It was one criteria considered when determining where growth would happen. As a result, Anderson challenged school officials to help prove the military made the right decision to expand Fort Gordon.
"Where much is given, much is expected," Anderson said. "It is so important we work together to ensure the school systems here can provide education opportunities for those people coming to this area."
The meeting concluded with a resigning of the Memorandum of Agreement, which at its core is a covenant focused on transition challenges for military students.
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