midstate magazine - your guide to living in central georgia middle georgia macon ga warner robins ga

Georgia's commitment to improving the performance of public schools began in 1986 with the Quality Basic Education Act. The Legislation mandated increased expenditures for under-funded urban and rural schools and included a statewide basic curriculum and certain competencies that all students must attain before graduation.

The state launched the lottery in 1993, a movement spearheaded by then-governor Zell Miller. The profits from the lottery were distributed to educational programs, such as the Hope Scholarship for college students who maintain a B average. Another educational objective was the establishment of a pre-K program for 4 year olds. Research has shown that children who attend pre-K have higher academic and social ratings by kindergarten teachers than children without pre-K. The Office of Educational Readiness, later renamed Bright From The Start was formed in 1996 to administer the state pre-k program. The program grew quickly to serve more than 70,000 students in less than 10 years. By 2005, Georgia's pre-K program had reached a higher proportion of students than any other state in the country.

Midstate counties are very active in the pre-K program with 93 state-funded sites dispersed among public school systems and privately owned child-care facilities. In addition to state-funded pre-Ks, some area churches offer faith-based preschools that are not funded by the state. Many of these church preschools have excellent preparatory curriculums, and all have their facilities inspected twice a year by the health department for adherence to health and safety guidelines.

In 2000, Georgia legislature passed the A+ Education Reform Act, which was similar to the federal government's No Child Left Behind Act of 2001; both focused on accountability, assessments and teacher quality. Georgia adjusted its statewide curriculum in 2007 to more closely align with national-level standards. The Georgia Performance Standards were rated as the fifth-best curriculum in the United States by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, an education research group.

Through achievement testing, schools are graded on Annual Yearly Progress, If a school makes AYP for three or more years in a row, it earns the title of Distinguished School. Houston County Board of Education, the largest of Midstate's systems with 37 schools serving more than 252,200 students, was proud to announce that 97 percent of its schools met AYP standards in 2007 and 11 of it's Title 1 schools were Distinguished Schools. Federal Title 1 funds go to schools based on income levels of students' families. The second largest system, Bibb County, serves approximately 24,700 students and has 14 Title 1 Distinguished Schools. Smaller in size but not in quality, Bleckley County's school system had both of its elementary schools earn the title of Distinguished School. The whole system of Monroe County was honored with an award for Title 1 Distinguished School District.

In addition to quality public schools, the Midstate has a number of private schools with excellent educational opportunities. The oldest is St. Joseph's School which opened in 1872 as part of St. Joseph Church in Macon. A few of the other private schools in the area include First Presbyterian Day School, Mount de Sales Academy, Stratford Academy and Tattnall Square Academy in Macon, Westfield School in Perry, Monroe Academy in Forsyth and Trinity Christian School in Dublin. The Combination of excellent private and public schools translates into a variety of choices to meet the needs of Midstate families.

Technical Colleges

Public technical education in Georgia is administered by the state Department of Technical and Adult Education, which operates 34 technical colleges. Through this system Georgians can learn a wide variety of marketable skills as diverse as auto repair, hair styling, drafting, welding and paralegal work. There are three of these non-residental colleges in the Midstate with branch campuses.

Central Georgia Technical College, which opened in Macon in 1966, was originally called Macon-Area Vocational Technical School. Throughout the years it has undergone many expansions and name changes, the most recent occuring in 2000. The name was changed from Macon Technical Institute to Central Georgia Technical College to reflect its service area that includes Baldwin, Bibb, Crawford, Jones, Monroe, Putnam and Twiggs counties. The main campus in Milledgeville and regional centers in the remaining counties. The college offers more than 200 programs in business technology, health technology, information technology, public services and technical, trade and industrial areas.

Heart of Georgia Technical College located in Dublin with a satellite compus in Telfair County, serves Laurens, Telfair, Dodge, Wheeler, Bleckley and Wilkinson counties. HGTC offers nine associate of applied science degrees, 25 diploma programs, 58 degree and diploma options and 47 technical certificates of credit.

Established in 1973 as Houston Vocational Center, Middle Georgia Technical College now serves Houston, Peach, Pulaski and Dooly counties with the main campus located in Warner Robins. MGTC provides credit programs leading to certificates, diplomas or associate degrees in business and technology, health care and human services and industrial technology. The college also offers more than 100 courses either online or in combination with traditional classroom work. Adult literacy programs and continuing education for occupational advancement in coordination with local companies are also available.

Students at Georgia's Public technical colleges are eligible for Hope Scholarships, Georgians can also take classes from home through the Georgia Virtual Technical College.

Colleges & Universities

Macon State College, established in 1968, was part of a state initiative to ensure that all Georgians had a public college within commuting distance. It was initially a two-year college and was called Macon Junior College. In 1997 the school added four-year programs and changed its name to Macon State College. It now offers four-year degrees in nursing, information Technology and early childhood education. In the fall of 2007, Macon State will launch bachelor of arts degrees in English and history.

The current enrollment at Macon State is about 6,250 students, which is a 75 percent increase since 1998. In order to accommodate recent growth, Macon State will receive $22 million for new buildings. A 100,000-square-foot building will be constructed at the main campus in Macon and will be used primarily by the business and information technology divisions. A new academic building will also be added to the Warner Robins campus.

Mercer University has a long history and tradition of academic excellence. Established in 1833 in Penfield and named for the prominent Baptist leader Jesse Mercer, it moved to Macon in 1871. For 17 consecutive years, Mercer has been chosen as one of the nation's top institutions of higher education by US News & World Report. The Princeton Review placed Mercer among the top 10 percent of colleges in North America.

Mercer is the only independent university of its size that offers programs in 11 different fields of study including liberal arts, business, engineering, education, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, theology and law. The Walter F. George School of Law, established in 1873, is one of the oldest law schools in the country. Mercer's School of Medicine was opened in 1982 to train physicians and health-care professionals to meet the needs of rural Georgia.

The Macon campus of Mercer University recently completed a $350 million building project adding a music building, a greek Village for sororities and fraternities and the University Center, a multipurpose facility with a basketball arena, food court and swimming pool.

Another historic university in Macon, Wesleyan College, was the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women. Founded in 1836 as the Georgia Female College, Wesleyan was originally located on College Street in Macon but moved to its present location on Forsyth Road in 1928. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Wesleyan's campus includes 30 white columned, Georgian-style buildings situated on 200 wooden acres. For the first time in 40 years a new building is being added to the campus. A $12.5 million science center began construction in 2006 and is scheduled to open for classes in the 2007 fall semester.

Wesleyan has consistently been named to the Princeton Review's "Best 361 Colleges" in America as well as U.S. News & World Report's annual listing of America's Best Colleges. The school offers undergraduate degrees in 35 majors and eight pre-professional programs including seminary, engineering, medicine, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, health sciences, dental and law. The Master of Arts degree in education and an Executive Master of Business Administration program are available to men and women.

Peach County is the home to another historic college. Fort Valley State University was founded in 1895 as Fort Valley High and Industrial School to offer educational opportunities to the area's black population. It became part of the University System of Georgia in 1939 and is one of Georgia's three public historically black colleges.

Fort Valley State offers bachelor's degrees in 50 majors as well as master's degrees in education and counseling. Its Cooperative Development Energy Program prepares students for energy-Industry careers in science and geology, and is the only program of its kind in the nation.

In July 2007, Wildcat Commons, a $44 million student residential complex will open, providing housing for up to 950 students. The added dormitories are necessary to handle the 60 percent increase in enrollment that FVSU has experienced in the last couple of years.

Cochran's Middle Georgia College is a two-year public school that had its beginnings in 1887 as the College of the New Ebenezer Association formed by a group of largely Baptist churches in Pulaski, Dodge, Laurens and Telfair counties. It was officially placed under the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia in 1931.

Middle Georgia College has grown to nearly 2,700 students and also holds classes in Dublin. There are a variety of associate degrees offered as well as certificate programs. In the fall of 2007, the college will offer four-year degrees in aviation management and flight management in association with Georgia Aviation & Technical College.

In addition to the colleges based in the Midstate area, Milledgeville's Georgia College and State University has a strong presence in Macon, Dublin, and Forsyth. GCSU was founded in 1889 as Georgia Normal & Industrial College. The school has also been named Georgia State College for Women, the Women's College of Georgia, Georgia College, and since 1996, Georgia College & State University. GCSU offers more than 36 undergraduate degrees and more than 25 gradate programs. It recently restored a historic downtown Macon building to open its Center for Graduate and Professional Learning.

Georgia Military College, also based in Milledgeville, offers classes in Warner Robins and at Robins Air Force Base.

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