Learning Academy of Northwest Georgia
The newly established LEARNING Foundation of Georgia is developing a new tuition-free charter school – the Learning Academy of Northwest Georgia, with the goal of opening in fall 2027, to serve families seeking a classical yet innovative education for their children. Dalton State College is collaborating with the LEARNING Foundation, as we believe that education is a tool to fuel and support our community, and the Learning Academy of Northwest Georgia will provide an innovative teacher preparation opportunity for students in our School of Education.
About the Learning Academy of Northwest Georgia
The Learning Academy of Northwest Georgia will be a regular school with its own, dedicated teachers, but through the collaboration with Dalton State College, faculty and researchers from a wide range of disciplines will be able to contribute their expertise and provide innovative instructional programs that pioneer teaching advancements and shape the future of learning. In addition, the school will be a learning environment where future educators can develop their skills in authentic and diverse classroom settings, alongside master teachers. This approach reduces the teacher-to-student ratio and allows instructors to meet students’ individual needs more easily. With a goal of delivering educational excellence for every child, this approach will enhance teacher preparation for area public schools currently served by the Dalton State School of Education.
Curriculum and Features
While the curriculum is still under exploration, the Learning Academy of Northwest Georgia intends to adopt a classical education model, a time-honored approach that teaches students how to learn and how to think for themselves using high-quality instructional programs and methods that are appropriate to specific developmental stages. Experiential learning is a key component of the learning process to foster student success and a community where intellectual curiosity thrives.
The classical model builds a firm foundation at each stage of a students’ intellectual and social development, enabling them to excel at math, reading and writing while also equipping them with the knowledge and skills to be resilient, responsible and successful in life. Features include:
- Integration with the Georgia Standards of Excellence
- An emphasis on experiential learning inclusive of outdoor classroom settings
- Character education with a focus on unstructured play, resiliency, and finding joy
- Immersion in English and Spanish, alongside Latin
- Performing and fine arts
- Uniforms that promote cohesion and a sense of belonging
- No personal technology (cell phones) for lower-grade students
- Exposure to and recitation of key facts in history, the sciences, and literature at early grades with a transition to exposure to classics of literature, philosophy, rhetoric, and logic in later grades
- Intensive academic experience in grades 9-10 followed by a dual enrollment year at either Dalton State or Georgia Northwestern Technical College in grade 11, and an internship or apprenticeship in grade 12.
Supports to Foster Success
Support for Students
- Personalized success plans for each student
- Tutoring
- Extracurricular programs and schedules
- Summer supports (i.e., Literacy Camp, summer camps)
- While the school will eventually serve students in kindergarten through grade 12, it will initially open with grades K-3.
- The school will have 8-20 students per class in the elementary grades with a primary teacher and a secondary assistant in larger class settings to ensure personal attention.
- With a goal to be a diverse learning community, the school will accept of all abilities and life experiences, including students for whom English is a second language, students with special needs and students from low socio-economic backgrounds.
- Preference for enrollment will be for children for students in our community and the surrounding Georgia counties who may need a different teaching approach to succeed academically and reach their full potential. Mindful of the potential fiscal impact on surrounding public schools, the intent is to accept enrollment from multiple districts, and we may limit enrollment from any particular district consistent with the school’s charter and applicable state rules.
Support for Families
- A whole child-family approach to education
- A school calendar that works more effectively for their families
- Extracurricular programs and schedules
- Caregiver Academy – a place/resource where parents come to learn how to assist their children at home
Support for Teachers & Teachers-in-Training
- Extended planning time
- Professional development and leadership opportunities
- Paraprofessionals in each elementary classroom
- Innovative environment for beginning Dalton State education majors to learn and improve teaching skills prior to teacher placement in public schools
Board of Directors
The LEARNING Foundation of Georgia includes leaders from the northwest Georgia community and Dalton State College. The Board of Directors will serve as the governing board for the charter school. The founding board members are listed below. Once the school is established, the Dalton State board members would transition to ex-officio roles and the board would expand to include other community members and parents.
- John Minor, V – chair
- Tangela Johnson – vice chair
- Larry Winter – treasurer
- Julie Patterson – secretary
- David Elrod – assistant treasurer/executive director of the Dalton State Foundation
- Dr. John Fuchko – president of Dalton State College
- Dr. Sharon Hixon – dean of the Dalton State College School of Education
- * The Learning Academy of Northwest Georgia will be a separate legal entity from Dalton State College and will seek local and/or state authorization to become a charter school. The Learning Academy of Northwest Georgia would be subject to applicable reporting requirements and accreditation standards.