The 2010-2011 school year opened Thursday, Aug. 12, at Piedmont Academy with an enrollment of 314 students. There are 139 students in grades K4 through 5; 80 students in middle school; and 95 students in high school. Two-hundred-six families are represented at the school. This number includes 24 new families. 23 percent of this year’s student body has alumni parents or grandparents. Drawing from an eight-county area, Jasper County represents 50 percent of the student body. Newton County represents 28 percent and Butts represents 18 percent, an increase from last year. Other counties represented include Rockdale, Putnam, Henry, Morgan and Walton.
Piedmont greeted this school year sporting a new playground and a repaved parking lot. The Grandparents’ Club, along with a generous donation from alumna Trisha Yearwood and several other benefactors made these two improvements possible to the campus and grounds.
Parents, alumni, students, faculty, staff and members of the community played a major role in building the playground. The school paved the parking lot the first week in June and sealed the asphalt six weeks later after the initial pavement had time to cure properly.
Grading for the new playground began in mid-June and was completed by the end of July. All volunteers worked through heat and humidity, just as the founding parents tolerated the summer conditions 40 years ago when the school was established. Hours of intense labor went into the project but the fellowship and friendship formed were well worth the long, uncomfortable hours.
The independent school was founded in 1970 and is entering its 41st year in education. Seven-hundred-ninety-two alumni belong to the school’s association. The school is accredited with quality by the Georgia Accrediting Commission and is a member of the Georgia Independent School Association.
Additional information about Piedmont Academy can be obtained by visiting the school’s website at www.piedmontacademy.com or the alumni page on the social network, Facebook. Campus tours are available by appointment. Simply call Judy Nelson at (706) 468-8818, extension 19. Piedmont is located at 126 Highway 212, West, in Monticello.
