GHSA announces new classifications; 48 schools placed in new 7A

The GHSA announced Wednesday the new seven classifications for 2016-17. Results are below.

First, a few observations.

-The GHSA had wanted to address the perceived competitive advantages held by city schools that have open enrollment. To accomplish that, the GHSA voted earlier this year to bump to higher classifications all schools that get more than 3.0 percent of students outside their county. Did it work? Among city schools, only Buford, Jefferson and Bremen were bumped. That’s unless you count Jackson of Atlanta, an unintended catch in the fish net. Those that escaped were Calhoun, Carrollton, Cartersville, Decatur, Dublin, Rome, Social Circle, Thomasville and Vidalia.

-The 3.0 plan worked for the targeted larger private schools. Those placed in higher classifications are Woodward Academy, St. Pius, Blessed Trinity, Westminster, Marist, Greater Atlanta Christian, Lovett and Riverside Military. Meanwhile, Holy Innocents’, Wesleyan, Pace Academy and Darlington – all competing currently in AA – will get to move back to Class A because their enrollments fell at or below the new Class A threshold of 520 students. Benedictine currently is the only private school that tentatively is slated for AA.

- The other big change in the new classification is the move to seven classes from six. The new highest class (AAAAAA, or 7A) will comprise only 48 schools, down from 64. The aim was to reduce the gap between the state’s largest school, Mill Creek at 3,998 students, and the lowest in the class, which will be Westlake at 2,092. Metro Atlanta schools that were relieved of playing in the highest class next year are Alpharetta, Centennial, Chattahoochee, Johns Creek and Northview from north Fulton County; Harrison, Pope and South Cobb from Cobb; Dacula from Gwinnett; Hughes from south Fulton; and Tucker from DeKalb. Several current AAAAA schools might’ve been bumped to the higher class if not for the new, smaller high class. Those include Cambridge, Richmond Hill and Gainesville.

-Where do we go from here? On Dec. 1, the reclassification committee will place schools in regions. That is after taking requests from schools choosing to play in higher classifications. On Dec. 7-8, the GHSA will hear appeals regarding region placement. On Jan. 13, the GHSA's executive committee will ratify the reclassification.

Class 7A (AAAAAAA)
School	FTE Count	(1)Outside	(2)% Outside
Mill Creek	3998	45	1.1
Norcross	3753	11	0.3
Brookwood	3476	4	0.1
Peachtree Ridge	3201	71	2.2
Meadowcreek	3193	5	0.2
Collins Hill	3175	0	0
Lambert	2973	12	0.4
South Forsyth	2948	9	0.3
Lowndes	2942	36	1.2
Parkview	2936	23	0.8
Berkmar	2892	0	0
East Coweta	2882	6	0.2
North Cobb	2854	14	0.5
Grayson	2850	19	0.6
North Gwinnett	2846	11	0.4
Duluth	2710	0	0
Walton	2710	8	0.3
Campbell	2669	11	0.4
South Gwinnett	2599	0	0
Archer	2580	35	1.4
Cherokee	2543	43	1.7
Pebblebrook	2524	9	0.4
Camden County	2489	3	0.1
Colquitt County	2441	76	3.1
West Forsyth	2422	4	0.2
North Forsyth	2415	32	1.3
Etowah	2407	0	0
Hillgrove	2404	43	1.8
Newton	2359	2	0.1
McEachern	2342	12	0.5
Shiloh	2332	0	0
Newnan	2299	7	0.3
Woodstock	2295	5	0.2
Central Gwinnett	2254	51	2.3
Milton	2180	7	0.3
Lassiter	2176	20	0.9
Tift County	2173	93	4.3
Marietta	2172	14	0.6
Kennesaw Mountain	2170	13	0.6
Forsyth Central	2166	9	0.4
Wheeler	2161	6	0.3
Lakeside, DeKalb	2133	2	0.1
Discovery	2127	0	0
Rockdale County	2121	0	0
Roswell	2117	18	0.9
North Paulding	2109	5	0.2
Mountain View	2098	14	0.7
Westlake	2092	2	0.1
Class 6A (AAAAAA)
School	FTE Count	(1)Outside	(2)% Outside
Johns Creek	2076	9	0.4
Dacula	2075	10	0.5
South Cobb	2050	7	0.3
Alpharetta	2033	74	3.6
Valdosta	2006	16	0.8
Harrison	1990	9	0.5
Richmond Hill	1990	10	0.5
Cambridge	1984	17	0.9
Pope	1982	7	0.4
Osborne	1967	7	0.4
Alcovy	1964	8	0.4
Gainesville	1962	15	0.8
Chattahoochee	1953	8	0.4
Centennial	1938	9	0.5
Langston Hughes	1927	2	0.1
Habersham Central	1909	0	0
Northview	1908	19	1
Creekview	1904	2	0.1
Winder-Barrow	1897	12	0.6
Douglas County	1895	11	0.6
Effingham County	1890	8	0.4
Lee County	1874	15	0.8
Glynn Academy	1868	13	0.7
Heritage, Conyers	1860	24	1.3
Coffee	1854	20	1.1
Evans	1854	7	0.4
Grovetown	1835	7	0.4
Dalton	1829	19	1
Sequoyah	1828	2	0.1
Tucker	1824	7	0.4
Drew	pro- 1822	8	0.4
South Paulding	1821	8	0.4
Mundy's Mill	pro- 1808	4	0.2
Northside, W. Robins	1807	6	0.3
Tri-Cities	1802	10	0.6
Lanier	1800	4	0.2
Northgate	1793	6	0.3
Houston County	1791	5	0.3
Lovejoy	pro- 1782	9	0.5
Allatoona	1770	38	2.1
Brunswick	1760	5	0.3
Sprayberry	1759	9	0.5
Mays	1742	0	0
Greenbrier	1738	5	0.3
Alexander	1737	33	1.9
Creekside	1737	5	0.3
New Manchester	1735	6	0.3
North Atlanta	1734	10	0.6
Apalachee	1732	27	1.6
Jonesboro	pro- 1731	1	0.1
Paulding County	1724	7	0.4
Rome	1714	34	2
Dunwoody	1697	0	0
Bradwell Institute	1683	15	0.9
East Paulding	1681	6	0.4
Lakeside, Evans	1681	6	0.4
River Ridge	1679	2	0.1
Class 5A (AAAAA)
School	FTE Count	(1)Outside	(2)% Outside
Harris County	1673	30	1.8
McIntosh	1670	15	0.9
Flowery Branch	1669	12	0.7
M. L. King	1655	0	0
Woodland, Cartersville	1643	7	0.4
Clarkston	1642	2	0.1
Hiram	1634	8	0.5
North Springs	1630	42	2.6
Forest Park	pro- 1616	3	0.2
Stephenson	1616	4	0.2
South Effingham	1595	5	0.3
Jones County	1594	19	1.2
Villa Rica	1590	17	1.1
Statesboro	1579	5	0.3
Lithia Springs	1567	8	0.5
Mt. Zion, Jonesboro	pro- 1566	0	0
Cedar Shoals	1564	0	0
Ware County	1561	3	0.2
Cass	1560	1	0.1
Ola	1560	7	0.4
Warner Robins	1548	2	0.1
Banneker	1547	4	0.3
Riverwood	1542	16	1
Cross Keys	1523	0	0
Loganville	1509	9	0.6
Veterans	1506	5	0.3
Miller Grove	1501	1	0.1
Dutchtown	1496	11	0.7
Union Grove	1495	14	0.9
Stockbridge	1494	5	0.3
Bainbridge	1487	6	0.4
Kell	1483	11	0.7
Carrollton	1481	25	1.7
Wayne County	1474	4	0.3
Thomas County Central	1474	81	5.5	[won appeal]
Woodland, Stock.	1473	19	1.3
Johnson, Gainesville	1471	1	0.1
Whitewater	1427	23	1.6
Clarke Central	1419	6	0.4
Lithonia	1418	1	0.1
Walnut Grove	1408	13	0.9
Locust Grove	1400	11	0.8
Griffin	1395	2	0.1
Starr's Mill	1393	14	1
New Hampstead	1386	1	0.1
Ridgeland	1385	12	0.9
Eastside	1384	22	1.6
Eagle's Landing	1382	3	0.2
Chamblee	1377	3	0.2
Chapel Hill	1374	9	0.7
Grady	1364	4	0.3
Fayette County	1359	3	0.2
Northside, Columbus	1357	17	1.3
Southeast Whitfield	1357	3	0.2
Arabia Mountain	1345	3	0.2
Madison County	1345	15	1.1
Buford	[1299]	222	17.1
Class 4A (AAAA)
School	FTE Count	(1)Outside	(2)% Outside
Pickens	1341	11	0.8
Richmond Academy	1339	1	0.1
Riverdale	pro- 1334	6	0.4
Morrow	pro- 1332	0	0
Heritage, Catoosa	1328	24	1.8
Northwest Whitfield	1327	16	1.2
Troup	1323	3	0.2
Perry	1321	6	0.5
North Clayton	pro- 1320	3	0.2
Upson-Lee	1314	17	1.3
LaGrange	1309	1	0.1
Americus-Sumter	1307	10	0.7
Howard	1300	11	0.8
Salem	1294	12	0.9
Chestatee	1289	5	0.4
Carver, Atlanta	1286	0	0
Druid Hills	1279	3	0.2
Hardaway	1276	3	0.2
Columbus	1269	19	1.5
Baldwin	1266	3	0.2
Westover	1262	0	0
Spalding	1262	19	1.5
Sandy Creek	1239	13	1
Southwest DeKalb	1230	0	0
LaFayette	1227	2	0.2
Shaw	1225	4	0.3
Thomson	1223	0	0
Columbia	1218	0	0
Gilmer	1217	5	0.4
Cross Creek	1216	3	0.2
Mary Persons	1214	14	1.2
West Laurens	1210	19	1.6
Cartersville	1196	11	0.9
Carver, Columbus	1191	0	0
Cairo	1187	9	0.8
North Oconee	1186	22	1.9
Burke County	1162	25	2.2
Central, Carroll	1162	6	0.5
Decatur	1158	28	2.4
Stephens County	1158	3	0.3
White County	1149	6	0.5
Cedartown	1147	6	0.5
Hampton	1142	0	0
West Hall	1141	7	0.6
Luella	1137	6	0.5
Oconee County	1134	2	0.2
East Hall	1130	12	1.1
Pike County	pro- 1127	6	0.5
Woodward Academy	[1096]	523	47.7
Jackson, Atlanta	[1096]	62	5.7
St. Pius X	[1076]	520	48.3
Jefferson	[1003]	87	8.7
Blessed Trinity	[978]	426	43.6
Riverside Military	[888]	429	96.6
Class 3A (AAA)
School	FTE Count	(1)Outside	(2)% Outside
Franklin County	1115	24	2.2
Lumpkin County	1114	6	0.5
Monroe Area	1114	5	0.4
Liberty County	1108	4	0.4
Jackson County	1106	4	0.4
Crisp County	1101	74	6.7	[won appeal]
Central, Macon	1097	0	0
Sonoraville	1097	14	1.3
Westside, Macon	1094	2	0.2
Windsor Forest	1089	0	0
Haralson County	1089	17	1.6
Rutland	1087	1	0.1
Calhoun	1084	24	2.2
Cedar Grove	1083	0	0
Dawson County	1076	9	0.8
North Hall	1073	7	0.7
Monroe	1069	0	0
Pierce County	1068	11	1
Henry County	1060	0	0
Ringgold	1047	8	0.8
Redan	1025	0	0
Stone Mountain	1019	6	0.6
Coahulla Creek	1008	6	0.6
Jackson	1005	12	1.2
North Murray	997	2	0.2
Beach	992	0	0
Morgan County	985	29	2.9
Peach County	985	10	1
Appling County	983	6	0.6
Islands	983	0	0
Hephzibah	981	0	0
Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe	981	19	1.9
Murray County	980	4	0.4
Jenkins	979	1	0.1
Towers	975	2	0.2
Hart County	963	1	0.1
Tattnall County	951	27	2.8
Brantley County	950	17	1.8
East Jackson	949	14	1.5
Southeast Bulloch	949	3	0.3
Adairsville	948	1	0.1
Kendrick	945	0	0
Dougherty	930	1	0.1
Worth County	908	5	0.6
Banks County	908	15	1.7
Long County	903	7	0.8
Gordon Central	902	11	1.2
Cook	901	29	3.2	[won appeal]
Rockmart	898	10	1.1
Fannin County	894	0	0
Douglass, Atlanta	875	1	0.1
Westminster	[810]	162	20
Marist	[793]	476	60
Greater Atlanta Christian	[736]	292	39.7
Lovett	[662]	167	25.2
Bremen	[623]	117	18.8
Class 2A (AA)
School	FTE Count	(1)Outside	(2)% Outside
Pepperell	869	7	0.8
Jeff Davis	867	30	3.5	[won appeal]
Southwest	866	0	0
** Savannah Arts	857	2	0.2
Dodge County	857	9	1.1
South Atlanta	849	0	0
Washington	843	0	0
Therrell	842	0	0
Toombs County	839	11	1.3
Spencer	838	0	0
Washington County	837	1	0.1
Callaway	837	7	0.8
Albany	837	7	0.8
Fitzgerald	829	7	0.8
Chattooga	826	6	0.7
Union County	825	15	1.8
Elbert County	820	1	0.1
Johnson, Savannah	806	0	0
Jefferson County	804	7	0.9
McNair	795	0	0
Berrien	797	15	1.9
Jordan	787	0	0
Butler	781	2	0.3
Lamar County	775	9	1.2
Thomasville	761	30	3.9	[won appeal]
Westside, Augusta	752	3	0.4
Coosa	751	12	1.6
Northeast	746	1	0.1
Benedictine	738	18	4.9	[won appeal]
Putnam County	737	17	2.3
Harlem	725	6	0.8
Vidalia	721	63	8.7	[won appeal]
Glenn Hills	716	0	0
Bleckley County	708	68	9.6	[won appeal]
Swainsboro	692	27	3.9	[won appeal]
** St. Vincent's	682	20	5.9	[won appeal]
Hapeville Charter	678	16	2.4
Model	676	12	1.8
Groves	671	0	0
Monticello	670	4	0.6
Rabun County	663	10	1.5
Temple	659	10	1.5
Oglethorpe County	650	11	1.7
Early County	642	48	7.5	[won appeal]
KIPP Atlanta	638	0	0
Heard County	635	26	4.1	[won appeal]
Screven County	635	7	1.1
Savannah	632	0	0
Josey	632	0	0
Dublin	629	5	0.8
Bryan County	598	4	0.7
East Laurens	592	24	4.1	[won appeal]
Dade County	589	0	0
Bacon County	570	8	1.4
Metter	561	13	2.3
Armuchee	559	39	7	[won appeal]
Laney	549	0	0
** Stilwell Arts	542	0	0
Social Circle	525	58	11	[won appeal]
Brooks County	521	1	0.2
Class A
School	FTE Count	(1)Outside	(2)% Outside
Holy Innocents'	520	146	28.1
** Woodville-Tompkins	506	0	0
** Coretta Scott King	500	0	0
Telfair County	493	1	0.2
B.E.S.T Academy	486	0	0
Wesleyan	483	304	62.9
Greene County	482	11	2.3
Crawford County	481	8	1.7
Macon County	478	1	0.2
Manchester	475	20	4.2
Gordon Lee	463	49	10.6
Charlton County	461	1	0.2
Atkinson County	458	16	3.5
Chattahoochee County	458	17	3.7
Irwin County	456	40	8.8
Darlington	454	259	57
Washington-Wilkes	453	0	0
Seminole County	452	36	8
Pace Academy	451	107	23.7
** Drew Charter	pro- 450	20	4.4
Mt. Paran Christian	450	72	16
** Technical Career Magnet	444	0	0
McIntosh County Academy	442	0	0
Commerce	437	46	10.5
Pelham	436	22	5
** Paideia	435	97	22.3
Marion County	432	16	3.7
Mt. de Sales	428	121	28.3
Trion	422	34	8.1
Wilkinson County	421	3	0.7
** Morris Innovative	421	1	0.2
** Davidson Fine Arts	420	3	0.7
Mt. Zion, Carroll	420	7	1.7
Bowdon	414	5	1.2
Claxton	407	4	1
Lanier County	400	7	1.8
Savannah Christian	399	65	16.3
Taylor County	396	33	8.3
Terrell County	396	0	0
Schley County	393	92	23.4
Dooly County	389	5	1.3
Hawkinsville	389	39	10
First Presbyterian	388	75	19.3
Mitchell County	384	3	0.8
Turner County	383	18	4.7
Lincoln County	376	2	0.5
Eagles Landing Christian	373	95	25.5
Our Lady of Mercy	366	172	47
Clinch County	358	12	3.4
Hebron Christian	357	39	10.9
Fellowship Christian	356	123	34.6
Walker	355	53	14.9
** Atlanta International	347	147	42.4
** Johnson, Augusta	340	0	0
Jenkins County	340	0	0
Towns County	337	1	0.3
Emanuel County Institute	336	2	0.6
North Cobb Christian	335	102	30.4
Johnson County	335	18	5.4
Treutlen	327	23	7
Athens Academy	327	203	62.1
Brookstone	327	75	22.9
** DeKalb Arts	322	0	0
St. Francis	321	136	42.4
Stratford Academy	319	49	15.4
Calvary Day School	316	24	7.6
Greenville	314	0	0
Randolph-Clay	312	50	16
Wilcox County	310	5	1.6
Mt. Vernon	308	146	47.4
** Elite Scholars	306	1	0.3
George Walton	305	111	36.4
Providence Christian	303	96	31.7
Hancock Central	299	6	2
** Galloway	296	64	21.6
Montgomery County	294	9	3.1
Pinecrest Academy	285	75	26.3
Mt. Pisgah	281	44	15.7
Georgia Military College	280	91	32.5
Prince Avenue	278	181	65.1
Miller County	275	28	10.2
Landmark Christian	272	218	80.1
** Tallulah Falls	272	166	61
Strong Rock Christian	265	63	23.8
Savannah Country Day	264	19	7.2
King's Ridge	260	89	34.2
Wheeler County	252	38	15.1
Whitefield Academy	251	71	28.3
Twiggs County	245	10	4.1
Aquinas	244	87	35.7
Lakeview Academy	234	50	21.4
** Savannah Early College	231	0	0
Portal	230	0	0
** Echols County	229	6	2.6
Athens Christian	229	155	67.7
** Weber	224	98	43.8
Baconton Charter	213	7	3.3
Calhoun County	200	1	0.5
St. Anne-Pacelli	186	48	25.8
Glascock County	182	1	0.5
Tattnall Square	174	47	27
Central, Talbotton	159	0	0
Christian Heritage	152	30	19.7
Warren County	138	0	0
** Fulton Leadership	126	0	0
Stewart County	124	2	1.6
** Pataula Charter	124	0	0
** Webster County	105	14	13.3
** Ben Franklin Academy	102	54	52.9
** Atlanta Jewish Academy	96	33	34.4
** Excel Christian	91	6	6.6
** Quitman County	84	0	0
** Baker County	84	1	1.2
** Lake Oconee Academy	75	4	5.3
** ACE Charter	75	0	0
** Greenforest Christian	67	14	20.9
** Georgia School for Deaf	57	52	91.2
** Georgia Academy for Blind	56	42	75
** Atlanta Classical	50	1	2
** W.D. Mohammed	48	4	8.3
** Taliaferro County	40	4	10
** SW Atlanta Christian	26	4	15.4
** Woody Gap	23	0	0

(1) Number of students who reside outside the county where the school is located.

(2) Percentage of students who reside outside the county where the school is located.

(3) Schools listed as “single sex” had their FTE numbers doubled for this purpose.

** Schools not playing varsity football.

[ ] School moved up in class because of more than 3 percent out-of-county students.

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GHSA announces new classifications; 48 schools placed in new 7A

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