State Charter Schools Commission approves GCSA Incubator School for Fayette

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Three new Georgia charter schools are set to open in fall 2025 and 2026 after gaining approval from the State Charter Schools Commission of Georgia (SCSC), including one in Fayette County.

The SCSC late last month approved Dominion Purpose Academy, a start-up charter school planning to locate in Columbus, Georgia. The SCSC also authorized petitions for Fayette Classical Academy and Cherokee Classical Academy, both of which are replications of Atlanta Classical Academy and plan to open in Fayette and Cherokee counties.

All three schools participated in the Georgia Charter Schools Association’s Charter Incubator program, a competitive training process designed to attract and prepare top talent for establishing or replicating public charter schools in Georgia.

Fayette Classical Academy and Cherokee Classical Academy were part of GCSA’s Replication and Expansion Cohort in partnership with the State Charter Schools Foundation of Georgia.

Each school will begin with students in grades K-6 and add a grade per year until reaching their full K-12 configuration. Fayette Classical Academy is approved to open in August 2025 and will serve residents of Fayette, Coweta, Spalding, Clayton, Fulton, and Henry Counties, and the City of Atlanta.

The mission of Liberty’s schools is to form knowledgeable, virtuous citizens. Fayette Classical Academy and Cherokee Classical Academy will be replicated after Liberty’s flagship campus, Atlanta Classical Academy.

The schools will be non-selective, tuition-free and will offer a rigorous, classical curriculum with a focus on civic virtue. The content-rich, liberal arts curriculum includes literature, history, mathematics, sciences, Latin, the arts, character education, and ultimately a host of sports, fine arts, and extracurricular activities.

Liberty Classical Schools (Liberty) is a Georgia-founded, Georgia-based nonprofit operator of K-12 American classical charter schools and founder of Atlanta Classical Academy and Northwest Classical Academy, the wait lists of which presently include 3,300 students in total.

“We’re excited that these approvals will expand charter school access to more communities across our state,” said Dr. Bonnie Holliday, President and CEO of the Georgia Charter Schools Association. “The opening of these public charter schools in Muscogee, Fayette, and Cherokee counties will help meet the growing demand and offer essential educational options to thousands of students.”

“The SCSC’s approval of each new school marks a monumental achievement for education in our state, as we celebrate the authorization of schools supported through the GCSA Incubator. The journey of each school is a testament to the power of collaboration, vision, and dedication,” said Christa Thomas, GCSA’s Vice President of New School Development.

“We are honored to have partnered with visionary leaders, passionate community advocates, and dedicated governing board members who have all been unwavering in bringing educational options to their communities. Each school stands as a beacon of opportunity, ready to deliver high-quality education to families who have long sought these choices. This is more than just the opening of new schools; it’s the fulfillment of a collective dream to enrich our communities and empower our students,” Thomas said.

Dominion Purpose Academy, Cherokee Classical Academy, and Fayette Classical Academy received state approval after completing the GCSA Charter Incubator program. This program supports start-up schools through the charter petition process and provides coaching and professional development during their initial two years.

The Incubator also provides existing charter schools and charter networks with the training, resources, and support to scale proven models of success to serve additional locations or students.

11 COMMENTS

  1. The people behind these schools are sickening. They want to whitewash American history and infiltrate public education with conservative christian dogma. As stated in other comments, nothing wrong with private religious schools, but this country was founded on separation of church and state. The idea that we’re publicly funding these schools is shameful, but not sadly surprising. Hilarious how they cloak their ideology and backwards agenda in the word “classical” as if their education is anything Socrates would be proud of. This whole Liberty movement is a right wing scheme to indoctrinate America’s youth and “protect them” from the crazy liberals. The school behind this was actually heavily involved in trying to overturn the 2020 election. And perhaps worst of all, I bet plenty of parents are tricked into wanting this school for their kids because of their deceptive marketing and seemingly clean front-facing image. Education is too important folks, do your research. And Fayette has great public schools so don’t be deceived!

  2. Speaking from experience, the State Charter Schools Commission does not do a great job of monitoring the State’s charter schools. Why should they? Having charter schools justifies the Commission’s existence (and their paychecks). There is a principal in a charter school in Coweta who received a 90 day suspension from GAPSC and is still at the school pending appeal. There is a second complaint against this person that is currently in the GAPSC review process. There has been issues for years at this school and the Commission has done zip.

  3. Doug, I agree that civics and language arts don’t receive the attention they deserve. These subjects are undervalued and unappreciated in American culture today. I don’t think STEM is the problem. There is too much emphasis on DEI and not enough focus on patriotism and virtues.

  4. The Fayette Classic Academy’s web page lists its affiliation with Hillsdale College, a hyper-partisan, conservative Christian college in Michigan. I have no objection to any parents enrolling their children in this school, but I have every objection to a dime of taxpayer money funding a religious-affiliated organization. It clearly violates the First Amendment’s establishment clause, and it puts me in the position of involuntarily contributing to a religious cause. Is there no end to conservatives running roughshod over the U.S. Constitution?

    • I agree. You exposed the underlying agendas with your follow-up to this article on charter schools. I also oppose using government funding to support religious ideals. My kids went to Landmark. Tuition was brutal, but that was at my discretion with no reliance on public funding. Real Christianity does not obligate the public.

      • I am of a different mindset. I hope SCOTUS agrees to hear an appeal from the Oklahoma Catholic charter school case. Public education is failing many American youth. Fayette County students have historically been shielded in large part because of their wealth advantage. However, as Neil Sullivan aptly points out FCBOE is increasingly facing higher operating costs. Something’s got to give. This is true around the country. Charter schools and/or school vouchers are a reasonable choice. In the Oklahoma case Justice Dana Kuehn wrote in her dissent that allowing St. Isidore to operate a charter school “would not be establishing, aiding, or favoring any particular religious organization.” She added, “excluding private entities from contracting for functions, based solely on religious affiliation, would violate the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.” I agree with her opinion. Hopefully, SCOTUS will soon weigh in.

      • Mom – I agree with you and the court justice you noted. We are fortunate to have great schools in Fayette that have not focused on woke stuff at the expense of math, science, civics and English / reading skills that other public schools around the state and country have done.

        But there is no guarantee that Fayette won’t go down the path of too many other failing public school systems around the nation. Who would have believed that Georgia would have two Democrat Senators, or that a large portion of the nation doesn’t know what a woman is? Parents should have the choice to send their child to a better education, for equal or less cost per child for taxpayers.

        This doesn’t violate the separation of church and state clause, as that is primarily a prohibition on the federal government setting up and mandating membership in its own church. And the tax money for the child is already an obligation of tax payers: it’s merely a question of whether it goes with the child for a private or a public education provider.

        That decision properly rests with the child’s parents, not the government.

        • Civics? English? I don’t see it in the county or the state. The high school graduates here cannot seem to put two sentences together, much less a paragraph, and forget about writing essays. Math and sciences are okay, but nothing to brag about. With so much emphasis over the recent years on STEM, civics and social sciences are virtually nonexistent.

          • Doug,
            FCBOE has a large cohort of intellectually talented students. The vast majority come from homes with well educated parents who have high standards. We recognize that education is a partnership with our public schools. We encourage our children to seek out the most challenging courses. My kids have had exceptional teachers in ALL disciplines…not every year but more often than not. You can be sure that my husband and I have been very involved at home. If you have any doubt about the caliber of students graduating from our public high schools just look at the universities many of these students choose to attend. FCBOE has a lot to brag about! Teachers can’t be responsible for everything. Parents need to play a big role in their children’s education. That’s the key. Not all
            children are fortunate enough to grow up in privileged environments. If charter schools or school vouchers can benefit any children, I’m all for them.

          • Mom, I’m not criticizing the teachers; I’m confident they are fully competent and professional. I want to compensate them much more than we do. I am critical of non-STEM curriculums, especially in the language arts and social sciences.