The Georgia Charter School Association (GCSA) announced Friday, February 15, that The Museum School of Avondale Estates has been named the 2019 Academic Charter School of the Year.
The award is sponsored by the Coca-Cola Company and The Museum School will receive $25,000 from GCSA to further its work. The Museum School will use this scholarship to purchase sets of Google Expedition Kits to take our students’ learning world-wide!
“We are deeply honored to be recognized as the GCSA School of the Year,” said Principal Katherine Kelbaugh. “There are so many innovative, successful charter schools in the state and we are so proud to be among them. Our learning model is preparing our students for real world success and we are so grateful for the support of our parents, teachers, staff and local community, without which we would not be receiving this award.”
The museum school concept is a model founded on research about how children learn best: through personal exploration and hands-on experience fostering exploration, discovery and creativity. The school was founded in 2010 with a grassroots effort on the part of dedicated parents to bring an innovative educational opportunity to DeKalb County. It serves more than 500 students from Kindergarten to 8th grade.
The Museum School has achieved outstanding academic results. The school’s students have scored among Georgia’s top scholars in every subject category on the Georgia Milestones. The school has also consistently surpassed state and district scores on Georgia’s College and Career Ready Performance Index.
“This honor is a testament to years of vision, dedication and hard work by our community partners, parents, students, teachers and Principal Kelbaugh,” said Clay Jones, chairman of The Museum School board. “Since our founding, we have focused on educating students through hands-on learning opportunities and creating a school that could serve as a model to others.”
Principal Kelbaugh was named the 2018 Leader of the Year by GCSA.
