Eagle Ranch Offers Tours of New On-Campus

School at Open House

Chestnut Mountain, Ga. (Sept. 7, 2006) – Eagle Ranch, a Christ-centered therapeutic children’s home in Northeast Georgia, unveils the ranch’s new on-campus school to the public at its Open House on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2006.

“Most of the children come to Eagle Ranch at least two academic grade levels behind,” said Wade Pearce, Eagle Ranch director of education. “This led us to establish an on-campus school.”

The Eagle Ranch school provides instruction for grades six to nine, helping 48 students receive extra attention during the middle school years, a difficult transition period for most children anywhere. The school also provides an extremely low instructional ratio of one teacher and one para-professional for every 12 children.

The Eagle Ranch education program, established in the fall of 2001, formerly was located in modular units. It now is housed in a newly constructed 16,000 square foot facility. The debt-free school currently has 8,000 square feet of finished space and 8,000 square feet of unfinished space designated for future use.

The finished upper floor has four classrooms, a science lab, a large library and lunchroom.  Each classroom is equipped with a Promethean interactive whiteboard and LPD projector.

According to Pearce, the school enables greater coordination, accountability, and full integration of the Eagle Ranch treatment program. For example, house parents and counselors advise teachers of any specific problems with a child at home (and visa versa) so that issues can be dealt with on a timelier basis.

To date, the Eagle Ranch school, which is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), has demonstrated remarkable success with an average of two grade-level jumps per year for students attempting to catch up to their academic age level.

Pearce noted that academic achievement is not the only measure.

In an analysis of the school, Earl Stuck, a national education consultant made the following observation: “Although academic achievement is usually the standard of relevance in educational programs, the Eagle Ranch program seems to provide an even greater benefit in the development of self-confidence, study and social skills, and the instilling of the value of education in the students.”

Eagle Ranch also maintains a close partnership with the neighboring Hall County School System, working with an excellent elementary and high school team of teachers and school counselors to support students from Eagle Ranch who are not in grades six through nine.

The open house is scheduled from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and is open to the public. In addition to seeing the new on-campus school facility, visitors will be able to tour the children’s homes, the athletic facility, the chapel and counseling center.

The school was designed by Steve Hill of Lloyd Hill Architects and built by Van Winkle Construction.