George Walton Academy
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George Walton Academy (GWA) is a private school in Monroe, Georgia, USA for students in grades K4-12th grade.
The school gets its name from Senator George Walton — a signee of the Declaration of Independence.
George Walton Academy was founded in 1969 by members of the local community who wanted to provide a college preparatory education for students. Initially, the school was located in Good Hope, Georgia.
In 1975, the school moved from Good Hope into Monroe, Georgia. The new campus sat on 21 acres (85,000 m²) of land. Since that time, the school has been provided opportunities to expand; it now sits on 41 acres (166,000 m²) of land.
The most important aspect of George Walton is generally considered its exceptional athletic program. This includes numerous state titles in boy's and girl's sports. Notable are the 2003 AAA Football Champions, 2002 AAA Baseball, and 2001 & 2002 AAA Boy's Basketball. The 2005 & 2006 Girl's Basketball teams finished as state runner-ups with their only losses coming in the finals each year. Many athletes have since gone on to play at major universities including Georgia, Louisville, North Carolina State, Presbyterian, Furman, Samford, Illinois, and Georgia Southern, among others.
George Walton, in addition to its outstanding athletics program, boasts a top-notch debate team. In September of 2006, the debate team traveled to Wake Forest University. In the Junior Varsity division, George Walton had a team finish 9th place out of 50 teams from as far away as California. Out of 100 speakers, one of their members placed 11th overall. On November 10th, the team traveled to the Westminster Tournament where teams placed 2nd and 5th. Individually, the speakers placed 7th, 6th, 5th, and 1st. Only started 4 years ago, the debate team has come a long way. The team boasts several region placings and a championship, along with state runner up to Stratford Academy last year.
Reflecting upon the success of the debate team, two members last year were accepted to Harvard and now work on the debate team at the university. The team sent students to Emory and Davidson as well, premier colleges that reflect the academic capacity of the high school, though these are generally the exception rather than the rule.
The school is very well known for its college level band program. The George Walton Academy Marching Bulldog Band is currently the GISA State Champions for 2006 as well as 2005. They have done exceptionally well this year, winning top awards with their show titled The Music Never Dies: The Music of James Bond. The director of bands, Mr. Christian Smith, has been here for 8 years. The program recently took on an assistant band director, Mr. Jason Sneath, who has worked with numerous high school programs around the state including peachtree ridge, harrison and wesleyan. The band program has grown from 31 students to 160 students under their direction. He has established six instrumental ensembles consisting of 5th through 12th grade students. Two of the ensembles include the Marching Bulldog Band and the GWA Symphonic Winds. The GWA Marching Bulldog Band and the Symphonic Winds have received superior ratings, numerous Best in Class awards and Three Silver Grand Championships. The Symphonic Winds performed as a guest band at the University of Georgia Midfest Clinic in December of 2004 and Mr. Smith received a Citation of Excellence from the National Band Association awarded by Dr. John Culvahouse. You can personally check all the bands out at the George Walton Academy Band website
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