The Academy of Richmond County is a high school located in Augusta, Georgia, United States. Known previously as Richmond County Military Academy, it is commonly known as Richmond Academy or ARC. Chartered in 1783, it is listed as the sixth oldest existing public high school in the United States, and the oldest existing public high school in the Southern United States. Richmond Academy is located at the edge of the Summerville historic district of Augusta.

History

Initially an all-male private school, as were most of the high schools in the 1700s, after the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

it was adapted as a military school. During the last half of the 20th century, Richmond Academy transitioned into a co-educational, traditional public high school. It has maintained a strong military

Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a Federal government of the United States, federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools acr ...

that is available, but not mandatory, for participation by students. Both the 1857, and the present 1926, Richmond Academy buildings are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. President

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

delivered the commencement address at the graduation ceremonies at ARC in 1791. In 1926, the academy moved to its present-day building on Walton Way. Principal Major George Butler described the school in 1927 as "second to none in the South in terms of facility." The 1926 building was designed in

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

-style architecture. Up until the 1950s, ARC was for white males only. The 1951–1957 Richmond Academy boys' baseball team was ranked as one of the top 10 Georgia state sports dynasties. It has teams in many sports. During the 1950s the school became coeducational, admitting female students. In 1964, the school began to admit minorities and became

desegregated Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

Contemporary Richmond Academy

Academics

The Academy of Richmond County has 1,178 students in grades 9 through 12, with a student to faculty ratio of 16:1. It offers numerous Advanced Placement courses, has a GATE (gifted and talented education) program, and an

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...

Programme course of study that was added to the school in July 2003. It is for its highly motivated, college preparatory students. ARC is one of three schools in the Central Savannah River Area that offers an IB program. The Mathematics Team won the 2005 National Society of Black Engineers Try-Math-A-Thon, which was held in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Athletics

The school mascot is a Musketeer, and the school colors are purple and gold. The original school mascot was a bearcat. The 1957 Varsity Baseball Team was named National Champions by MaxPreps.com. The 1952 and 1953 squads were honorable mentions.

Notable alumni

References

External links

Academy of Richmond County official website
{{authority control 1783 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Educational institutions established in 1783 National Register of Historic Places in Augusta, Georgia High schools in Richmond County, Georgia Public high schools in Georgia (U.S. state) School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state)