TIFTON —
Today, the Georgia High School Association’s smallest schools belong to Class A., one of six classes. Fifty years ago, the smallest was Class C, one of five.
In some ways, the classifications are the same. In 1962, the largest size, Class AAA, was for schools with an average daily attendance of 775 and larger. In 2012, Class AAA also had schools with over 775. There just happen to be three larger classifications, topped by AAAAAA, which has Mill Creek and its 2,766.
In 2012, the smallest group has 97 schools. The biggest of which is Irwin County, who averaged 346 students in grades 9 through 11. In 1962, that would have put Irwin in Class B, but barely. You couldn’t average more than 375. Only the tiniest of the tiny were in C, those with less than 250 students. There were 125 schools who qualified then. They were almost to a man rural public schools, spreading from Charlton County to Dade, from West Bainbridge to Toccoa Falls. Of these 125, only 38 are active GHSA schools and two others are in the GISA.
Region 1 was comprised of Attapulgus, Climax, Doerun, Echols County, Georgia Christian, Lanier County, Omega, the all girls Vashti in Thomasville, West Bainbridge and Whigham. Of those 10, only four are still open, two in the GHSA. Echols and Lanier are still out there, still Class A, though Lanier is edging towards AA. Georgia Christian, which less than 10 years earlier had been known as Dasher Bible, switched to the all-private SEAIS (now part of the GISA) in the 1970s and is still active. Vashti, now co-educational, does not belong to any organization, public or private. It dropped out of the GHSA in 1966.
Of the others, four were gone by 1970. Omega lost its high school in 1962, becoming part of the new Tift County High. Attapulgus, Climax and West Bainbridge were swallowed up in 1966, combining with Bainbridge. Doerun was the next to disappear, becoming part of Colquitt County High with Moultrie and Norman Park. The last holdout, Whigham, made it to 1987, when its high school students were sent to Cairo.
The pattern for the rest of the state is similar. Two of the eleven schools in Region 5 are still open. Seven from 7-C exist. Thirteen are gone. The only one to have most of its members still out there is Region 8. Seven are open, four are closed. Two — Dacula and Duluth — have skyrocketed to Class AAAAAA, part of the explosion in metro Atlanta population. Another, Loganville, is AAAAA.
Region 2-C was the hardest hit by the closure of rural schools. Only two of the 17 schools open in 1962 are still there: Lee County and Pacelli. Four others closed in the 1970s and 1980s to be part of combination high schools covering multiple counties, but have returned: Baker County, Marion County, Stewart County and Webster County. Cusseta has also returned, but under the name Chattahoochee County.
Only one region from 1962 sees most of its Class C teams still surviving. In 7-C, seven exist and four have been resigned to history. In this case, metro Atlanta’s boom is the reason for survival. Of the seven, only one is in Class A today: Woody Gap, a school located in the mountain wilderness of southern Union County.
The others are now Class AAA and above. Buford, Dawson County and Jackson County are AAA, Duluth and Loganville are AAAAA and Dacula is now in the highest classification after rocketing in size in the 1980s.
Even one of the schools that closed out of the region has returned. Chestatee is back after a 35-year absence, though now part of the Hall County system whereas it was originally Forsyth County.
Local Sports
Small schools once the norm in Georgia, now long gone
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Proud of diamond accomplishments of Devils, Panthers
Tift County almost pulled off an incredible feat this year, having two teams in the baseball quarterfinals.. It was a great year for baseball at all area schools, all eight of them in the postseason. Both Kyle Kirk's Tift County Blue Devils and Brad Porter's Tiftarea Academy Panthers came within an eyelash of doing even better: the final four.
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Devil duo decide Pratt
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Couch named Region 1-AAAAAA Player of the Year
Tift County High Lady Devil Carlie Couch was named Region 1-AAAAAA’s girls soccer Player of the Year and was one of 11 players from both squads to have been selected to the all-region team. The Lady Devils, who advanced to the state quarterfinals, had six of them.
- Sports briefs for May 23
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Gattis’ grand slam leads Braves past Twins 8-3
Evan Gattis no longer seems amazed by his improbable rookie season.
Yet, there are still times when it’s a bit of an adjustment for the Atlanta Braves catcher.
Like when someone recognizes him in the grocery store.
“It’s a little weird,” the 26-year-old Gattis said. “I’m not used to that yet.” -
Two from Tift named 1st team All-Region
The Tift County Blue Devils, who were only just barely eliminated in the state quarterfinals, placed two players on the All-Region team for 1-AAAAAA. The region, which sent three teams to the elite eight in the state tournament, named Lowndes’ Danny Redshaw Coach of the Year.
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Battle for state golf title held at Spring Hill
Spring Hill Country Club was temporarily home to 16 different schools Monday. All 16 locked irons in a battle for the Class AAAAAA state boys golf championship. After the dust had settled, top honors had gone to the Norcross Blue Devils, who finished two strokes ahead of the Peachtree Ridge Lions, 294-296.
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Spurlin snags state title
The future looks bright for Tift County gymnastics if Brooke Spurlin’s recent showing at the USA Gymnastics Level 6 state meet is any indication.
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Tift County High has summer basketball camp
Boys and girls basketball camps will be held at the Tift County High gymnasium for kids in grades Pre K-6, directed by Lady Devils head coach Julie Conner. There are several different camps being offered, including sessions in June and July.
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Spring game goes well for Devils
The blue squad was the victors 17-10 over the white team Friday in the annual Tift County Blue Devils spring game. The contest was the first preview of the 2013 team, which opens the regular season on Friday, August 30, with a home game against the Westover Patriots.
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Proud of diamond accomplishments of Devils, Panthers
