Connected Academy 

     In 2004, the Fulton County Board of Education embarked upon an assessment of the academic needs of high school students.  This needs assessment included parents, students, administrators, teachers, counselors and the general community. There was consensus among these stakeholders that the system is not adequately challenging a specific group of students in the traditional high schools.  These students are generally not failing and they are not in need of remedial help, but they are also not responding to the traditional curriculum in the traditional course design.   They demand a high degree of real-world relevance and hands-on application in order to be attentive.  These students generally see themselves as college bound but desire to be taught by an applied learning as a means of gaining the knowledge required for success in a post-secondary environment.
     Connected Academy’s mission is to create an environment where students excel through rigorous, applied, integrated instruction; project-based, community-centered learning opportunities; and self-directed knowledge acquisition using technology as a resource.  Connected Academy is a start-up charter school, developed by the Fulton County Board of Education to address student learning styles that are not adequately addressed in a regular high school setting. It will ultimately serve up to 500 11th and 12th grade students.  The small school size is critical to managing the unique instructional program of the school.  Connected Academy will be housed in the Milton Center (formerly Milton High School in downtown Alpharetta).