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.
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 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 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.
President George Washington 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."[citation needed] The 1926 building was designed in Gothic-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.[3] 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.
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 Programme course of study that was added to the school in July 2003. It is for its highly motivated, college preparatory students.[4] ARC is one of three schools in the Central Savannah River Area that offers an IB program.
Confederate general of the American Civil War; post-war he commanded a force including African-American militia troops against a white supremacist paramilitary organization
^Andre, John A., ed. (April 1951). "From Private to General". Life of the Soldier and Airman. Governors Island, NY: Recruiting Publicity Bureau, U.S. Army. p. 9 – via Google Books.