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Students moving in to new facility
Hightower Academy pic
Students of Hightower Academy will begin classes in the new building following Spring Break on April 11. - photo by Frank Reddy Dawson Community News

Last weekend, Dawson County Schools celebrated what one education official called a “truly historic event.”

 

A building dedication ceremony for the district’s only non-traditional school was held Sunday at the facility located off of Allen Street in Dawsonville.

 

Paid for by the education local option sales tax, construction for the new building cost about $2 million.

 

The money was set aside for the project after Dawson County voters approved the latest ELOST referendum, which provided for such projects.

 

The 15,000-square-foot facility is an upgrade from Hightower’s last building, which was located in a warehouse on Allen Street.

 

The school serves students in grades sixth through 12 who have diverse learning needs.

 

Said School Superintendent Keith Porter: “Many Hightower Academy students have benefited greatly from the opportunity to complete credit recovery units, and in turn become graduates through the years.”

 

The Dawson County Board of Education voted unanimously July 6, 2010 to fund construction of Hightower Academy’s building.

 

Staff and students of the school were temporarily relocated to a wing of Dawson County Middle School, while construction was completed.

 

Students will begin classes April 11, after spring break, in the new facility.

“These students, faculty and staff will now have a facility that reflects the wonderful work that they are doing,” Porter said.