On March 12th, Counselors Melissa Price and Melissa Jernigan held a meeting for parents of current 7th and 8th grade students to discuss scheduling options for the upcoming years. Information included honors/scholars choices and non-academic/pathway elective choices.
Marion County’s Scholars Academy is a rigorous set of academic courses that prepare students for top-level colleges, from the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech to Columbia and Yale. Scholars Academy graduates have attended the previously mentioned schools, and others, including Berry College, the University of Alabama, Emory University, Penn State, Mercer University, and beyond. Many college and scholarship programs don’t just seek “good grades”; they also look at the difficulty of a student’s coursework. Today’s graduates are competing for opportunities such as college entrance, scholarships, internships, and careers. The Academy is another way for Marion County’s students to increase their knowledge base, cultural awareness, SAT/ACT scores, and overall marketability in a post-secondary atmosphere. The Pre-Scholars program is the first step in this process for these students.
Pre-Scholars students will automatically become high school Scholars Academy students in their freshman school year unless they are signed out in writing by a parent or guardian. The Scholars Academy program is voluntary; students and their parents must agree to sign up for the program and must meet program requirements. Sign-up forms for 7th graders to enroll in the pre-scholars program are available from Mrs. Price and Mrs. Janovsky.
All 7th grade students will select high school electives for the 2025-26 school term, which will count for high school credit. As 8th graders, they will take one high school course each semester (with other high school students). These courses may include Early Childhood Education, Food and Nutrition, Weight Training (male students only), Band, Health/PE, PE, Art, and Marketing. Mrs. Price will facilitate this elective selection for them.
All high school course credit becomes a part of the student’s grade point average (GPA), which is used to determine honor graduates during the student’s senior year. Students were encouraged to make A’s and B’s as final averages to stay eligible for HOPE and A’s if they wanted to become honor graduates. A student’s grade point average has to be a 90.00 with no rounding, as calculated by Power School, at the end of the first semester of senior year for that student to be declared an honor graduate. The valedictorian and salutatorian of the class must come from the Scholars Academy.
To meet graduation requirements, students must earn 28 credits, including 4 English, 4 math, 4 sciences (one of which may come from approved career/technical courses), and 4 social studies (4 total courses but 3 total credits, wherein government/citizenship may be ½ and personal finance/economics may be ½), and 1 health/PE. Foreign language is optional but required for university enrollment.
Electives are an important part of the high school experience. Career and Technical Education electives (CTAE) can lead to career decisions, certification, and awards for high school students. They are also important for club membership in some of our most exciting organizations: FFA, FCCLA, and DECA! Marion’s CTAE course offerings include the areas of Agriculture (Mechanics, Horticulture, Wildlife, and Forestry), Family and Consumer Sciences (Early Childhood Education and Food/Nutrition), Healthcare (Therapeutic Services), Marketing, Digital Media, and Engineering. Other school electives include band, orchestra, art, weight training, body sculpting, journalism, and team sports.
If you have questions about scheduling or course offerings, you may reach out to price.melissa@marion.k12.ga.us or jernigan.melissa@marion.k12.ga.us. Students are encouraged to put their best foot forward each day; it looks tough as a whole but is very rewarding if they get involved and enjoy their time in high school. Success comes from paying attention in class, studying a little each night, coming to school each day, and turning in assignments on time. We look forward to working with each student and parent for continued success for our students!