Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Programs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
AIM magnet at CFIT highlights student achievements, experiential learning and rising enrollment
Summary
School leaders presented the Arts & Innovation Magnet (AIM) program’s model and results — 95% attendance, strong academic results, a waiting list near 300, and multiple student awards — and thanked staff and community partners; the board also noted an approved CFIT renovation that will create additional secure instructional spaces.
Alex Holman, principal of the AIM (Arts & Innovation Magnet) program at the Center for Innovative Teaching (CFIT), told the Barrow County Board of Education on June 3 that the AIM community is “thriving,” citing high attendance, low discipline referrals and academic performance that exceeds district averages.
Holman described the AIM model: a condensed, rotating schedule for roughly 292 sixth-through-eighth-grade students selected by lottery; dual enrollment with students’ home schools for athletics; 12 three-week mini academies; unique learning spaces including a black-box theater, culinary kitchen and makerspace; and embedded individualized success time for targeted interventions. Holman said attendance protocols require a meeting after five absences.
Presenters highlighted measurable outcomes: a 95% attendance rate for 2024–25, more than 50 students participating in band programs, multiple regional and state student placements in academic competitions, and more than 600 books distributed through a building book vending machine program. Tommy Threlkeill, principal of Barrow Arts and Sciences Academy, recognized BASA students and coaches for region championships.
Staff also noted community partnerships and enrichment events including career-day speakers (representatives from business and media), travel-week learning trips, and teacher grant awards. The board acknowledged a planned renovation at CFIT this summer—approved on the consent agenda—to transform spaces and to add a security vestibule.
What happens next: AIM staff will continue outreach to address the waiting list and will implement new extracurricular offerings (theater technology club and a full musical production in 2025–26).
