Athens Christian School (ACS) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

PreK Pre-kindergarten (also called pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

– 12

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. The term has been used in the context of various faiths, including Jainism, Baháʼí Faith, Zoro ...

Christian school A Christian school is a Parochial school, religious school run on Christianity, Christian principles or by a Christian organization. These schools often include religious education and worship in their curriculum. They may also have a distinct Ch ...

located in

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

, United States.

History

Radio minister and bookstore owner Buhl Cummings opened Athens Christian School with his wife in 1970. They offered Bible study and opened each day with worship and prayer. The initial enrollment consisted of white children whose parents wanted to avoid enrolling them in racially integrated public schools. According to historian Ashton Ellett, white elites enrolled their children in Athens Christian School as part of the transition to a class-based system of racial exclusion that was nominally colorblind and revolved around the rhetoric of individual rights, personal freedom, and meritocratic enrollment. In 1985, Athens Christian School suspend a student for participating in an off-campus theater's production of

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...

. Headmaster Buhl Cummings explained that school banned dancing because "it inflames the passions of youth".

Rock-n-roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African American music such as jazz, rhythm and ...

music was also banned because the "jungle type beat" was reminiscent of the "drums of Africa where they don't know the gospel". In 1995, an Athens Christian School representative stated that the school was seeing additional applications in response to Clarke County School District's "controlled choice" plan to reduce school segregation.

Academics

ACS is accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission.

Notable alumni

Alan Busenitz Alan Paul Busenitz (born August 22, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Cincinnati Reds organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) ...

(2008),

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher * Seaver King (2021), third baseman and outfielder in the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

organization

References

External links

* {{GHSA Class A Division I Region 8 Christian schools in Georgia (U.S. state) Educational institutions established in 1970 Schools in Clarke County, Georgia Buildings and structures in Athens, Georgia Nondenominational Christian schools in the United States Segregation academies in Georgia 1970 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)