Albany, Georgia (November 7, 2019): New Schools Georgia, Inc. (“NSG”), a non-profit founded by Albany natives Teresa and Allen Hughes, received the green light yesterday from the Dougherty County Board of Commissioners to acquire the former Georgia National Guard Armory facility and 18 acres located at 1500 N. Monroe Street and 409 Eighth Avenue in Albany, for $300,000. Once the purchase in completed in early January 2020, NSG will invest nearly $5 million to renovate existing buildings and build new classrooms, as well as develop a playground and athletic fields for soccer, baseball and softball, transforming the property into the permanent home of Collegiate Academy of Albany (“CAA”), a new, independent, tuition-free, public charter school, serving families in Albany, Dougherty and Lee counties and all of Southwest Georgia. With an ultimate mission of preparing students to succeed in college and career, CAA will open in August 2020 with up to 376 students in grades K-3 on a first-come, first-served basis with no admissions testing. The school will add one grade per year until it reaches a capacity of 1,450 students in grades K-12. Even before announcement of a site, over 100 students have already applied to attend the school. With a statewide attendance zone, CAA expects demand to exceed seats available; if so, enrollment will be conducted through a public lottery to be held in March 2020. Mr. and Mrs. Hughes founded CAA to provide additional high-quality educational options to families in their hometown and throughout the area. In announcing the agreement, Mr. Hughes, chairman of CAA’s Board, said, “we are grateful to the County Board of Commissioners for their decision to sell the Armory property to the charter school, demonstrating their desire to attract high quality educational options for area families, which in turn makes the Dougherty County area more attractive for business investment.” CAA will be part of the SABIS® Network, a global network of schools that are backed by a 134-year old tradition of educational excellence, serving 70,000 students in 20 countries. Schools in the SABIS® Network implement an integrated, comprehensive K-12 program that uses dynamic materials, proven methods, and cutting-edge technology to deliver superior results.

Draft rendering of the proposed Collegiate Academy of Albany’s use of the Armory property. For enrollment information, interested families can contact CAA’s marketing office:
Ms. Kayla Solomon, (229) 349-6115, or visit the School’s Website: https://caalbany.sabis.net/ Press only:
New Schools Georgia, Inc., contact Glenn Delk at (404) 626-1400, delk.glenn@gmail.com SABIS® Educational Systems, Inc., contact Jose Afonso at (617) 515-6638, jafonso@sabis.net SABIS® Website: https://www.sabis.net/