Frequently Asked Questions 

Answer: Tuition is due on the first day of the month. Checks may be mailed or dropped off at the business office. We also offer automatic drafts from your checking account. Forms are available in the business office. Most families pay monthly but some pay quarterly and annually. Payment arrangements can be made through our business office.

Answer: Piedmont operates three buses - one to Jackson, one to Covington, and one to McDonough.  A complete transportation and fee schedule is available on our website for your convenience. Bus fare can be included in your tuition payment and is paid August through May. Parents must provide a car seat if their child falls within the state criteria for transporting small children. The bus schedule is posted under “parents/transportation” on the school’s website.

Answer: Our graduates choose a variety of colleges to attend after graduation. Most attend in-state colleges but some choose schools outside the state of Georgia. With the HOPE Scholar program, in-state colleges are very appealing to most families for their child’s college education.

Answer: Discipline in the classroom is handled by the teacher but more serious matters are sent to the assistant headmaster. Piedmont has a demerit system where students are issued a demerit for minor infractions such as dress code violation, chewing gum, etc. Students are allowed to “work off” demerits during break, after school, or attend scheduled Saturday detentions. If they choose not to work during their break time, they must attend an adult-supervised Saturday detention as well as pay a fee. Their detention work consists primarily of picking up liter, cleaning, painting, grounds maintenance, and other odd jobs around the campus.

Answer: Our guidance office offers academic advice and assistance in college choice/placement and available scholarships. We also offer a class for seniors to assist them with writing a college application essay, resume, discussion of life skills, etc. Juniors and seniors are allowed three excused college visitation days per school year. College recruiters visit our campus throughout the school year. Peer tutoring is available for our students and is arranged through the guidance office.

Answer: Our debate, drama and literary teams have won several state and regional titles since 1973 when the association of independent schools formed a literary program.

The debate team travels across the United States to compete with other schools and always has a successful event. Academic trophies are displayed in the main building trophy case.

Our sports program has won numerous regional titles and several state titles. These trophies are displayed in the gymnasium lobby. Championship years for extracurricular activities are posted in the gymnasium.

Answer: Our entire campus is wireless so laptops/I-Pads can be used anywhere on the school grounds provided they have key access. We have mobile laptop carts that are used throughout the school. The school has over 150+ computers connected to the network. We also have software on our server to filter out questionable/undesirable internet sites.

Computers are located in every classroom, the media center, and our administration offices. Students may bring their own laptop or I-pad and log into our server to access their device.

Answer: Progress reports are available every nine weeks. The semester grade average consists of the two nine-week grading periods plus the final exam. The school offers an on-line parent notification of student grades, course information, and homework assignments through RenWeb internet program. Parents and students have free on-line accounts that allow them access to information posted. Activation of a RenWeb account requires both parents and students and is handled through the guidance office.

Answer: Piedmont offers eleven sports programs. Fall sports include cheerleading, cross country, football, shooting team, and softball; winter includes basketball and wrestling; spring consists of baseball, soccer, track, golf, and tennis. Students in grades 6-12 are encouraged to participate. Elementary students have the opportunity to participate in cheerleading in grades K5-5, football in grades 3-5, and intramural basketball in grades K5-5.

Answer: We encourage all students to become involved in school life. One of our mottos is “Involved students become involved adults.” We offer debate, drama, literary, chorus, Y-Club, student government, FCA, FFA, and 4-H. Fifth grade students participate in a ten-week long drug awareness program called “CHAMPS.” Since our primary purpose is to prepare students for college, extracurricular involvement and community service is very important for college applications as well as life in general.

Answer: For high school, prom is held in the spring; middle school hosts a fall and winter dance; and elementary hosts a “Father/Daughter” dance.

Answer: The day begins at 8:00 and ends at 3:15. All students report to their assigned homeroom teacher. For grades 6-12, the day consists of seven class periods lasting 50 minutes, a 12 minute morning break, and 30 minutes for lunch.

Answer: Students wear a polo-type shirt available in short or long sleeves. The shirts are available in blue, gray, black, or white. On Fridays, we allow the students to participate in “spirit day” where they have the option to wear a t-shirt that is related to the school or GISA. Jeans or khaki shorts and/or slacks are allowed. Guidelines are posted in our student handbook.

Answer: Since Piedmont is “Accredited with Quality” by the Georgia Accrediting Commission and SAIS, they certify and validate that all our teachers meet state standards. All teachers in K5 thru 5th are certified and have degrees and certification in the areas in which they teach. All middle school and high school teachers hold degrees and many advanced degrees (Masters, Doctorate) in the areas in which they teach. Nearly all are certified or in the process of certification. To reiterate, they all hold degrees in the areas in which they teach. We also have teachers who teach as a part of a dual enrollment program with Georgia Military College wherein students receive college credit prior to completing high school.

Answer: The ratio of students to faculty is 12:1. Our average graduating class since 1971 is 22.

Answer: Piedmont is governed by a Board of Trustees consisting of enine board members elected by the parental body. Trustees serve a two-year term and their responsibility is to set policy and ensure Piedmont is financially stable. The day-to-day operations are handled by the school’s headmaster.

Answer: Our school was founded in 1970 and opened with 150 students. Our average enrollment for the past five years has been 348 students. We are “Accredited with Quality” by the Georgia Accrediting Commission; dual accreditation with Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) and AdvancED (formerly SACS); member of the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA); College Board (SAT/ACT); and Student & Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) approved.

Answer: We offer financial assistance based on need. Applications are processed through Facts After submitting the application through Facts , parents are required to submit a monthly budget sheet and a copy of their tax return to our headmaster. Financial assistance is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

For students entering Piedmont from public education, they are eligible to apply for Apogee Scholarship funds. Our school partners with Apogee, where the state of Georgia provides dollar-for-dollar tax credits for donations to Student Scholarship Organizations (SSOs), non-profits that provide private school scholarships. Individuals may claim up to $2,500 and married couples filing jointly may claim up to $5,000. An individual who is a member of a LLC, a shareholder of an “S” corporation or a partner in a partnership may claim up to $50,000.00 of their tax actually paid as a member, shareholder, or partner. Corporate taxpayers may claim up to 75% of their total tax liability. The program is capped per year and we strongly encourage for you to being the process in early fall of the current school year.

If you need more information, please do not hesitate to contact our financial office or Apogee directly at apogee123.org. or our business office at 706-468-8818, Ext. 313