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COVINGTON POLICE DEPARTMENT
County Schools System in 1992, we had only approximately 8,000 students. Thirteen years later, in 2005, we had approximately 18,000.”
Clamp said to compensate for the increase, a plan for expansion was created.
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“Now in order to accommodate that student growth, we had to have a massive building program,” he recalled. “We built 10 schools during that period. Four elementary schools, four middle schools and two high schools. And in addition, we added 130 classrooms to existing schools. We also built a service center and a (board of education) building. And I’m proud to say — and a little bit lucky too — we brought all of these buildings in on time and within budget.”
Eastside High School was opened in 1994, located on Eagle Drive in Covington, as a transitional school and later became an official high school in 1998 after its first graduating class. In 2021, construction of a new Eastside High School was underway at 140 Georgia Hwy. 142 in Covington. The facility opened in time for the 2022-23 school year.
In 2006, Alcovy High School was opened at 14567 Georgia Hwy. 36 in Covington.
In 2021, Newton County Schools System consists of 25 different schools, many of which are located in Covington. These include the Newton County Theme School at Ficquett, which is slated to move to the old Eastside High, Newton College and Career Academy, Mainstay Academy and RISE Academy.
Samantha Fuhrey is Newton County’s current superintendent. In 2020, Fuhrey was named Georgia’s Superintendent of the Year and was a finalist for the national award.
The Newton County Schools Board of Education consists of five members: Anderson Bailey, Trey Bailey, Abigail Coggin, Shakila Henderson-Baker and Eddie Johnson.
Approximately 20,000 students are enrolled across Newton schools. The district has posted a graduation rate of 87% or higher from 2018 to 2022 — about five percentage points higher than the state graduation rate each year, on average.
County’s most prominent private schools found in Covington
During the first 50 years of Newton County’s existence, education was not seen as a public responsibility.
There were 11 private academies incorporated in the county by 1850, with some being Palmyra Academy in Newborn; the Male Academy in Covington; Mt. Pleasant Academy in SEE NCSS ON PAGE 23
