George Walton Academy (GWA) is a pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade private school in Monroe, Georgia. It was established in 1969 as a segregation academy in response to school integration in the United States. History George Walton Academy was founded in 1969 during school desegregation in Good Hope, Georgia. It is now located in Monroe, Georgia and serves PK-12th grades with a student-teacher ratio of 10:1. According to brigadier general, author, and GWA alumnus Ty Seidule, the school was founded for one purpose: "Ensure white kids didn't have to go to school with Black kids." Initially, the school was located in Good Hope, Georgia, where the school took over the facilities of two public schools, the previously all-white Good Hope School and the previously all-black Good Hope-Peters School. In 1975, the school moved from Good Hope to Monroe. As of 1983, several black children had been accepted for admission, but none had enrolled. As of 1991, George Walton Academy was accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission, but not Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which was considered the legitimate accrediting association for the state. In 2010, George Walton Academy withdrew from the Georgia Independent School Association, which consists largely of former segregation academies, and started to compete alongside public schools in the Georgia High School Association athletic league. They would later return to the GISA (in the sector of GIAA) and continue athletics there. In 2017, the school's global studies program was launched and includes educational study opportunities in Belize, France, the Galapagos Islands and Spain. Students have the chance to conduct field work alongside medical students from Johns Hopkins University in Belize. In 2020, more than $4 million was pledged for the GWA "Go Beyond" campaign to expand and enhance the athletic and arts facilities on campus. The school was also awarded a School Empowerment Grant by Walton EMC to expand the high school physics program and lower school STEM program. In 2021, George Walton’s board decided to fire headmaster Dan Dolan after four years of service. The board later replaced him with Gary Hobbs, the current head of school. Accreditation The academy is accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission, Southern Association of Independent Schools and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The academy is a member of the Georgia Independent School Association and the Georgia High School Association. Fine arts Visual and performing arts classes are offered during