Three high-performing Fulton high schools open to non-residents
As reported by Martha Dalton in today’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Fulton County Schools is accepting applications from people outside the county for three of its high-performing — yet underenrolled — high schools. Out-of-county attendees will be charged tuition, but if your child is at a high-school that’s not working well for them and you’ve thought about moving them to a private school, the cost to attend these Fulton schools is a fraction of typical private-school tuition.
The available schools are North Springs High School in Sandy Springs, Northview High School in Johns Creek, and Global Impact Academy in Fairburn.
According to the article, the majority of enrolled students at all three of these schools take Advanced Placement or dual enrollment classes. This is important for high-achieving students, because when lots of students take AP classes, schools tend to offer a wider variety of AP courses.
In addition to its standard curriculum, North Springs houses two magnet programs: one for math and science, and the other for visual and performing arts. Global Impact Academy is a STEM magnet school.
Tuition for non-Fulton residents is $11,000 per year or $5,500 per semester, which is a lot to attend a public school, but far less than the area’s prestigious private schools. As a comparison, annual tuition at Pace Academy, Lovett, and Westminster is over $40,000 per year; Paideia and Atlanta International School charge more than $30,000 per year; and Fulton Science Academy is over $25,000 per year.
As you would expect, students attending these schools from outside the attendance zone have to provide their own transportation.
The application period for the fall semester goes through September 30, which surprises me, because school is scheduled to begin August 3. If you’re sure you want your child to attend one of these schools in the coming school year, I suggest submitting your application soon, so they can begin school there on the first day. But with the window to apply remaining open through September, if your child starts school in August and you find their school isn’t a good fit, you’d still have time to try to move to one of these Fulton County high schools.
To learn more, visit the Find Your Future page on the Fulton County Schools website.
You can find Martha Dalton’s story here, but note that the AJC has a paywall for articles.
Rockfest, dogs & day camps at Tellus
Three things are coming up soon at Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville: the Rockfest rock and gem showcase, a lunch and learn about search and rescue dogs, and science-themed day camps.
Rockfest 35 will be Saturday and Sunday, June 13 and 14. There will be geology-themed activities, including the chance to bring in a favorite rock and have it identified. Vendors will have rocks, minerals, and jewelry available to purchase, and I can tell you, based on my experience, if you have a kid with you who’s fascinated by rocks and minerals, the vendors will be very willing to talk to them, even if you don’t buy anything. There’s no extra fee to attend Rockfest, just the price of museum admission.
On June 24, the museum will hold a lunch and learn called Search & Sniff, which will feature dogs from a professional canine search and rescue organization. The program will discuss the science of scents and the biology of dogs’ powerful sense of smell. Tellus requests that children be at least 8 years old to attend. The lecture is included in the price of museum admission.
Finally, Tellus is hosting several weeks of day camp. The museum’s website doesn’t have a single page where you can see all of them, but they’re all listed on the Tellus Events page. You can click on any of them to see details.
Summer seminar at Atlanta History Center
The Atlanta History Center will host a four-day summer research seminar for high-school students, examining the timely topic of how museums shape historic narratives through their choices of what they collect, preserve, and display. Seminar students will explore the AHC’s collections and hear from experts in the field.
The program is open to rising high-school juniors and seniors. Applicants should have high-level skills in reading and discussion, and should be comfortable with collaboration and presentation.
The seminar will be held June 8-11, 2026 at AHC’s Buckhead campus. Applications are being considered on a rolling basis until all seats are filled. The application requires a recommendation from a social studies or ELA teacher.
(If you visit the web page about this program and see language about applicants being notified of their status by May 1 — and you recognize that it’s already after May 1 now — don’t be deterred. I have confirmed that as of today, open spaces remain.)
Midtown International School closes permanently
Midtown International School, metro Atlanta’s only private school specifically for gifted children, has announced it will permanently close this Friday, April 3.
In an official statement, the school said it was under finanacial strain caused by decreased enrollment and increased requests for financial aid, “making continued operations unsustainable.”
Georgia Tech K.I.D.S. Club expands to K-1 for April
Georgia Tech’s K.I.D.S. Club will offer a session for students in kindergarten and first grade as part of their April 25, 2026 workshops. This is an expansion of K.I.D.S. Club, which ordinarily is open to students in grades 2 through 5. I’m not sure whether this is a one-time expansion or a permanent change.
According to an email about the program, the K-1 group will go to three stations for 45 minutes each. At each station, they’ll first hear a read-aloud of a children’s book related to that station’s topic. Then, they’ll engage in activities inspired by the reading, where they’ll create, experiment, and build.
Georgia Tech is also offering is regular K.I.D.S. Club and STEAM Workshops on April 25, for grades 2-12. Topics will include AI, CAD, coding, fossils, the science of sound, game development, circuitry, robotics, and anatomy.
All workshops will meet on the Georgia Tech campus from 9 a.m. to noon.
Registration for all programs is open now.
“Meet the Musician” and more for preschoolers at Woodruff Arts Center
In the universe of enrichment for gifted children, the vast majority of opportunities are 1) STEM related, and 2) for elementary- and middle-school aged kids. So I’m always pleased when I can find something for younger kids, or something that’s not STEM. This is both!
The Woodruff Arts Center has a new program, “Meet the Musician,” on Friday and Saturday mornings at 11 a.m., open to little kids, from newborn to 5 years old (and their accompanying grown-ups). For each session, a musician will introduce and play their instrument.
“Meet the Musician” will be held in the newly opened PNC PlaySpace next to the Goizueta Stage for Youth & Families, in the Memorial Arts Building.
Other activities in this new space include exhibitions, story times, and dance. Everything is geared toward toddlers and preschoolers, and all activities are free.
PNC PlaySpace is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. Reservations aren’t required, but are recommended if you want to avoid waiting when you arrive.
Day camps at UWG Carrollton & Newnan
University of West Georgia has opened registration for its 2025 youth summer camps, being held this June and July. Camps are available for rising kindergartners through rising 12th graders.
For rising grades K-2, UWG will have Wolves Exploration Camp, described as active, with lots of chances to run around and get messy, and some academic concepts sneaked in. Topics for this summer are insects, international culture, space, visual arts, basic technology, and dinosaurs.
For students rising to grades 3-12, UWG will offer Immersion Summer camps. Topics vary by age and will include environmental science, esports, filmmaking, MakerLab, LED animation, photography, and art.
All camps are one week long. Most are held on the Carrollton campus; a few are at the Newnan campus. Registration is a la carte, for as many or as few weeks as you want.
Atlanta Science Festival starts next weekend
The 2026 Atlanta Science Festival starts this Saturday, March 7, and continues until March 21. As always, the festival will offer dozens of events in various venues in different scientific disciplines.
The festival will kick off on Saturday, March 7 with Celebrate STEAM at Georgia Tech, a collection of demonstrations, speakers, and food trucks on the Georgia Tech campus. This drop-in event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
This year’s slate of activities include geology, toads, brain science, fire ecology, native wildflowers, amphibians, hydroponics, pollinators, and ice cream — and that’s just in the first two days! The sheer number of activities can be overwhelming to browse through, but thankfully the festival website allows you to search for events by date, topic, audience (age group), or area of town (by ZIP code). You can also search by price if you want to see only free events.
As usual, the festival will culminate in the Exploration Expo, a free event with 100 informative and interactive booths, Saturday, March 21 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Piedmont Park.
Some of the planned events require advance registration and have a limited number of spaces, but many are open to anyone who drops in.
Learn about Georgia Tech summer programs
Georgia Tech will host two informational sessions about its 2026 Summer PEAKS programs — one in person and the other online. Both sessions will introduce the program, talk about specific plans for this summer, and answer questions.
Summer PEAKS is Georgia Tech’s summer program for students rising to grades 2 through 12. This year’s sessions will be held from June 1 to July 31. The program is broken into weeks; students can pick as many or as few weeks as they want. Topics for this year’s program haven’t yet been posted.
The in-person information session will be on February 28, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., on the Georgia Tech campus, in the Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons, auditorium 152. The virtual session will be March 3 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. via Zoom.
If you plan to attend either session, you’re asked to register ahead of time.
Registration for Summer PEAKS will open on February 28.
Registration open for Georgia Tech March workshops
Registration is open now for Georgia Tech’s March 14 K.I.D.S. Club and STEAM Workshops.
K.I.D.S. Club is open to students in grades 2 through 5. STEAM Workshops are for students in grades 6 through 12. Topics vary by age group. Topics planned for March 14 include chemistry, robotics, coding, animation, game development, soldering, and some special Pi Day celebrations.
All workshops meet on the Georgia Tech campus from 9 a.m. to noon.
The final K.I.D.S. Club and STEAM Workshops date for spring 2026 will be April 25.
Gifted Atlanta 