The top reported proficiency rate is 56% in Social studies. The lowest is 33% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on State Specialty Schools I- Cherokee Charter Academy
State Specialty Schools I- Cherokee Charter Academy is not an active entity. The school ceased operations on June 30, 2024, after the State Charter Schools Commission voted not to renew its charter in February 2024.
The academy served kindergarten through eighth grade students from Cherokee, Cobb, Bartow, and Pickens counties. In its final school year, enrollment stood at around six hundred students across those grades, with the student body roughly split between white students and students of color, including a substantial share of Black and Hispanic students.
In its last year of operation, the school adopted a classical curriculum model, a pedagogical shift that represented a significant change from its prior approach. On state assessments administered in spring 2024, proficiency results were mixed. In English language arts, fewer than half of tested students in grades three through eight demonstrated proficiency. Mathematics proficiency was lower still. Science proficiency was below that of English language arts. Social studies, tested only in eighth grade, showed the strongest performance, though still below majority proficiency.
The commission's decision to close the school followed concerns about both academic performance and finances. Staff reports cited a long enrollment decline over the prior decade. Publicly reported accounts indicate the school had struggled to meet either academic or financial standards.
Families who were attending when the school closed needed to find alternative placements for the 2024-25 school year and beyond. For families interested in a classical curriculum model in the same area, a new charter school called Cherokee Classical Academy opened in Canton in August 2025, operating under different management. That school follows a classical liberal arts curriculum and serves students in kindergarten through sixth grade in its opening year, with plans to add one grade level annually until reaching full K-12.
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