Students enter our “Creating Futures” program as early as 8th grade to assist them in their journey to becoming independent adults and prepare them for college or career

Post Graduate

Cumberland Academy of Georgia’s Post Graduate Program is designed for students transitioning from high school to college or into the professional world. This program enables the student to improve Math and English skills, complete a foreign language or other state requirements for a college preparatory diploma, and/or engage in a meaningful work study program with a local business. In addition, the Cumberland program will aid students in acclimating into a college environment socially and academically, advocating for services and maintaining those services, test prep assistance, and strategies to aid with organization and executive functioning. Students learn and practice life skills for success in college or career.

Cumberland post graduate students learn the importance of arriving to work on time, appropriate work attire, interview skills, paying taxes on time, writing a resume and social networking. The program also examines the importance of maintaining an appropriate profile online, professional and unprofessional action(s) in the work place, and how to socialize positively with coworkers. Post Graduate students will receive daily support services from a Cumberland teacher including support with organization/executive functioning, note taking skills in a college lecture, highlighting reading assignments, test taking strategies, writing research papers, summarizing information in a book, and help with homework and/or reading assignments.

Career Preparatory 

The Career Prep program, for students in 9th through 12th grade, offers a vocational, academic, and social curriculum, with a high level of personal guidance for the development of a satisfying career and the development of skills for the possibility of independent life.  Students accepted into this program work with one teacher throughout the day, except during social skills class or other extracurricular classes and events. The program has also been established to support students in becoming knowledgeable, exceptional citizens.

The Career Prep program curriculum, structured in 9 week periods to coincide with the whole school report card schedule, is designed to engage, educate, and train the selected students through a wide variety of methods.  The goal of the program is to produce in the student knowledge, and confident use, of vocational skills; practical math and personal money management skills; social/life/living skills development; and a high potential for self-sufficiency, through …

    1. Highly engaging in-class instruction, discussion, and in-class activities
    2. Off-campus vocational-related site visits, at least three times each week, including instruction and actual work, at organizations who hire students from our population
    3. Daily and end-of-week peer review
    4. Roleplay
    5. Guest speakers
    6. Selected reading
    7. “Home economics” skills

The Four Key Class Expectations

  1. To support our vocational studies and actual work, the students will be asked to respect the teacher, but to also consider, and act in every appropriate way, that the teacher would be someone who might hire them. In other words, the students will be expected to listen carefully, ask questions, confirm expectations, follow instructions, be prompt, and work well with others with the highest attitude of support and cooperation as if the teacher is their manager, too.
  2. The students will be constantly and strongly urged to try new ideas, think about life and work and personal relationships in greater ways, and diligently work toward the daily, weekly, and weekend goals established by the students and the teacher.
  3. Each student is required to actively participate in class discussion, offering up questions, comments, observations, and fair peer review.
  4. The students are expected to show respect to our site hosts/managers and to work at their best ability and focus during the work period while making observations of the activity and facility that will facilitate our peer review and class discussion about the event.

The program has been designed to provide a low teacher-to-student ratio. The seniors in the program, at graduation, will receive a modified high school diploma from Cumberland Academy of Georgia with no academic Carnegie Unit credit.