PRINCIPAL'S WELCOME

Dear BASA Community,

It is with great excitement and pride that I officially welcome you to the 2020-2021 school year. We are very eager to soon invite students into our beautiful facility for the first time. We know they will fill it with energy and enthusiasm as we begin our first year together!

First, I want to personally assure you that BASA is committed to developing and protecting an equitable school community in which all students are respected, supported, and challenged to succeed. We believe that racism is unacceptable in any form, and we are committed to leveraging education as a positive force in all our students’ lives.

I would also like to take this opportunity to share three guiding principles that we stand for as a school:

• Connection: We fully understand that relationships are critical for everything that we hope to accomplish together. In that vein, we are excited to launch our “Crew” program in which students will meet in small groups each day to develop connections, set and monitor goals, and engage in social-emotional learning. We believe this will ultimately serve as the heartbeat of our school community. More information about this program will be coming soon.
• Clarity: In order to best serve our students, we need to be clear about what knowledge and skills are most important for their future success. We recently met with representatives from Lanier Technical College, Northeast Georgia Health System, The University of Georgia, and Georgia Institute of Technology to plan partnerships that will benefit students. We are very excited to have representatives from each of these organizations, and more, working alongside students and teachers at BASA.
• Challenge: We will challenge students to think at high levels and go beyond the minimum expectations. We want our students to quickly develop an “above and beyond” mindset. Our vision for BASA graduates is to grow into the future leaders of our community, state, and nation. In addition to learning important leadership skills, our students will have the opportunity to apply this learning in school and community-based service projects.

Each year at BASA, we will develop a theme for our school community to rally around. This year’s theme is derived from a quote by Dante Alighieri, an Italian poet: “From a little spark may burst a flame.” We are a small group, and this is just the beginning of a long journey. However, with our collective energy and commitment, I know that we will be successful in blazing this important new trail in education.

Although our doors have yet to open physically, it is already clear that BASA is a very special community. We could not be more excited to be a part of this journey with each of you.

And, we can’t forget…. Go Blazers!

Dale Simpson, Ed.D.
Principal