Deerfield-Windsor, other Region 1-A Private schools leaving GHSA for GISA

Citing the changing landscape of the Georgia High School Association, all of the schools of Region 1-A Private of the GHSA, including Albany’s Deerfield-Windsor are leaving the GHSA and joining the Georgia Independent School Association.

The move comes just a year after Deerfield-Windsor left the GISA to join the GHSA. The change will take effect when the school year begins in 2022.

According to Deerfield-Windsor headmaster Allen Lowe, decisions made by the GHSA in July triggered discontent for private schools, including a decision that reduced the attendance zone. He said there had been multiple meetings since the July decisions, including meetings with GISA about a vision for having one independent school association. There is a possibility that the GISA may change its name.

Stratford Academy’s Logan Bowlds told a Macon television station “Stratford and our peer schools now feel sacrificing much of our independence to the GHSA is simply not in the best interest of our schools.”

Schools such as Pacelli and Heritage had already pledged to move to the GISA and after meetings with the other schools in Region 1-A Private, all of the schools in the region decided to move together to the GISA. Deerfield-Windsor, Strong Rock Christian, First Presbyterian Day School, Tatnall Square, Mount De Sales and Stratford all have pledged to move into the GISA.

On Tuesday, the GHSA released the classification alignment after the reclassification committee received enrollment numbers and determined classifications by using a 3.0 multiplier for out of district students. That multiplier moved many schools into higher classifications, including two private schools being boosted to the AAAAAAA classification. Lowe said the multiplier was not an issue for the Class A schools but other decisions that restricted private schools’ decisions was a problem. Another issue for Deerfield-Windsor was that there were no other GHSA private schools in Class A nearby — the closest being in Macon or Columbus. Lowe also said there could be more schools moving as well.