| Time Period |
Event |
Description |
| 1996-97 |
Business Community Expresses Educational Concerns |
Coweta County business community expresses concerns to Superintendent over state of preparedness of employees, local economic health, and retention of top students. |
| 1996-97 |
Superintendent asks Joe Harless to chair CEC Steering Committee |
Joe Harless, world-renowned performance technologist and local Coweta County resident, begins looking at how to apply his Accomplishment Based Curriculum Development System to education. |
| 1996-97 |
Community Steering Committee Formed |
20 members of the community came together to study the problem and conduct a needs assessment. Made of business/parents, industry, education, and government. |
| 1997-98 |
Central Educational Site is identified. |
Coweta County identifies former middle school as site for CEC. Approximately $7 million was the value of the site contributed by the Coweta County Board of Education. |
| 1998 |
The Eden Conspiracy by Joe Harless is published |
Joe Harless' book details an educational revolution based on his experience and research, and ABCD performance technology system. |
| 1999 |
A meeting with Governor Roy Barnes is arranged by Coweta County representatives. |
A meeting between the Governor and Coweta County representatives leads to pledge that Technical College system will work with Coweta County to build a model of educational reform. |
| 1999 |
Central Educational Center school charter is written and submitted for approval. |
A formal charter application is submitted for the Central Educational Center. |
| 1999 |
E-SPLOST contributes to CEC site renovations |
Special educational tax passed in Coweta County in 1997 leads to $2 million in renovations to donated site, renovations from 1999-2001. |
| 2000 |
Governor and Legislature agree to provide "Governor's Model Project Grant" |
Governor Barnes and Georgia's Legislature, led by Coweta County's legislative delegation, agree to provide $7 million to allow physical build-out of original Steering Committee design. Planning and building begin in 2000 and completed in summer of 2001. |
| 2000 |
Steering Committee hires Mark Whitlock as CEO of CEC |
Board of Directors hires Mark Whitlock, VP at Bank of America, to lead CEC. |
| 2000 |
New Board of Directors established |
17 member Board of Directors: 9 parents (3 each from each of the 3 high schools), 4 business members, and 4 educators. |
| 2000 |
Administration, staff, and Directors hired |
|
| 2000 |
CEC Opens |
CEC opens its inaugural year. |
| 2001 |
2001 Alumni |
First group of CEC alumni (Cohort 1) |
| 2002 |
2002 Alumni |
Second group of CEC alumni (Cohort 2) |
| 2002 |
FSU brought on to conduct Educational Research |
Agreement is reached with FSU to conduct a three-year longitudinal study of CEC, which included following graduates into "real" world setting. |
