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Schools

Second Class Of Graduates From Archer High School

AHS marks a milestone with record enrollment

Archer High School marked a milestone with the 2011 graduating class with 230 students walking across the field to receive their diplomas Friday night. That's double the number of the first graduating class the year before.

Archer opened in 2009 to help ease overcrowding. Most of the students came from Grayson High School, Central Gwinnett High School, and Dacula High School.  Since then, Archer has made great strides in boosting enrollment.  It was recently named in the top 5 percent of best high schools in the nation by The Washington Post.

"It's a great, great achievement for all of us", said Principal, Charles "Buck" Buchanan, "This class received more than $1 million dollars in scholarships, five of our sports teams made the state playoffs...that's not bad for a second-year high school."

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Of the 230 graduates, most will go on to college with 153 to attend a 4-year college or university, 23 are going to technical school; 30 will attend a 2-year college or university; 14 will serve our country in the military; 10 will go into the work force.

Senior class president, Nicole Nash, marveled on how the class has become a family.

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"We've all come together from different places, and we've created a school that is nothing but our own," she said.

Salutatorian, , encouraged classmates to enjoy the next chapter in their lives.

"We have reached the time...where we step off our bikes, put the kick stand down and set out completely on our own, realizing that it's not the destination that's the most important part of the journey, it's remembering to enjoy the ride," Healy said.

, Valedictorian, warned of the importance of making wise decisions.

"Starting tomorrow, the choices that we make and the paths that we take will greaty impact the lives that we live," she said.

Angel Dahn, 18, is looking forward to the future as she plans to attend Jacksonville State University in the fall.

"I'm really excited. I'm finally done with high school," Dahn said.

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