COMMUNITY PROFILE: Georgetown and Scott County

Georgetown Genius
Education enjoys broad public support in Scott County

It’s a fact that you could live in Scott County all your life, never leave the city of Georgetown, and still get a top-notch education, from kindergarten through a master’s degree. In a county where the judge executive and the mayor of its largest city are both former teachers, education is considered a top priority.

“We’re somewhat unique in that we have extraordinary support from county and city governments, Georgetown College and the community as a whole,” said Dr. Dallas Blankenship, superintendent of Scott County Schools. “Our school doors are open to the community and we want to serve it any way we can.”

In Scott County, each individual public school is a member of the Georgetown-Scott County Chamber of Commerce. According to Blankenship, the community’s spirit of cooperation and support has resulted in substantial support of education from the area’s businesses.

“A number of businesses pay their employees regular salaries for time they spend volunteering in our schools,” he said. “This creates a situation where the entire community benefits. Scott County Schools offer excellent academics, but also extraordinarily successful extracurricular activities. These have included sports, chorus, one of the nation’s best Future Farmers of America chapters, band and other opportunities.

“And one thing is certain. These programs wouldn’t be nearly as successful if it weren’t for the support of parents, volunteers and the community in general.”

The superintendent used Scott County High School’s storied basketball program as an example. “Our sports teams enjoy extraordinary support,” Blankenship said. “When our basketball team plays in Rupp Arena in the Sweet 16, we’ll have eight to ten thousand Scott Countians there cheering us on. With our high school chorus, we have more than 200 members. The chorus routinely wins state and regional awards. Our Junior ROTC unit has 140 students in it and is one of the highest-ranking units in the country.”

The partnerships formed between Scott County Schools and local businesses are the envy of educators throughout the state.

“We have partnerships with dozens of businesses,” Blankenship said. “One example is the Quest program, which we have with Toyota and in which we jointly share some staff. With Quest, we teach brainstorming and problem-solving techniques.

“Our schools also have a partnership with Georgetown College, where we have a large number of students who are mentored. They learn about a wide variety of professions and often they get scholarship offers from the college.”

Facility-wise, the Scott County School system has benefited from the area’s growth and increased tax base. “In the past decade, 74 percent of our building space has been either completely renovated or is new. The last few schools we’ve built have a resource called a community room that is available for use by the people of that area.”

Within the next few weeks, ground will be broken on Ann Mason Elementary School and a new middle school as well.

“When I think about Scott County,” Blankenship said, “I think of a vibrant community that works hard, has high expectations and a bright future. We never think about the school system without thinking about the community overall. One does not exist independent of the other.”

Affiliated with the Southern Baptist faith, Georgetown College is one of only 26 colleges and universities in the nation designated as one of “America’s 100 Best College Buys” and among “America’s Best Christian Colleges for 2001-02.” It is the only institution of higher learning in Kentucky listed in both reports, according to Institutional Research & Evaluation Inc., a consulting firm specializing in higher education.

The college has been in a growth mode ever since Dr. William Crouch took the reins as its president in 1991. Georgetown College has made national news in both the academic and athletic realms in the decade since. The institution has been the only Kentucky college or university to partner an academic program with a college at England’s Oxford University. Also, its football and basketball teams have won numerous NAIA honors. (In December, the Georgetown College Tigers football squad won their second consecutive championship.)

The philosophy taken by the college as a member of the Scott County community gives one a good idea why it has met with considerable success.

“We’ve been focused on this concept of partnerships,” Crouch said. “Whoever we partner with, be it a business or other organization, we want them to have success before we have success. We bend over backwards to help them be successful. If we can help a business improve its bottom line, they’ll go out of their way to help us.”

The president is mindful of the college’s spiritual commitments, as well. “There’s a rare combination at Georgetown College of academic excellence, extracurricular success and a strong commitment to being a faith-based institution,” Crouch said. “There is a strong tie between faith and learning that is important in this country; make that especially important, after September 11th.”

Along with an aggressive plan that has led to the renovation of most campus buildings, and the construction of modern facilities, Georgetown College’s leaders will not rest on their laurels.

“We’re trying to achieve Phi Beta Kappa status,” Crouch said. “Since 1985, no faith-based institution has achieved it. That’s a real challenge.”

The president said that he and his wife love their Scott County community. “I like the commitment this community has to education,” Crouch stated. “We’ve had a superb experience with the public school system. I like the people who live in this community and I like what this area has to offer in meeting our needs and our wants. If I was starting a college from scratch, I would put it in Georgetown. It’s the perfect place for an institution of higher learning.”

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