Coca Cola: open happiness. Apple: think different. Publix: where shopping is a pleasure. These are all companies with mottos known throughout the world. With the right motto to signify a company’s goals, businesses often find themselves thriving in the eyes of the public. The Fayette County Board of Education is no exception.

“The tagline, ‘Where Excellence and Creativity Merge,’ brings together the core subjects of education (represented by ‘excellence’ in the logo) with creative learning models now in place for students to customize learning to their needs and interest,” FCBOE Public Relations Specialist Melinda Berry-Dreisbach said.

After the Fayette County Board of Education approved the change on Feb. 4, individuals all around the suburban, Georgia community were left asking, “Why?” Those on the south side of the county need not look very far for the answer.

One example of high academic standards and expectations working side-by-side in a new learning model is happening right next door to Starr’s Mill High School.

From sixth to eighth grade, “Students enrolled in the Community for Creativity at Rising Starr Middle are combining visual art, written communication, music, theatre, technology, and film with science, math, English Language Arts, and social studies,” Berry-Dreisbach said.

According to Berry-Dreisbach, in order to maintain such a new technique of teaching, a partnership has been established with the Atlanta Woodruff Arts Center to provide opportunities for students to attend performances and programs at the Woodruff Center. In addition, the partnership between the center and the FCBOE now permits artists to bring workshops to schools and for teachers to participate in professional learning opportunities so that they can learn how to incorporate the arts across all subjects.

“Creative disciplines foster collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking skills,” Berry-Dreisbach said. “By combining them with traditional academic subjects, students are learning all of the skills necessary to be successful in their future careers.”

Atlanta Woodruff Arts Center is not the only business supporting this new model. Other affiliates include:  Malt Maker Media, Fayette County Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Film Academy, and Pinewood Studios.

“The film and television industry will look to the school system to begin preparing workers for entry-level positions,” Berry-Dreisbach said. “We are already doing this now, but I can see where the demand is going to increase with the additions of new film and television studios in Fayette County.”

Because of the new film organizations, such as Pinewood Studios, establishing themselves in suburban Atlanta, the opportunities in visual entertainment have increased exponentially for residents in Peachtree City, Senoia, and Fayetteville.

“I believe the film industry will continue to grow in our county and so will the need to have a skilled workforce in this area. The film and television industry will look to the school system to begin preparing workers for entry-level positions,” Berry-Dreisbach said. “We are already doing this now, but I can see where the demand is going to increase with the additions of new film and television studios in Fayette County”

With Pinewood Studios on the rise and Georgia replacing California in terms of film production, future opportunities for students aspiring to enter cinematography is climbing exponentially.

In addition to film, “Another area that is going to explode is AI (artificial intelligence). AI is a perfect example of how creative subjects (art, public speaking, writing) and traditional subjects like math and science merge,” Berry-Dreisbach said. “AI is enabling people to approach creative endeavors in a way that resembles math, blurring the line between art and science.”

For more than a decade, the FCBOE slogan has been “Where Excellence Counts,” but with a new age of technological advancements on the horizon, change is almost always inevitable.

“Our tagline, ‘Where Excellence and Creativity Merge,’ and the logo, which visually depicts the merging of traditional and creative programs at all grade levels will continue to be relevant for years to come,” Berry-Dreisbach said.