Go McIntosh for great staff and nice learning environment. The parents are a bit too much at the Mill. They really showed their behinds at a couple of sporting events.

I just got out of high school this past year. I'm doing dual enrollment at Clayton State this fall to finish high school and start college. I did however spend a year and a half at Starr's Mill and a year and a half at the Campus (a private school in PTC that I liked very much so). I also was a serious drug addict. I'm in recovery now (thank god) and get six months clean August 1st. But I do know quite a bit about drugs in PTC. I know a lot of people at both schools however this is what I've observed about both schools in relation to drugs from my time here.

Drinking is rampant in both schools. But then again alcohol is rampant everywhere because drug education in this country refuses to admit that alcohol is a drug and our society has found this terrible drug to be acceptable. Why I wonder? It's worse for your body and has a greater risk of physical dependency than marijuana, LSD, psycilocybin mushrooms, 2C-B or DXM, all illicit drugs that our society deems as immoral and terrible for you, but I won't get into my personal beliefs on drugs. Sufficed to say though because of the way our society views alcohol it's rampant among everyone with little to no regard. But find me one high school that doesn't have it's fair share of alcohol going around. I mean one day during my sophomore year at the Campus my friend brought rum to school and got the whole class drunk during lunch. But that's not to say the Campus is a bad school. I got drunk at Starr's Mill too.

Marijuana is the next big drug that comes to mind. Personally I'd say if you're going to {{{{{{EDITED}}}}}}} do drugs don't drink alcohol, just smoke some kaya. Anyhow, the marijuana scene at Starr's Mill is pretty hush hush. A good bit of people do it but not too many. It tends to be more of something the jock type kids do, but they also tend to prefer drinking. It's not very out there and really it's just a hard thing to get into at Starr's Mill. When I got into it I actually ended up involved in the McIntosh drug scene because at Starr's Mill marijuana is expensive, of poor quality and not very plentiful. McIntosh though is a trip. It's not hush hush at all there. It's out in the open. It's not hard to get into there at all. People buy and sell it on the golf cart paths just outside the school on a daily basis and smoke it there too. And it's not something that's pretty much exclusive to a certain group of people, pretty much if you're interested or even if you're not it'll find it's way into your life there.

Another major drug in use by high schoolers today would by adderall or it's counterpart vyvance. Both are some seriously {{{{{{EDITED}}}}}}} drugs, just like all ADD/ADHD medication. You can get it dirt cheap from any kid who's prescribed it. $3 for a pill? That's a damn good deal, some might say. Kid's will take it and they get all geeked up. It makes you stay up the entire night and the next you're completely fine with that. It makes you extremely agitated and kills your appetite completely. These drugs are plentiful thanks to every kid in the world who can't sit down and focus getting prescribed these drugs even when the problem really isn't ADD/ADHD. It might not be a bad idea to learn a bit about this pills because they are a bit of a gateway drug around here.

DXM is another big drug that comes to mind. DXM is a dissociative psychedelic similar to PCP or ketamine (It has however safer than the other two as it doesn't cause Olhney's Lesions AKA holes in your brain). It gets you high by messing with the receptors in your brain that essentially connect the mind to the body. And guess where you get this drug? You don't get it from dealers out on the street. You don't grow it on a plant. You don't order it off the internet. You get it in the cough and cold aisle of your local pharmacy. Coricidin cough and cold works the best, robotussin liquid gels work, or if you've got the stomach for it you can just drink some straight tussin. But these drugs are so popular because all it takes is a trip to Rite Aid, Kroger, Publix or Target and a little five finger discount and they're yours. From my experience I've seen these get used a lot more at Starr's Mill. I remember I didn't go a week at Starr's Mill without seeing someone robotripping down the hallway.

LSD and psycilocybin mushrooms are not very popular in PTC. Very hard to find. You've almost always got to go out of town for them. However I will say this much, whenever I used to get them in town it was always from someone cliqued in with the McIntosh community

Pain pills and xanax get a lot of use at both schools. I really don't know how so many show up on the street but they're plentiful at both schools. Although I've observed that they were always cheaper at McIntosh.

The RC scene in PTC is nonexistent. You will not find anyone trapping some 2C-B or 2C-I in this town.

Absynthe has found it's way in PTC in the last year. A few people in the McIntosh community have been getting it for a while now.

You'll be glad to hear this. Methamphetamines are not circulating in either high school. Cocaine is kind of present in this town, but it's not really getting into high school hands that often. However whenever I did hear about any high school kids getting coke it was always at McIntosh. Heroin is another drug not to be found at McIntosh or Starr's Mill

Salvia is a legal abnormal psychedelic that is should at some gas stations to anyone 18 years of age or more. It's become quite popular at both schools.

All and all though there are a good bit of drugs floating around both schools but it's definitely a lot harder to find your way into at Starr's Mill.

I have a Son at McIntosh..he dates a girl from Starrs Mill. I see many kids on a weekly basis that attend both schools. They ALL seem like good kids. I don't think you can go wrong with either school.

I prefer the area I live in near the center of town because it's so easy to get most anywhere on a golf cart.

All the schools in Fayette County are good schools. Howard has a point about the weaknesses of Starr's Mill and McIntosh in that some of the kids and their parents suffer from affluenza, but if you are a family with good and healthy values, your kids can get a great education and have a good time with other nice kids at both those schools.

Sometimes the loyalties to those two schools make parents and kids from them look down on the other schools in the county, which is totally undeserved. A great academic education and a great overall experience is available at each. What seems to make MHS and SMHS stand out on top is that they have most of their students come up through outstanding feeder elementary schools and middle schools. The high schools that get more move ins from other local school systems have a harder job getting those kids' performance up. There are also some national demographic testing trends that play out locally, through no fault of the schools.

This may not help if you need to move over the summer, but touring the schools and talking to the kids and parents at each would tell you which would be the best fit for your kids. It's really subjective, and SHMS and MHS get more alike all the time.

As an insider to SMHS I can share the following:

The administration is experienced, professional, school spirited, and student-oriented. Students and their needs are placed first, and they and parents are, if you will, catered to frequently--sometimes to excess but usually very fairly. The Guidance department teems with parent conferences on anything from minutia to teacher, grades, or peer issues.

The senior administrative disposition is that parents and students are the "customers" and teachers, coaches, and aides, "serve." The school environment is a "nurturing" one in which students may learn and make mistakes in a safe environment, and that college will take "care of itself." Teacher attitudes vary in degree of consideration of the latter philosophy, but all teachers work toward helping students be successful, regardless if the teacher is deemed "hard and demanding" or "easy and laid back." That teachers have differing methods and styles scares some parents that their child won't succeed or be offered fair opportunities, but staff knows this to be a myth. The staff is highly dedicated to student success, and its differences are appreciative ones making the school a rich environment for students to apprehend different ways of learning and working with people.

The teaching staff is highly qualified with several years' teaching experience, and many have advanced degrees and accolades. Many volunteer their time after school and before to sponsor clubs and classes, and the faculty is a caring one as well by donating anonymously to colleague or student needs, especially. Needful students never know how they got that new pair of glasses or shoes, or who bought the graduation gown, and the staff keeps it that way. Such needs do exist in Peachtree City.

Student needs reign supreme in academics. For struggling or low-skills students or those with domestic issues or mental, emotional, or physical issues have at their disposal any number of assistances from tutoring, remediation, counseling, and other services. Students actually have to try very hard to fail at the school, as so many fail safes are put in place for them. The school also offers a large number of AP and honors courses, which offer a moderately rigorous curriculum.

The community is largely supportive of the school and its efforts, but some in the area cannot be pleased and complain frequently taking issue with any number of situations. The area does serve a certain element of affluence, and with that comes from some an air of privilege and expectation of rule bending and negotiating, but such is not always possible in academics and especially in the area of discipline. Routine discipline is carried out by the book with an occasional rare exception at the discretion of an administrator who has privilege to circumstances. More serious discipline infractions are handled by the book always and with swiftness, making the school a safe environment for all. Few major discipline infractions occur over the course of a year.

Every school has it problems of drugs, truancy, insubordination, and such, and no one adminstrative team or staff will eradicate those totally. School staff bleed red when cut--they are human--and subject to error as anyone working for any large and public institution.

Hopefully this information will assist you in your decision making.

Regards.

Don't be afraid of any of them. You know your child and you know your priorities and philosophies. If everything is well grounded, he'll be fine anywhere. My son graduated from Fayette County HS and has degrees in Geology and Structural Engineering; daughter graduated from McIntosh and has a degree in Communications and is a Certified Personal Trainer. It's all what you make of it.

Unless you want your kids growing up around spoiled, privileged and unsupervised rich kids who partake in heavy marijuana/alcohol use...

Take a look at Sandy Creek, the county's best all-around high school. It has the top teachers, coaches and administrators. While the student body is still populated with a lot of rich kids, they're a little more grounded over there. The school mostly serves northern Fayette County/Tyrone, but a sliver of PTC is covered as well.

If you must live in middle/lower PTC, consider Our Lady of Mercy or Landmark Christian -- two excellent nearby private schools.

Airline move? Peachtree City has some great attributes as my family and I enjoy shopping and dining there; however, you should keep an open mind and shop around Fayette County, especially the Whitewater high school district from Goza Rd to Brooks.
Great deals in a nice country setting; Starr’s Mill, McIntosh and Whitewater have great things going as all three constantly excel in academics and athletics.

Both schools are rated highly. Each school has it's advantages. Here is a link from Atlanta Magazine, this article extols the advantages of the metro high schools. http://www.atlantamagazine.com/education/atlantaschools.aspx Also check out greatschools.net The advantages of Starrs Mill vs Macintosh, is really up to you. Not sure what you are looking for in regards to your child's needs, sports or scholastic needs.