{ C U M B E R L A N D AC A D E M Y }
drive to fund a few much-needed renovations. Currently about 80 students are enrolled, and this year, four students graduated — their biggest class ever! Once a student enrolls, it doesn’t take long to start seeing results. Scarborough remembers one boy who refused to play basketball in P.E. because he was, as he put it, “a loser.” “About five minutes later, I look up and he’s in the game,” Scarborough said. “His mom is in the audience, and after the game, he goes running to his mom and says, ‘I did it!’ Things like that get me through the day. And we have those ‘a-ha’ moments just about every day.” Her son, Steven, a rising senior at Cumberland, is finally thriving like Scarborough always knew he could. He works part time as a car salesman, and his mom smiles when she talks about how good he is at it. She says he plans to attend college after he graduates, and eventually hopes to find a job in the automobile industry. Another student, Andrew Sheehan, tried seven different schools before one of his principals referred him to Cumberland, where he was surprised to finally find an accepting environment where he can be himself. “The reason I like Cumberland is you get more one-on-one time than other schools,” Andrew said. “At this school, every teacher cares.” Andrew graduated in May and is already accepted to Kennesaw State University, which he will be attending this fall. “I feel very confident,” he said. “I feel ready to go out into the world, whereas before, I probably would not have felt as confident with the abilities and traits I have. I’m really excited to be able to go and live on-campus.” The school has given students like Steven and Andrew a great education, self-confidence and lots of fond memories, but F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N that’s not all. It’s also given them Cumberland Academy something they’ve wanted all their 650 Mt. Vernon Hwy., lives, but never dreamed of having Sandy Springs before enrolling in Cumberland: 404-835-9000 cumberlandacademy.org true friends. PN 42
Points North | July 2013 | pointsnorthatlanta.com