The Decatur County School System was named one of 19 participating systems in the Realizing Educational Achievement Can Happen (REACH) program for the 2015-2016 school year.
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal launched REACH in 2012 as a key initiative of Complete College Georgia. School systems partner with REACH and identify academically promising, low-income eighth grade students to serve as REACH Scholars. These Scholars are paired with a mentor and an academic coach through high school.
Upon graduation from high school, Scholars are awarded up to a $10,000 scholarship to be used at a Georgia HOPE-eligible two or four-year college.
“The REACH program is a premier example of how we are working to expand access to higher education to students who otherwise would not be able to afford it,” Deal said in a statement. “Through REACH, Georgia’s most promising students can turn their dream of attending college and making a better life for themselves and their families into a reality. This program continues to expand across Georgia because it promotes student achievement from the ground up, rewarding students for self-accountability, involving parents and providing motivation and support. With this combination, I have no doubt that the hard-working students in the 19 additional school systems will find that a college education can finally be in their reach.”
Georgia school systems had the opportunity to apply to participate in REACH Georgia during the application process that was open from December 1 through February 25.
According to the Governor’s office, the program will have 42 participating systems next year with more than 340 Scholars.
REACH Georgia is administered by the Georgia Student Finance Authority (GSFA), a companion student finance entity of the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC). GSFC is the state agency that administers the HOPE Scholarship and Grant Program as well as other state- and lottery- funded financial aid programs.