Schools

Douglas County Schools to Pilot Need-Based Scholarship Program

Douglas County Schools will be one of three counties, including Rabun and Bulloch, to take part in Georgia's new REACH Scholarship, which makes use of mentors from middle school through high school graduation.

"It was a natural area of interest for us," Dr. Gordon Pritz said, superintendent of Douglas County Schools. "It fits very nicely with a program we already have. We already have over 300 mentors in our program."

Gov. Nathan Deal announced the launch of the REACH Scholarship (Realizing Educational Achievement Can Happen) on Tuesday at Georgia Tech.

“The REACH Scholarship continues our state’s ongoing commitment to providing access to higher education for all Georgians, regardless of their income,” said Deal in a press release on the state's website. “This scholarship will reward students for self accountability, promote parent involvement and provide motivation and support; all factors that we know are critical in student educational achievement."

Find out what's happening in Douglasvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"The criteria requires that the student be selected as early as seventh grade," Pritz said. "The student is provided a graduation coach that follows them throughout their education career to make sure the student gets good grades and has good behavior and attendance. Those who succeed will have a scholarship waiting for them as a reward."

The student and their parents or guardian will sign a contract in middle school, for the student to maintain a certain grade average and remain crime and drug free. Students who complete the requirements will earn a renewable yearly tuition scholarship of $2,500 to be used at any HOPE eligible institution. This amount will cover the average gap between other needs-based scholarships, such as Pell, and the full cost of attendance, according to the state press release.

Find out what's happening in Douglasvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For more information, go to www.gacollege411.org.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here