Some of Georgia's low-income students will receive up to $10,000 for college through a privately funded scholarship program Gov. Nathan Deal unveiled Monday.
The REACH Scholarship program will target middle school students who have the academic skills for college but may struggle to afford it, Deal said. These students will be paired with mentors and others who can groom them for college. Then, if the students maintain good grades and behave, they will receive annual tuition scholarships of $2,500 for up to four years.
The scholarship's reach will start small with just 25 students from Bulloch, Douglas and Rabun counties. AT&T donated $250,000 to support the first scholars and Deal encouraged others to participate.
The program will expand as more donate, although it's too soon to say how many students will receive scholarships, said Jackie Coleman, the program manager.
The scholarship addresses concerns about the rising cost of college and it will cover the gap between other needs-based scholarships, such as the federal Pell Grant, officials said. Students who receive this award will still be eligible for HOPE, the state's lottery-funded merit-based scholarship.
REACH "will hopefully give opportunity to young people who might otherwise not be able to continue education after high school," Deal said. "I think it will create new opportunities for students all across our state."
Georgia is the only southeastern state without a needs-based scholarship program, said Crystal Collins, a policy analyst for the nonpartisan Southern Regional Educational Board.
While applauding the state for creating a program, Collins and others questioned whether it will be able to raise the money to expand it. Florida, which has offered a similar program since 1995, has more than $109 million in assets and has helped more than 16,000 children.
Questions over how the program will work needs to be answered and it will be years before the state sees the benefit, said Cedric Johnson, who wrote a recent Georgia Budget and Policy Institute report urging the state to offer a needs-based scholarship. In that report he advocated for the state to shift the $20 million currently spent on low-interest college loans to a needs-based scholarship.
Sen. Jason Carter, D-Decatur, supported a needs-based scholarship but said "we are talking about it today to avoid a discussion about HOPE."
Lawmakers overhauled that program last year, reducing payouts to keep it from running out of money. Projections released last month show scholarship amounts will again drop in fall 2013.
In response Carter and other Democrats filed several bills to again overhaul HOPE, including using an income cap on eligibility to make sure the money goes to families who need it the most. Deal and many Republicans oppose an income cap, saying it would be unfair to students who have strong grades but come from wealthy families.
Deal announced his intention to create a needs-based scholarship in August as part of a wide-range of initiatives to help more people earn a degree.
REACH scholars will be selected by local school systems. They will chose from students who are eligible for free and reduced lunch, although emphasis will be placed on those who would be the first in their families to attend college, Coleman said. Students from a family of four with an income of $29,005 or less qualify for free lunches, while those from a family of four with an income of up to $41,348 can get a reduced price lunch.
Students will be required to sign a contract promising to attend school, stay out of trouble, remain crime free and earn a 2.5 GPA in high school. Parents would sign their own contracts promising to support their children.
Students would be paired with mentors and coaches to help them stay on the right track. Coleman would help schools find volunteer mentors, while the coach positions could be filled through school fund-raising or using public money they already have, she said.
The program is modeled on one used in Cartersville City Schools, which the superintendent there brought from Florida.
Daphanie Johnson, a junior at Cartersville High, signed up for the program while in middle school. Johnson said the program provided the motivation and support to attend college. She hopes to attend University of Georgia or Berry College in Rome to study animal medicine.
"It's kind of like my ticket out," she said. "It's hard work paying off."
Deal announced the program at Georgia Tech and President Bud Peterson said the school will match the $2,500 scholarship for any REACH scholar who attends the school.
In-state tuition at Georgia Tech is $7,282 for two semesters, plus an additional $2,370 in fees. That doesn't include books and basic living expenses.
Beyond the financial help, Peterson said REACH is special because of the strong mentoring component.
"It will allow students envision themselves going to college and reaffirm that if they work hard, they can go to college," Peterson said.
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