Governor Perdue Announces Ten Georgia High Schools to Receive $650,000 to Improve Graduation Rates and College Readiness

Governor Perdue Announces Ten Georgia High Schools to Receive $650,000 to Improve Graduation Rates and College Readiness

ATLANTA – Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that ten Georgia high schools were selected to participate in a National Governors Association (NGA) grant program that will improve high school graduation rates and college readiness. The high schools will receive a total of $650,000 to expand student participation in advanced placement courses and virtual learning.

“I am very proud of the ten high schools receiving this grant,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “These schools understand that access to a rigorous curriculum is crucial to improving student achievement in Georgia.”

The ten high schools receiving the grant funding include: Bainbridge High School in Decatur County, Duluth High School in Gwinnett County, Greenville High School in Meriwether County, Jefferson County High School, Lowndes High School in Lowndes County, Mary Persons High School in Monroe County, Morgan County High School, Rockdale County High School, Stephens County High School, and Union Grove High School in Henry County.

The ten high schools were selected by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) and the Georgia Department of Education (DOE). In April 2006, GOSA hosted a conference for the ten participating high schools and their feeder middle schools. At the conference, the College Board presented workshops on Advanced Placement (AP) courses, AP

Potential, Score Report Plus, Summary of Answers and Skills and Vertical Team Training. DOE’s virtual schools division presented a workshop on virtual learning. More training will be offered to representatives from the ten high schools June 28-30 at a conference hosted by the College Board in Delray Beach, Florida.

The NGA Center for Best Practices’ Honor States Grant Program is a $25 million initiative to improve high school graduation rates and college readiness in 26 states. The ten Georgia high schools selected are participating in phase two of the grant program, designed to help states implement targeted high school reform initiatives.

The committee awarded grants to Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Wyoming. GOSA will administer and coordinate the Georgia’s Honor States Grant Program.

For more information about the NGA Honors State Grant, please visit http://www.nga.org.

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