Seventeen Gainesville-Hall County schools are on a revised list of the state’s Promise Scholarship schools that has been released by the Governor’s Office Student Achievement (GOSA). They are the same local schools that were on the first list when it was released late last year.
The list, which is made up of “low performing” public schools across Georgia, was withdrawn twice when it was originally released, both times in December, because the calculations used to select the schools needed to be reviewed.
The local schools are:
GAINESVILLE
Centennial Arts Academy
Fair Street International Academy
Exploration Academy
Middle School East
Middle School West
HALL COUNTY
Chestatee High School
Chicopee Elementary School
Friendship Elementary School
Lanier College and Career Academy
Lanier Elementary School
Lyman Hall Elementary School
McEver Elementary School
Oakwood Elementary School
Tadmore Elementary School
West Hall High School
West Hall Middle School
White Sulphur Elementary School
The list determines which students are eligible for the Promise Schools voucher program, which will give up to $6,500 to families to pay for private school tuition or home-school expenses. Gov. Brian Kemp signed the voucher bill into law last year, several months before the December mix-up.
Eligible students must be zoned for a public school in the bottom 25% for academic achievement. The student must also have attended a low-performing public school for at least two consecutive semesters or entering kindergarten.
The student’s parent or parents must have been a Georgia resident for at least a year unless they are on active duty in the military. Priority will go to families who earn less than four times the federal poverty level.
(click here to see the full list of every school in the state included in this report.)