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Clear skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Very cold. Low 17F. Winds light and variable..
Clear skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Very cold. Low 17F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: January 20, 2025 @ 7:27 pm
Cartersville High students Ja’Quira Draughn, Kevin Mendez, Hayley Rosa, Malachi Davis and Matthew Martinez sign their GateKey Scholarship agreements.
REACH Georgia Scholarship recipients Emma Daughdrill, Brandon Gonzalez, Yosiah Gunn and Ava Grace Morgan attend the signing ceremony at Cartersville High School.
Cartersville High students Ja’Quira Draughn, Kevin Mendez, Hayley Rosa, Malachi Davis and Matthew Martinez sign their GateKey Scholarship agreements.
REACH Georgia Scholarship recipients Emma Daughdrill, Brandon Gonzalez, Yosiah Gunn and Ava Grace Morgan attend the signing ceremony at Cartersville High School.
Nine students took center stage during Cartersville City Schools’ GateKey and REACH Scholarships Signing Ceremony last month. The festivities took place at Cartersville High School’s media center Dec. 19.
“We had an excellent group of candidates apply and go through the interview process for both programs this year, so for these students to have been the ones selected speaks volumes to their character and academic abilities,” said Lisa Bell, president of the Cartersville Schools Foundation. “They are outstanding students.
“I am always excited to begin working with our new GateKey and REACH Scholars. Everyone involved with the program looks forward to getting to know them and watch them grow in their journey to college and beyond.”
The GateKey recipients include CHS seniors Ja’Quira Draughn, Kevin Mendez and Hayley Rosa; and freshmen Malachi Davis and Matthew Martinez.
“GateKey, a needs-based scholarship program supporting Cartersville City School students, was created in 2007 and signed its first 16 scholars in 2008,” according to materials provided by CCS. “Our first cohort of GateKey seniors graduated in 2011. Students in grades 9-12 who qualify for free/reduced lunch and are self-motivated, academically high achievers may be nominated for GateKey.
“After a rigorous selection process, selected students must continue to maintain good grades, complete all work and have good attendance. Upon graduation from CHS, these students will to able to access up to $7,500 in scholarship funds as needed over the course of four years. GateKey Scholars are mentored throughout high school and provided with financial assistance as needed for extracurricular activities, ACT/SAT testing and college applications.”
Bell shared, “since the REACH Georgia Scholarship program was created using GateKey as a template,” the criteria for both is the same.
To qualify for these programs, Bell noted students had to maintain a “C” or above in their classes and meet the family income requirements; and have no disciplinary issues.
“Our first cohort of REACH students graduated in 2017, and we have watched the program change the lives of many students since then,” she said.
CCS’ most recent REACH Georgia Scholars are Emma Daughdrill, Brandon Gonzalez, Yosiah Gunn and Ava Grace Morgan.
“REACH Georgia is a needs-based scholarship program that pairs rising eighth-graders (Scholars) with a mentor and academic coach to help prepare them for college and for the 21st century workforce,” according to CCS’ materials. “REACH Scholars who successfully complete the program and graduate from high school are awarded up to $10,000 for up to four years of college attendance ($2,500 each year) at a University System of Georgia college or technical college of their choice. Scholars may have an opportunity to receive additional funds through the college they attend.”
Both the GateKey and REACH programs help students achieve academic success and reach their higher- education goals.
“GateKey and REACH students receive support throughout their high school and college journeys,” Bell said. “These students and program directors build relationships that continue for many years. We are proud of these students, who at one point may have believed college was not going to be possible for them, to now be college graduates enjoying successful careers.
“They all have the potential to do anything and just need to be made to believe that and given a path to follow. They are the ones doing all of the hard work and we are fortunate to have the opportunity to work with them. We are incredibly proud of them.”
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