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MACON, Ga. — More than 15,000 families across Georgia applied for the Georgia Promise Scholarship this year, according to program data. The private school voucher program offers up to $6,500 annually for eligible families to use on private school tuition or homeschooling materials.
In Bibb County, more than 850 families submitted applications, the third-highest number of applications from a county. Georgia Promise said just under 600 of those Bibb families were awarded scholarships. Nearly 150 families in Houston County also received Georgia Promise funding.
For those approved, the new Georgia Promise Scholarship Marketplace is now live. The online portal works like a store exclusively for program recipients, allowing them to order approved educational materials.
Macon mom Cee Michelle is homeschooling her sons, Phoenix and Lennox, using the scholarship. When the Marketplace opened in July, she said she immediately began stocking up for the school year.
“I started ordering school supplies, STEM toys and things for the boys, some learning assistant tools so we can really start to hone in on getting those little minds working here,” Michelle said.
She called the Marketplace “kind of like an Amazon for Georgia Promise” and said it offered more options than she expected.
“The amusement was in finding out that not only was way more than I expected cover, but that there’s a wide array of things that maybe we hadn’t even thought about,” Michelle said.
Vice President for Public Policy at the Georgia Center for Opportunity Buzz Brockway said the Marketplace makes the process easier for families.
“It allows parents to know exactly what they can purchase, what complies with the law, what are deemed to be education expenses,” Brockway said.
Brockway said homeschooling has grown in popularity in recent years.
“It’s kind of the ultimate in flexibility for education options and it allows parents to really take charge and direct their child’s education the way they want it,” he said.
Georgia Promise said scholarship funds are distributed in four $1,625 deposits throughout the school year. The first was issued this month, with the next scheduled for October, January and April.
The program’s next application windows are in September and December. You can find out if you are eligible and apply here.
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