A student working on a math problem during class.
A student working on a math problem during class.
The 2025-2026 school year began for local schools this month, and for three private schools in the area, the new school year marks the first round of students who have received the Georgia Promise Scholarship.
The Promise Scholarship, referred to as a voucher by some, is a $6,500 scholarship awarded to students to attend a private school of their choice or homeschool.
To receive the scholarship, a student must be attending a public school within the attendance zone of a school named an underachieving school. Three Rome City Schools, Main Elementary, West Central Elementary and Rome Middle were placed on that list.
Students who meet this criteria can apply for the scholarship at MyGeorgiaPromise.org. If approved, they must complete the application and the admission process for their chosen private school.
While students have to qualify to receive the scholarship, private schools have to be approved to receive scholarship students. Three local private schools applied and were approved. Those schools are Unity Christian School, St. Mary’s Catholic School and Berry College Elementary and Middle School.
This is the first year students have received the scholarship, and all three schools have Promise Scholarship students enrolled.
Unity Christian currently has 17 students, St. Mary’s has 8 and BCEMS has 10. Each of these schools has enrollment numbers in the hundreds.
Having this many Promise Scholarship students enrolled in this first round is great and unexpected, Christa Jackson, the director of admissions at St. Mary’s, said.
“We are thrilled with our students here who came because of GA Promise,” Jackson said.
At Unity Christian, the majority of the scholarship students joined kindergarten, and as a result, the school had to add a third classroom. This is because families who had their students enrolled in Unity’s preschool last year were eligible to receive the scholarship and chose to stay at the school.
“Some of our current students, upcoming kindergarten, qualified for it, so that was really exciting for them,” the admissions director at Unity, Michelle Roll, said. “It opened up a possibility for them to continue their education at Unity, whereas they may have had to leave.”
Despite this being the first year for this scholarship program, administrators from the local schools have said that it has been a relatively seamless process.
After the students are approved for the scholarship, they move through the same admissions process as any other student, Roll said.
The only issue schools experienced was a more extended waiting period between when families were approved and the money came through.
Hiccups are expected with this being the first year, Jackson said, but overall, the families and students have been over the moon.
Unity echoed that sentiment.
“A lot of them were families that had wanted to be here anyway,” Unity Elementary Principal Rebekah Mathis said. “The students wanted to come here, but they just couldn’t financially make it work. This opened the door for them to come. They’ve been a welcome addition, and they have really added a lot to our classrooms.”
The thing each of these schools praised the most about the scholarship was that it bridged the gap for students and families, allowing them the chance to attend a school that was previously out of reach.
“With the support of the GA Promise Scholarship, more families are able to choose an education that fosters curiosity, creativity, and a love of lifelong learning,” Kimberly Bergin, the director of admissions at BCEMS, said.
The Georgia Promise Scholarship is open for applications four times a year, and the next enrollment period begins on Sept. 1 and ends on the last day of the month. Families interested in the scholarship can learn more on the website at MyGeorgiaPromise.org.
Directors of admissions at the three private schools also recommended interested families contact them for tours and more information on admissions.
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