The Graduates Ready to Attain Success in Post-Secondary (GRASP) program grant aims to support selected Georgia high schools as they work to increase student success in achieving high school graduation, complete post-secondary programs, and productively participate in the workforce. Implemented by the Governor's Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) and now operated by the Georgia Department of Education's (GaDOE) Office of School Improvement, the GRASP grant provides funding for one additional school counselor at selected schools.

The GRASP grant provides counselor support to districts and schools by supporting a reduced caseload of 70-80 off track students. GRASP counselors are engaging learners in creative and intensive interventions and strategies to support and guide students through high school graduation and successful admission into post-secondary programs. As the Office of School Improvement provides a superior system of statewide support to districts and schools, the alliance with the GRASP grant provides a way to address the many challenges facing Georgia's school counselors and their ability to make a significant impact on school's overall graduation rates. 

​Grant Awardees

Over the past four years, 23 Georgia public high schools across 14 school districts have participated in the GRASP program.

Participation Year: 2018-2019*   2019-2020*   2020-2021* 2021-2022  *

​Current Grant Awards for SY 2021-2022

• GRASP Sustainability Grant $56,000 per approved returning Cohort 2 schools with *.
• GRASP Grant $102,000 per approved Cohort 3 schools with *​.​
  

GRASP Memorandum of Agreement Expectations

The Grantee will/shall:

• Hire one additional school counselor to support a specific and limited caseload of at-risk students in achieving academic, personal/social, and career development success.
• Establish goals and objectives based on the identified areas of student need.
• Create a GRASP committee consisting of the GRASP counselor, a school administrator, a school counselor, one teacher, and the counselor coordinator. This committee will meet as needed to review and support program effectiveness and to ensure the GRASP grant's goals and objectives are being implemented.
• Focus on the following outcome objectives:

• ​​​​​Objective 1: Assist each GRASP student ​with creating and implementing a postsecondary plan.
• ​Objective 2: Increase college and career opportunities to help at-risk students succeed.
• Objective 3: Track the academic performance of GRASP students to establish success strategies, and for planning and evaluation to ensure on target graduation.

• Align the work of the GRASP counselor with the school's improvement plan and ensure the GRASP counselor is

1. Responding to individual student's needs,
2. Monitoring the progress of the identified at-risk students who are on the counselor's caseload, and
3. Conducting graduation status meetings with the identified at-risk students.

• Ensure that the school's principal (or his or her designee) will meet twice a month with the GRASP counselor to discuss program effectiveness.  The discussion should include a review of areas of concern and academic data (attendance, discipline, grades) of the students on the GRASP counselor's caseload.

• Ensure that the GRASP counselor conducts a needs assessment and creates an action plan that outlines services that will be performed, individuals responsible for those services, resources needed for those services, and a timeline for completion of the services. The action plan will include agendas, calendars, events, activities, student/parent contacts, and time analysis.

• Permit the GRASP counselor to work a flexible schedule based on student need and program delivery.
• Ensure that the GRASP counselor meets with the GaDOE GRASP program specialist on an ongoing basis and attend all GaDOE professional development training provided for GRASP counselors.
  

GRASP Program Evaluation Reports

Prepared and published by Governor's Office of Student Achievement Auditing, Evaluation, and Research
GRASP Evaluation Reports