What is the A+ School Scholarship Program?
The A+ School Scholarship Program is a school improvement initiative established by the Outstanding Schools Act of 1993.
Goals of the A+ School Scholarship Program:
- All students graduate from high school.
- All students complete a selection of high school studies that is challenging and for which there are identified learning expectations.
- All students proceed from high school graduation to a college, post-secondary vocational/technical school, or high wage job with work place skill development opportunities.
Student Eligibility:
- Sign an A+ Program Student Agreement.
- Attend a designated Missouri A+ High School for two years prior to graduation.
- Graduate from Diamond High School with a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or above on a 4.0 grading scale (unweighted).
- Graduate from Diamond High School with a cumulative attendance record of 95% or better.
- Perform 50 hours of unpaid tutoring.
- Maintain a record of good citizenship and avoidance of unlawful use of alcohol and drugs.
- Make a good faith effort to first secure all available federal post-secondary student financial assistance (FAFSA).
- Male student need to sign-up for Selective Services if 18 years old.
- Beginning with 2015 Graduates, A+ students must receive proficient or advanced on the Algebra I End-of-Course Exam.
Benefits of the Missouri A+ School Scholarship Program for Students
The program entitles our graduates who have met all requirements to receive reimbursement for tuition and fees to any Missouri public community college, vocational/technical school for two years (six college semesters) or the completion of one certificate program through a vocational/technical school. The tuition incentives will only be made available to reimburse the unpaid balance of the cost of tuition and fees after available federal post-secondary student financial assistance funds including scholarships have been applied to those costs.
To be eligible to receive the tuition incentive**, the recipient must:
- Be considered a full-time student by the institution;
- Be a US Citizen; and
- Complete the two years of full-time enrollment at a community college or a public vocational/technical school within four years after graduation.
Students will be eligible to receive the above incentive for two years if they maintain a 2.5 GPA in the post-secondary setting.
Other benefits to being in the A+ Schools Program:
The A+ Seal will be placed on their high school transcript
Students will be recognized at graduation
Students will have the opportunity to tutor
**Regulations and reimbursement money are subject to the General Assembly of Missouri can be amended without notice. Reimbursement is not the funding responsibility of the Diamond R-IV School District.
Please contact Karen Hayes, A+ Coordinator, at [email protected] or 417-325-5186, if you have questions or would like to enroll in the program.