The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) has announced that six DeKalb County School District schools have been selected as recipients of the Graduates Ready to Attain Success in Postsecondary (GRASP) Grant.

Four schools are receiving the GRASP Cohort 2 Sustainability Grant worth $56,250—Clarkston High School, McNair High School, Stone Mountain High School and Towers High School. Cross Keys High School and Miller Grove High School are receiving $102,000 each from the GRASP Cohort 3 Grant.

“I want to thank the Georgia Department of Education for awarding the GRASP grant to these six schools,” said DeKalb County School District Superintendent Cheryl Watson-Harris. “The district is dedicated to meeting the social, emotional and mental health needs of our students, and this grant will help these six schools meet those needs.”

The GRASP grants provide selected high schools with funding for one additional counselor to support a specific and limited caseload of at-risk students in achieving academic, personal/social, and career development success. Allowable grant expenditures include salary, benefits, and travel expenses to required training for the additional counselor.

GRASP counselor duties will include, but will not be limited to:



  • conducting in-depth student analyses to understand the population needs and establish an appropriate caseload;
  • providing supportive one-on-one student collaboration to create individually tailored plans and programs of study for each student on his or her caseload;
  • establishing a comprehensive team to provide student support for each student on his or her caseload; and
  • engaging his or her caseload students in discovering, examining, and exploring postsecondary options and possibilities.

GRASP is a two-year grant program, with two participating cohorts of counselors and students.