Missouri A+ Program

A+ INFORMATION

WHAT IS AN A+ SCHOOL

Stockton High School has been selected by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as an A+ school site. The A+ schools grant provides the opportunities and funding for SHS to make basic changes designed to guide students in a rigorous program of academic and technical education that will prepare them for the workplace, post-secondary vocational-technical training or college.

GOALS OF AN A+ SCHOOL

  • To ensure that all students graduate from high school.

  • To ensure that all students complete a selection of high school studies that is challenging and has identified learning expectations.

  • To ensure that all students proceed from high school graduation to a college, post secondary vocational technical school or high wage job with workplace skill development opportunities.

AM I ELIGIBLE?

To be eligible for assistance you must meet the following requirements:

  • Be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or lawfully present in the U.S.

  • Enter into a written agreement with your high school prior to graduation.

  • Attend a designated A+ high school for 3 consecutive years immediately prior to graduation.1

  • Graduate with an overall grade point average of 2.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale.

  • Have at least a 95% attendance record overall for grades 9-12.

  • Perform at least 50 hours of unpaid tutoring or mentoring, of which up to 25% may include job shadowing.

  • Maintain a record of good citizenship and avoid the unlawful use of drugs and/or alcohol.

  • Beginning with the high school senior class of 2015, have achieved a score of proficient or advanced on the Algebra I end of course exam or a higher level DESE approved end-of-course exam in the field of mathematics.3

  • Enroll Full Time at a participating Missouri School: Click HERE for schools.

  • Be seeking a degree or certificate at the school in which you are enrolled.2

  • Not be pursuing a degree or certificate in theology or divinity.

  • Make a good faith effort to secure all available federal financial aid by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).If you are attending a school that does not participate in Title IV programs you must complete the FAFSA4caster, which is a tool for estimating your level of need for federal financial aid.

  • Maintain satisfactory academic progress as defined by your school, including the school’s established grade point average requirement.

  • Continue to meet the eligibility requirements for initial students.

  • tool for estimating your level of need for federal financial aid.

1If one of your parents is a member of the military on active duty or has retired from the military and relocated to Missouri within one year of their retirement, you are exempt from this requirement. However, you must attend an A+ designated high school in the school year immediately preceding graduation and meet all of the other high school eligibility requirements.

2If you have already received an associate degree or baccalaureate degree you are not eligible for the A+ scholarship program.

Each spring, during A+ students’ junior year, the Missouri Department of Higher Education announces the alternative(s) available for those who do not achieve a score of proficient or advanced on the Algebra I end-of-course exam. This announcement allows the juniors sufficient time to establish eligibility before graduation.

Although the COMPASS exam has historically been an alternative to the Algebra I EOC requirement, that exam is not an option for the 2019 seniors as a result of ACT’s complete phase-out of the exam in November 2016. Since it is extremely difficult to accurately equate a placement exam score with a score of proficient or advanced on the Algebra I EOC, the COMPASS exam will not be replaced with other placement exams, such as Accuplacer, as an alternative to the A+ Algebra I EOC requirement. As a result, the ACT math/high school GPA scale is the only alternative to the Algebra I EOC requirement available to the 2019 seniors. In addition, it is the only path to eligibility for the majority of private high school students who do not have access to the state’s end-of-course exams.

The scale only applies to students who do not have a qualifying score on the Algebra I EOC, or a higher level math EOC approved by DESE. This means students who have achieved a qualifying EOC score are not required to meet the alternative scale’s criteria, although they still must meet the program’s requisite minimum 2.5 GPA. This includes private high school students that transferred from a public high school after receiving a qualifying score on the Algebra I, or a higher level math, EOC.

4A renewal student is someone that has received an A+ payment, or who was eligible but whose award was reduced to zero after federal, non-loan aid was applied to tuition and fees, in a prior academic year. If this is the first academic year in which you have received an A+ payment, you are not subject to the renewal minimum GPA requirement but you must meet the GPA requirement defined in your school’s satisfactory academic progress policy.