GCPS Class of 2023: Gwinnett seniors prepare for graduation

May 10, 2023

     Graduation is right around the corner for more than 13,310 potential Gwinnett graduates, the culmination of 13 years of hard work during their K-12 academic careers, including two years affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s high school seniors make up the school district’s largest graduating class to date.

     “Congratulations to the GCPS class of 2023. I am so excited for what the future holds because of you,” says Dr. Calvin J. Watts, superintendent of Gwinnett County Public Schools. “Graduation from high school marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. The class of 2023 has faced unique challenges and obstacles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are graduating at a point in our history when technology is advancing rapidly, and the world is changing quickly. This class is special in their own right; they have persevered and shown resilience and adaptability. I look forward to all the meaningful ways the GCPS Class of 2023 will positively contribute to our community and the world.”

The senior report for the Class of 2023 shows that:

• After graduation, 75.7% of the students have plans to continue their education by attending college or postsecondary schools. The vast majority of graduates, or 83.4%, plan to attend college in Georgia.
• These seniors have been offered, as of April 2023, more than $231,648,862 million in academic, athletic, and military scholarships.
• The majority of the scholarship amount, more than $118.2 million, was earned in athletic scholarships. Gwinnett students also received more than $109.5 million for academic achievement, and more than $3.9 million in scholarships tied to service academy appointments. These monetary awards do not include HOPE awards (typically, about a third of graduates), and National Merit Scholars.
• The Class of 2023 also includes 4,334 Honor Graduates, who are graduating with a grade percent average of 90 or better.
• More than half of our seniors—6,732 —experienced the challenge and rigor of college-level Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses during high school, with nearly half (3,309) of those students earning a 3 or better (5-point scale) on optional AP exams to earn college credit or advanced placement in college classes.
• Another group getting a head start on college? The 1,714 Gwinnett grads who participated in the state’s dual-enrollment program, earning both high school and college credit.
• More than 1,833 students will enter the workforce after high school, many armed with credentials and certificates earned through our career and technical education programs and sought after by local employers. Students graduating from the district’s Academy high schools—Berkmar, Central Gwinnett, Discovery, Lanier, Meadowcreek, Shiloh, and South Gwinnett—complete high school with valuable exposure to college majors of interest and experience in potential careers.
• Brookwood High graduates the largest class this year, closely followed by Peachtree Ridge High, and North Gwinnett High.
  A group of 32 high-achieving Gwinnett seniors earned a full scholarship through the QuestBridge National College Match program. Of the 16 Gwinnett schools with QuestBridge scholarship recipients, the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology had the most with six. College Match Scholarship Recipients are admitted early to QuestBridge college partners with guaranteed, full four-year scholarships that are provided by QuestBridge’s 48 college partners, including top liberal arts colleges and exceptional research universities.
• Colleen Blascik, a senior at Seckinger High School, and Alan Medina, a senior at Shiloh High School, are among the nation’s 300 Gates Scholarship recipients for 2023. Funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, this last-dollar scholarship funds the full cost of attendance that is not already covered by other financial aid and the expected family contribution for high-potential, low-income minority students. It also provides support to Scholars by engaging with them and their institutions in ways to ensure they have access to the resources and services they need, from their first to last day of classes, through graduation and the transition to their chosen careers.
• Nine Gwinnett graduating seniors earned full rides as Posse Scholars. Founded in 1989, the Posse Foundation identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes. Posse extends to these students the opportunity to pursue personal and academic excellence by placing them in supportive, multicultural teams—Posses— of 10 students. Partner colleges and universities award four-year, full-tuition leadership scholarships to Posse Scholars.
• Gwinnett grads continue to answer the call to military service. Ten Gwinnett seniors accepted appointments to one of the nation’s military service academies. A total of 421 seniors will serve their country through military service after graduation, including cadets who honed their leadership skills in Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) units available at 14 GCPS high schools. Those earning academy appointments include:

     Gwinnett County Public Schools also salutes the highest-ranked students in each school based on their GPA, those earning the title of valedictorian or salutatorian. They are:

The graduation ceremonies for Gwinnett’s Class of 2022 will take place as follows:

Families and friends can livestream graduation ceremonies. Find more information here: https://www.gcpsk12.org/Page/32706