Gwinnett County students to graduate after given second chance with non-traditional, free program, Acceleration Academies
- Dec 10, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Dec 12, 2025
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Traditional high school wasn’t all that smooth for Cobi Dawson. He discovered the Gwinnett County Acceleration Academies program.
“Traditional school wasn’t really for me,” Dawson said. “Like people, everybody wants to be alike. They act like people they’re not; they hang around other people they do the wrong things.”
The program caters to students who felt traditional high school wasn’t working out. It’s primarily an online program, that also requires them to come into the building 12 hours a week.
Gwinnett County Public Schools is a partner, and the program is free to students.
“We have working students, we have parents,” said interim director Morris Bevily IV. “We have students who struggled with anxiety. We have students who struggled with just being in high school… 2,000-3,000 students where they felt they weren’t seen or heard."
On Thursday, 40 students will be walking across the stage to receive their diplomas. The students come from many walks of life.
“People turned their backs on them, and we opened our doors to them,” said Bevily IV.
“Some of the ending classes were a little bit longer but I just pushed through it,” said Weston Charles, a graduating student.
Charles always felt different in traditional high school.
“I felt good but at the same time I felt like a target,” Charles said. “Because sometimes being like the bigger, taller person, you kind of like stick out.”
He and Dawson are proud of themselves, their peers and teachers for getting them to this point and their families for believing in them.
“I know my family won’t turn their back on me,” Dawson said. “If I need them, they’ll always be there. They’re the ones who truly love me. Think about what is in the future, and with that mindset it just kind of pushed me forward.”
Graduation will be held at 10 a.m. at the Gwinnett County Public Schools ISC building on Dec. 11.
You can learn more about the program here.
View the original article here.