Ashley Kramer is in the top 10 of her senior class at Bryan Country High School, an honors student, a member of the National Beta Club, and has participated in school activities. However, she does not actually attend classes at the school where she will soon graduate and receive her high school diploma.

This is because she has attended college full-time for the last two years as a participant in the state-funded Move on When Ready program.  

Signed into law in April 2009, the Georgia MOWR dual enrollment program allows qualified high school students who are attending a participating high school or approved home study program to qualify for college-level courses that can earn their college and high school credits at the same time. Basically, qualified students can leave high school early and complete their remaining school credits while in college classes.

In 2015, after finishing the 10th grade, and with a desire to jump start her college career, Kramer passed the required SAT exam and was accepted into Georgia Southern University in the Georgia MOWR program. Two years later, she is preparing to walk with her BCHS graduating class of 2017 to receive her diploma, and she will already have completed her freshman and sophomore years at Georgia Southern University.   

To Kramer, it was the best move she ever made. 

“The transition to college was so amazing and it has been the most rewarding experience I could have ever imagined,” she said. “I’ve had the most wonderful counselors and support in high school and at Georgia Southern and the transition helped me focus on my future goals and career.  I would definitely make the same choice again.”  

Joanne Grossman, MOWR counselor at BCHS, said the program is a good choice for many students.

“The MOWR program is an outstanding opportunity for those students who are ready to start on their college degree. And the fiscal benefit of having tuition and books paid for by the GSFC is awesome for our students and their parents,” she said.

“Ashley has been a tremendous student role model for our school and the program for the last two years and has experienced great success.  All of us at BCHS wish her the best.”       

For more information on the Move On When Ready program, visit www.mowrga.org.

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