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What Started as a Dream

What started as a dream between two teachers while tutoring middle schoolers after school became a reality in January of 2019. Success Gateway Academy (SGA) welcomed its first two students on August 1, 2019. Focused on the whole child as an individual, not the test score, or the learning pace, SGA provides a learning environment that encourages, supports, and caters to middle and high school students who struggle in “traditional” schools because of anxiety, social, sensory, academic, or attention challenges.

As a hybrid homeschool program, Success Gateway Academy bridges the gap between traditional schools and homeschooling. Students are supported daily through in-person learning, a flexible learning environment, and individualized instruction. Parents are equipped with the tools, support, and structure to help their child grow and succeed. A typical day at SGA consists of four academic classes (math, language arts, science, and history) with an accredited curriculum, certified teachers, and 15-minute breaks between classes. These breaks allow students to process what they learned, decompress, and just be kids. SGA also offers a path for earning a high school diploma.

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Parent’s Shaun and Nicole learned about Success Gateway Academy at an SGA Open House in 2019. Their teenage son, Chris, while charismatic and charming on the outside, was struggling both socially and academically on the inside. In early elementary school, Chris’s parents noticed that he learned differently than other children his age. While he was able to understand some of the subjects he was taught, his processing of this information was delayed, and he was often left behind. This caused Chris to continue to get further and further behind in his academic work and his advancement to the next appropriate grade level. Finding a home at Success Gateway Academy for Chris was a dream come true for Shaun and Nicole. “Chris is no longer stressed out about school because he can’t keep up. The self-pacing, individualized instruction, and adaptable curriculum that SGA offers allows Chris to experience success while working at a pace that makes sense for him. Additionally, this program has allowed Chris to function at an appropriate grade level while providing a safe and secure place for him to learn and grow as a happy student with some great friends as a bonus! It’s amazing what being in the right place at the right time can do for a student and you too as a parent.”

As the only hybrid-homeschool program in the West Cobb area, Success Gateway Academy also incorporates “life skills” into their program. Individual goals are set and discussed weekly with each student. These goals include what skills they want to work on now as well as what they want to be doing in five and ten years. Additionally, SGA began PEERS® (The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills) with their students in January. This twelve-week evidence-based program is world-renowned for providing social skills training for teens and young adults with socio-emotional problems such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety.

Success Gateway Academy meets daily from 8:30-1:30 in the youth center at Due West United Methodist Church in Marietta and follows the Cobb County school calendar. We are currently accepting applications for the 2021-2022 school year. Please call 770.626.2558 or visit us at www. sgacademy.org for more information.

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Success Gateway Academy is a hybrid homeschool program for middle and high school students who learn differently because of social, sensory, academic, or attention challenges. We meet daily from 8:30-1:30 at the Youth Center at Due West United Methodist Church. Call 770.626.2558 or visit www.sgacademy.org for more information.

"Every student can learn, just not on the same day or in the same way " . GEORGE EVANS

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