Members of DECA’s Class of 2014 gather at their GPC graduation with Kathryn Hall, GPC’s DECA program coordinator. (photo by Bill Roa)

The DeKalb Early College Academy, a joint venture between Georgia Perimeter College and the DeKalb County School District, is developing quite a reputation in Georgia. And it’s a very positive reputation.

Last year, the Georgia Department of Education cited DECA for having the highest graduation rate among high schools in DeKalb County based on 2012 data.

In fall 2013, DECA was named by the state DOE as a Georgia School of Excellence for the 2012-13 academic year.

The trend has continued this year.

In April, the Georgia Department of Education announced that DECA outscored every school in the state on the latest College and Career Ready Performance Index. The index measures how well K-12 public schools fare in terms of standardized test scores, academic progress, graduation rates and closing the achievement gap between different groups of students.

DECA scored the state’s highest rating of 99.3 from 110 possible points. Comparatively, the CCRPI overall score for Georgia high schools is 72.

Then, in May, two of GPC’s DECA students were invited to speak to the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents about their experience in the program.

Naud Ghebre who received his high school diploma in May, graduating as valedictorian, also had tallied up 69 college credits, earned his college associate degree, carried a 4.0 grade point average and taken part in Georgia Perimeter College’s math and engineering clubs and Student Government Association.

A classmate of Ghebre, 17-year-old Britney Pitter, graduated from high school with 64 college credits and an associate degree in general studies from Georgia Perimeter. She kept a 3.8 GPA while volunteering for Children’s Hospital of Atlanta and Special Olympics.

The two shared their personal academic journeys with members of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents and state higher education representatives during the May BOR meeting.

“The experience in DECA gave me confidence and a wealth of knowledge and career opportunities,” says Ghebre. It also saved his family money: “I did the math and realized I saved my family $18,000 in college tuition,” he said.

Ghebre is the first in his family to graduate from college, but he won’t be the last—his brother is a rising senior in the DECA program.