Governor's Schools of West Virginia | Governor's Honors Academy

HOW TO APPLY TO GHA

The GHA Application for 2010 is in two parts. Part I is submitted online. Part II is the traditionial paper copy. All applicants must submit Part I. The applications of the county selections and alternates will be mailed to Charleston by the county superintendent's office.

Below are detailed instructions you should read before beginning the application process to GHA.

The first step to applying to GHA is to be sure you meet the proper requirements.

See your guidance counselor to learn the school timelines.
Complete an application and request recommendations from two teachers and a peer. The teachers should be from grades 9-11
Keep the pages in numerical order with the essay at the end. Your counselor will add the transcript, first-semester grades, and /test scores.
Submit the completed application to your counselor. Applications for GHA must be processed through the applicant's county. The Department of Education and the Arts will not accept an application directly from a student or a school. Your guidance counselor will work with a county coordinator to set up meeting dates, and he/she will tell you the date by which you must submit your application to the school.
If you are home-schooled or if you attend a private/parochial school, have someone contact the board of education office in your county to find out deadlines for application submission.

The Selection Process

*County superintendents must submit their student selection list and the applications no later than Wednesday, February 16, 2010.

School deadlines should be set so that there is ample time before the applications and recommendations must be sent to the county coordinator.

School Decision

1. The principal establishes a school selection committee, composed of the principal or a designee, guidance counselor, two teachers (one who teaches high-level classes or gifted), and a senior-level student who has attend GHA, provided that there is one in your school.

2. The counselor notifies students who are eligible to apply for the program and announces the opportunity for all interested students. These announcements are crucial, because it is possible for the counselor to miss an eligible student.

4. Teachers and peer type recommendations and submit them to the student.

5. The school committee then considers all complete applications and nominates qualified students to the county. The time line for submissions is determined by the county coordinator to dovetail with the county and state deadline of February 16.

County Decision

1. The superintendent or county GHA coordinator issues timelines to each school, including private and parochial schools. The county coordinator names a county selection committee composed of the superintendent or a designee, a teacher representative from each participating high school, senior GHA alumnus/ae, a teacher of honors classes or gifted students, a counselor, and a career/technical educator.

2. One female and one male student are selected to participate in the West Virginia Governor's Honors Academy. These are designated as the superintendent's choices.

3. Additional students are nominated by the county for consideration as at-large appointments for a state-wide pool. Look for qualifying career/technical students, since among the 180 students, there shall be at least 15 career-technical students.

4. The county selection teamsubmits the recommended participants and at-large candidates to the superintendent for his/her signature. The superintendent's office submits them to the State Director of Governor's Schools on the Superintendent's Recommendation Form . Counties are NOT to notify students of their selection status. Students who are selected will receive a letter from Governor Manchin.

State Decision

1. Two superintendent's appointees--one male and one female--are reviewed for eligibility and invited to attend the Academy.

2. The West Virginia Governor's Honors Academy Advisory Council evaluates candidates for at-large positions and selects a minimum of 70 additional students to attend. Among the 180 students, there shall be at least 15 career-technical students

Application Forms

Listed below are the applications for potential GHA Students, Faculty, Resident Director, and Resident Assistants. Do not fill out the application before familiarizing yourself with the process.

The links below are available as Microsoft Word documents.

Right click the links and select "Save target as" or on a Mac select "Download linked file." Then open the file as a Word document. After opening the document in Word, highlight the line where the information you wish to enter should be and type the requested information.The final page of the application, which includes some short answers can be filled out in the same manner. Don't worry if it spills over onto another page. Please use 12-point type. After completing the application and writing the essay, print it and include it in your application packet. If you have problems, contact Sherry Keffer at Sherry.L.Keffer@wv.gov

Do not type directly on the form as it appears on the website. It is important that you follow the directions provided above.

Faculty and RD/RA applicants: Mail applications to

Sherry Keffer

Building 5, Room 205

1900 Kanawha Blvd, East

Charleston, WV25305

Student Application: Part I

Part II: Student Application

(MS Word document)

In order to qualify for employment as an RA, students must have reached junior status and have graduated high school no later than June, 2008.

Resident Director/Resident Assistant, Intern Application (MS Word document)

Faculty Application (MS Word document)