A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

FOR RELEASE
August 7, 1999

Contact:
Stephanie Babyak (202) 401-2311
Jane Glickman (202) 401-1307

FIRST GEAR UP GRANTS AWARDED TO HELP
MIDDLE-SCHOOLERS PURSUE AND SUCCEED IN COLLEGE

President Clinton today announced the award of $120 million for 185 new grants under the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) that will help more than 200,000 disadvantaged children, beginning in the middle grades, to prepare for and get on the pathway to achieve success in college.

"These programs can make all the difference in whether a young person goes to college," said President Clinton. "These innovative programs start early, reaching out to students no later than seventh grade, staying with them all the way - from providing students with mentors who encourage them to have high hopes and high expectations for themselves, to ensuring that schools teach the classes that prepare young people for college entrance exams, to helping families figure out how to pay for college."

Recent Education Department studies show that students who take academically demanding high school course work are more likely to go on to college, succeed and earn more in the work force, regardless of their financial status, race or gender. However, disadvantaged students often are not aware of the need to take rigorous academic courses to prepare for college, like algebra in middle school or chemistry and trigonometry in high school, or of the availability of financial aid to pay for college.

Building on research and proven practices, GEAR UP typically begins in seventh grade, or even earlier, to develop students' potential and help them and their families plan and prepare for college by offering comprehensive strategies including counseling, tutoring and mentoring to help students achieve in higher mathematics and other gateway college preparation courses and by offering scholarships as well as information about college and financial aid options.

Key factors in selecting projects included efforts that involve parents, create local matches of resources to fund long-term commitments, and build lasting reforms to strengthen school curriculum and support services that will make higher education a real possibility for underprivileged youth.

"We received an unexpectedly high number of GEAR UP applications, many more than we were able to fund this year," Riley said. "Clearly, there is tremendous demand for this program as well as a strong interest on the part of schools, colleges, states and communities to get involved in GEAR UP for college projects. For this reason, President Clinton has asked Congress to double GEAR UP's budget for next year from $120 million to $240 million."

The department received more than 670 partnership and state proposals representing all 50 states and an estimated one out of every five U.S. colleges and more than 4,500 organizations. However, only one in four partnership grant applicants and half of the state grant applicants could be funded.

Two types of grants are being awarded today: $42 million for 21 state grants and $75 million for 164 partnerships between colleges and low-income middle and junior high schools that will work with students, usually beginning in the seventh grade, to ensure they have the preparation and support to succeed in college.

Partnership projects must include at least one college or university, one school district on behalf of one or more low-income middle- and high schools, and two additional organizations such as businesses or community-based groups. Partnership projects must serve at least one whole grade level and must start no later than seventh grade and continue through 12th grade.

GEAR UP for college grants leverage millions of dollars worth of local resources while offering partnerships flexibility in meeting the non-federal match of cash or in-kind support by requiring at least a dollar for dollar match on average over the length of the award period with a minimum 20 percent match in any given year. The funding mechanism was designed to encourage significant, sustained community support for projects with a capacity to continue after federal funding ends.

State grants must have both an early intervention and a scholarship component that requires the state to establish or maintain a financial assistance program for students to attend an institution of higher education. The early intervention effort must include college awareness and academic preparation activities, such as mentoring, counseling, outreach and other support services such as financial aid counseling and college admission preparations. The state programs must treat low-income students as a priority and will be coordinated with efforts of schools, local community organizations, and colleges and universities.

States are required to spend at least 25 percent and not more than 50 percent of grant funds on the early intervention component and at least 50 percent must be spent on the scholarship component.

Despite the availability of some $50 billion in federal grants and loans for college this year, low-income and minority students attend college at disproportionately low rates.

"Financial assistance is there to expand access to college to all who work hard and make the grade," Riley said. "However, without efforts like GEAR UP, many young people and their families don't have the information to prepare a game plan - academically or financially -- for their future. They'd never realize college could be a real possibility."

GEAR UP complements the existing TRIO college preparation programs for disadvantaged and minority students by starting earlier and using different strategies like partnering colleges with low-income schools, working with entire grades to improve the school's courses and raise expectations, and leveraging state and local resources with a significant match. GEAR UP is modeled after successful programs like the I Have a Dream program that also work with entire grades of low-income students and provides comprehensive services. Additionally, the Ford Foundation, which has funded college-school reform initiatives, such as Project GRAD, is working with the department to provide information on partnership development, best practices and technical assistance workshops for applicants and grant recipients.

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NOTE TO EDITORS: Complete lists of partnership and state grantees are attached, and can also be found at www.ed.gov/gearup/.

Call the contacts listed for abstracts of individual projects.

State Grants

Partnership Grants

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