Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 17, 2004
Contact: Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136
Alt Contact: Higher Education Coordinating Board, 360-753-7833
GEAR UP, which stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, is a federal grant program that identifies promising low-income students in middle school and provides tutoring, mentoring and career and college planning assistance through their high school years.
Next month, 122 state GEAR UP Project scholars are graduating from high schools across the state.
“A college education is part of the American dream,” Locke said. “Every young person deserves a real chance to have this dream come true.”
The Governor’s Office administers the state GEAR UP Project with the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) and the University of Washington.
The state GEAR UP Project currently serves more than 1,200 students. In 2003-04, the state GEAR UP Project and 10 independently funded local GEAR UP partnerships collectively served more than 21,000 students in schools in low-income neighborhoods.
To qualify for services, students must be eligible for free or reduced lunches or face significant academic challenges. The project currently works with students in Aberdeen, Elma, Hoquiam, Inchelium, Quincy, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Taholah, Wapato, White Swan and Yakima.
Locke also touted a report the HECB sent to the federal government last month that showed 73 percent of the state GEAR UP Project’s graduates go on to college and 91 percent of participants had taken algebra by the ninth grade.
“That’s an impressive record,” Locke said. “Especially when you consider research that shows low-income students across the nation attend college at about a third of that rate.”
Another part of the state GEAR UP project, administered by the University of Washington, brings 1,000 students from across the state to the university’s Seattle campus every summer for a weeklong introduction to college life. The UW also works intensively with teachers by providing seminars on good teaching practices and updates on the latest developments in their fields.
One example of a GEAR UP success story is 17-year-old Rema Imperial of Wapato – one of this year’s graduating scholars. Imperial, who emigrated from the Philippines when she was 10 years old, will achieve her dream this September when she enters the University of Washington. That dream took hold when she participated in one of the UW’s weeklong summer seminars.
For Imperial, the road to college has been long and uncertain. It began, she recalls precisely, on March 19, 1997, when her family came to the United States. “We were introduced to around-the-clock work to create a reasonable income,” she said.
Her parents began life in this country as field hands, but eventually earned enough to purchase a small farm. Rema and her two younger siblings help run the farm and the family fruit stand in the summer.
Along the way, Imperial had to learn English. But she managed to find time for other things as well, such as membership in the National Honor Society and her school’s Law and Justice club, and service in student government. She also has volunteered as a tutor for younger GEAR UP students. This year, she was crowned Miss Wapato.
“A passion for hard work speaks the same in any language,” she said.
About half of the funding for Washington’s GEAR UP Project comes from a $15.5 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education. State and local resources provide at least that much in matching funds for the project.
The state has applied for, and expects to receive, an additional $3.6 million to extend the project for a sixth year, through August 2005. Congress is considering the continuation of the federal GEAR UP program as part of its reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.
“We have let our members of Congress know of the good work GEAR UP is doing in our state,” Locke said. “These types of federal, state, and local partnerships really do make a difference.”
Related Links:
- HECB
- State GEAR UP Project
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 17, 2004
Contact: Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136
Alt Contact: Higher Education Coordinating Board, 360-753-7833
Gov. Gary Locke Promotes Success of State GEAR UP Project, Congratulates Largest Graduating Class to Date
OLYMPIA – May 17, 2004 – Gov. Gary Locke today promoted the success of the state GEAR UP Project and congratulated the program’s largest graduating class to date. Locke initiated the GEAR UP Project in Washington in 1999 to help more students in low-income communities across the state get ready for college.GEAR UP, which stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, is a federal grant program that identifies promising low-income students in middle school and provides tutoring, mentoring and career and college planning assistance through their high school years.
Next month, 122 state GEAR UP Project scholars are graduating from high schools across the state.
“A college education is part of the American dream,” Locke said. “Every young person deserves a real chance to have this dream come true.”
The Governor’s Office administers the state GEAR UP Project with the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) and the University of Washington.
The state GEAR UP Project currently serves more than 1,200 students. In 2003-04, the state GEAR UP Project and 10 independently funded local GEAR UP partnerships collectively served more than 21,000 students in schools in low-income neighborhoods.
To qualify for services, students must be eligible for free or reduced lunches or face significant academic challenges. The project currently works with students in Aberdeen, Elma, Hoquiam, Inchelium, Quincy, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Taholah, Wapato, White Swan and Yakima.
Locke also touted a report the HECB sent to the federal government last month that showed 73 percent of the state GEAR UP Project’s graduates go on to college and 91 percent of participants had taken algebra by the ninth grade.
“That’s an impressive record,” Locke said. “Especially when you consider research that shows low-income students across the nation attend college at about a third of that rate.”
Another part of the state GEAR UP project, administered by the University of Washington, brings 1,000 students from across the state to the university’s Seattle campus every summer for a weeklong introduction to college life. The UW also works intensively with teachers by providing seminars on good teaching practices and updates on the latest developments in their fields.
One example of a GEAR UP success story is 17-year-old Rema Imperial of Wapato – one of this year’s graduating scholars. Imperial, who emigrated from the Philippines when she was 10 years old, will achieve her dream this September when she enters the University of Washington. That dream took hold when she participated in one of the UW’s weeklong summer seminars.
For Imperial, the road to college has been long and uncertain. It began, she recalls precisely, on March 19, 1997, when her family came to the United States. “We were introduced to around-the-clock work to create a reasonable income,” she said.
Her parents began life in this country as field hands, but eventually earned enough to purchase a small farm. Rema and her two younger siblings help run the farm and the family fruit stand in the summer.
Along the way, Imperial had to learn English. But she managed to find time for other things as well, such as membership in the National Honor Society and her school’s Law and Justice club, and service in student government. She also has volunteered as a tutor for younger GEAR UP students. This year, she was crowned Miss Wapato.
“A passion for hard work speaks the same in any language,” she said.
About half of the funding for Washington’s GEAR UP Project comes from a $15.5 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education. State and local resources provide at least that much in matching funds for the project.
The state has applied for, and expects to receive, an additional $3.6 million to extend the project for a sixth year, through August 2005. Congress is considering the continuation of the federal GEAR UP program as part of its reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.
“We have let our members of Congress know of the good work GEAR UP is doing in our state,” Locke said. “These types of federal, state, and local partnerships really do make a difference.”
Related Links:
- HECB
- State GEAR UP Project
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