The GEAR UP Achievers & GEAR UP RISE UP programs announced their participation in National GEAR UP Week 2024 from September 23rd – 29th. This week commemorated the continuing success of Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), a college access program providing students and families the support and resources they need for college success.
This year marked the 25-year anniversary of the establishment of GEAR UP programs, in which they work to improve educational outcomes for millions of low-income, minority and disadvantaged students across the United States. The University of Washington was granted its first GEAR UP program in 2005 with the RISE UP program and has now served a total of 28,000 throughout the past 20 years. The Achievers program received their grant in 2019 and serves 4,977 students.
GEAR UP RISE UP site coordinators across 14 school districts celebrated National GEAR UP Week 2024 by organizing a range of enjoyable and educational activities. These included field trips to both two-year and four-year colleges, college and career fairs, and an assembly honoring their newly inducted sixth-grade GEAR UP cohort. Additionally, there were engaging activities like college door wars, GEAR UP Kahoot/Jeopardy games, a paint night focused on envisioning your future, and much more! All these events aimed to enhance access to college pathways and getting to know their GEAR UP staff.
GEAR UP Achievers site coordinators in the 3 school districts spent their week engaging in activities for students, families, teachers, and connecting with partners within the community. Coordinators hosted family nights, GEAR UP led senior assemblies, college access workshops, classroom presentations, college and career fairs, & more! Additionally, GEAR UP College Navigators hosted welcome week activities for their students during the first week of the college. Students had the opportunity to go on campus tours, meet their new mentors, pick-up care packages, and connect with other GEAR UP students.
GEAR UP continues to make a positive impact on students, families and even teachers. One Esports teacher from East Valley High School mentioned that GEAR UP has impacted their teaching by, “by providing students with access to cutting edge technology that is necessary to have a robust and real-world experience in computer science. Many programs in the state rely on web-based curriculum for their computer science courses. While these type of curricular programs are adequate for the learning of computer science, this experience is unlike what is actually used in industry. The IT industry uses high-powered computing technology combined with cutting edge software that most school computers cannot run. With GEAR UP, I was able to purchase the technology and build a top tier CS lab. This has required me to learn a variety of industry tools so that I can pass those skills on to my students and better prepare them for the workplace.” GEAR UP funds are not only increasing educational opportunities for students but also enabling teachers to expand their curriculum and better engage their students.
“National GEAR UP week is a time to celebrate one another, and all the amazing opportunities GEAR UP has to offer. Our teams are working hard to provide outreach and support to our communities while creating excitement and fun around pursuing post-secondary pathways. Cheers to 25 years of GEAR UP!” – Kindra Cutler
For more information about UW GU RISE UP please contact Dina Ibarra e: dibarra@uw.edu. For more information about UW GU Achievers, please contact Kindra Cutler e: krcutler@uw.edu To learn more about the program nationally, please contact the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships at 202-530-1135 or www.edpartnerships.org.
About UW GU RISEUP: Offers events and programs designed to help students from underserved communities prepare for and succeed in higher education.
About UW GU Achievers: Our goal is to dramatically increase the number of students who enter and succeed in post-secondary programs.