Thursday, April 18, 2024
The class of 2024 is GEARing UP for success. The GEAR UP program was first introduced to the Gatesville Independent School District in 2019 to the 7th grade cohort group.
It is a seven-year grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education and partnered with ESC Region 12. GEAR UP stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs and provides services such as: college tours, summer enrichment programs and camps, career exploration and job shadowing. The office for the program is located in the technology wing at the high school. GEAR UP plays a major role in assisting its students in the process of signing up for college and the financial aid process. This past summer alone, a total of 62 students toured eight different colleges across Texas. One student even attended a flight camp and got to fly an airplane with the assistance of the instructor.
GEAR UP has hosted parent nights, purchased academic materials such as Chromebook carts and I-84 Plus calculators for the classroom and invited numerous special guest speakers to the school. A unique trait of GEAR UP is that all students at the high school benefit from this program. An example of this is when the Drum Cafe visited the high school this past spring. The Drum Cafe helps schools and organizations around the world unite their students and people as one, so they become better together.
Sara Coker, GEAR UP facilitator and instructor, said, “It has been a complete joy to see the impact of GEAR UP over the course of the past three years.” She said, “I met these amazing students when they were eighth graders, and to see how they are now starting this important junior year as they prepare for their post-secondary experience - it is just overwhelming to see their progress.”
Opportunities like this are what makes GEAR UP such a great program.
