In 2005, Ohio received a six-year Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) state grant from the U.S. Department of Education. GEAR UP provides federal grant funds for educational programs at the state and local partnership levels to encourage young people to raise their academic expectations, stay in school, take challenging courses, and go to college. In 1999, Ohio was one of 21 original states awarded a state level grant.
Ohio's 2005 GEAR UP State Program demonstrates the benefits of a comprehensive approach to increasing college participation, access, and success. Eight high-poverty communities in the state with low college participation and high remediation rates are serving as "lighthouse" sites for this program.
Ohio’s GEAR UP State Grant Program is built on a partnership in which the Ohio Board of Regents, as the lead organization, works with its partners, the Ohio College Access Network (OCAN) and the Ohio Department of Education, to implement proven comprehensive strategies for increasing the numbers of students at selected middle and high schools in the eight targeted urban and rural “lighthouse” communities that successfully participate in postsecondary education.
The Ohio GEAR UP State Program provides a comprehensive system of school- and community-based services to improve the college aspiration, preparation, and successful participation of approximately 30,000 “priority” students and their families over the six years of the grant. Ohio’s GEAR UP offers a menu of proven college access best practices from Ohio’s successful 1999 GEAR UP State Program. These best practices are programs and services that most effectively meet the needs of the students, families, and teachers in the “lighthouse” communities. The services include in-school advising and early awareness activities; academic preparation and enrichment; tutoring, after-school, and summer programs; information on financial aid; parental involvement activities, and enhanced professional development opportunities for teachers. The University of Cincinnati will conduct an ongoing program evaluation and determine those activities that are especially effective in helping students aspire to, prepare for, and successfully participate in college.
Three of the program's four goals reflect its commitment to eliminate major college access barriers for participating students: 1) To assure that GEAR UP students are academically prepared for high school completion and success in postsecondary education; 2) To increase GEAR UP student and parent understanding of the importance and relevance of higher education and increase the number of students who aspire to higher education; and 3) To increase student and parent understanding of actual college costs and the availability of financial aid opportunities to assure financial affordability.
Leadership from the Student Access and Success Coordinating Council of Ohio, support from OCAN and the Ohio Department of Education, technical assistance from the directors of the 1999 grant’s two model program sites, and increased community involvement will help sustain GEAR UP services at the “lighthouse” sites. Additionally, this collaborative effort will facilitate the spread of GEAR UP practices to other school districts and communities throughout Ohio. Thus Goal 4 will be met: To ensure that the eight “lighthouse” sites will become self-sustaining, develop civic participation in their programs, and spread awareness and replicate GEAR UP best practices in other schools and communities.
