GEAR UP stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. It is a new national initiative to encourage more young people to have high expectations, stay in school, study hard and take the right courses to go to college. We can help families understand early on, while their children are in the middle grades, what will be required of them in order to go to college. Parents and families need to have accurate and clear information about college prep courses and programs for their children. Those who are aware of the many student assistance programs can help educate our families about financial aid opportunities so that no one decides against going to college because of lack of finances.

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•Through academic assistance services GEAR UP middle schools will move closer to attaining their Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as required under NCLB. •GEAR UP will identify middle and high school students with attendance and retention issues, and at least 30 percent of these students will have improved attendance and move on to the next grade on time. •An increasing percentage of GEAR UP students will pass the state's MCAS exam, and more students will score at the advanced and proficient levels. •Each GEAR UP school will have an academic support program with tutoring, after-school and summer programs, and more than 50% of participants increase their grasp of subject matter. •An increasing percentage of GEAR UP students will pass Algebra I in 9th grade and enroll in Advanced Algebra and Geometry while in high school. •The percentage of GEAR UP students going on to higher education is greater than the percentage of non-GEAR UP students going on to higher education in the same graduating class/high school. •More high school GEAR UP students will enroll in Advanced Placement, Honors classes and Dual Enrollment programs. •The percent of GEAR UP students taking the SAT is greater than their peers. •Student and parent knowledge of college and financial aid increases as students move through the grades.