Lincoln County schools join GEAR UP program
Posted: Monday, January 30, 2012 8:15 pm
By HILARY MATHESON/Daily Inter Lake Daily Inter Lake
Libby, Troy and Eureka schools plan to implement GEAR UP programs in their middle and high schools for the first time this year.
GEAR UP stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs.
The partnership is possible through a seven-year $28 million federal grant awarded to the state to improve high school graduation and college enrollment rates for students from low-income families.
The grant provides funding for college and career readiness services such as tutoring, financial aid information, enrollment in rigorous academic courses, mentoring, college visits, supplemental curriculum materials and professional development for school staffers.
Most participating students are first-generation college students, according to Jessie Salisbury, program coordinator for Montana GEAR UP.
“GEAR UP increases the access to students who normally wouldn’t have the opportunity or feeling they could succeed in college,” Salisbury said.
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NORTH COUNTY: Call to cut Education Department gets mixed reaction from educators
By GARY WARTH | Posted: Saturday, December 3, 2011 7:00 pm
When presidential candidate Rick Perry called for the elimination of the federal Department of Education in a debate last month, teacher Jim Groth did not bat an eye.
“I think it comes up every four years during presidential elections,” said Groth, a Chula Vista math teacher who is one of two San Diego County representatives on the California Teachers Association board.
Perry’s call to eliminate the department was overshadowed by a now-famous mental slip in which he forgot the third of three departments he said he would cut. He later said he would cut the departments of Commerce, Education and Energy.
The Department of Education was created by President Jimmy Carter in 1980 by combining offices from several federal agencies. According to the department’s website, the agency’s official task is to establish policies on financial aid for education and distribute and monitor the funds. It also collects data on schools and disseminates the research, focuses national attention on key educational issues, prohibits discrimination and ensures equal access to education.
(Click below to read comments from Calvin One Deer Gavin, GEAR UP Director @ Palomar College)
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