August 25, 2005
State Schools Chief O'Connell Congratulates Winners of
Grants to Help Schools Prepare Poor Students for College
SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today congratulated several California educational institutions for being awarded more than $195 million in Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) awards.
GEAR UP is a U.S. Department of Education program designed to help low-income middle school students enter and succeed in higher education. A list of the grantees is attached below.
"These much-needed funds come at a critical time when state budget cuts are affecting the students who need the most help," said O'Connell. "These funds will help kids meet California's high academic standards so they will be successful in school or the workplace without the need for remedial courses."
The grantees will receive the funds over a six-year period. The state grant is administered by the University of California and represents a collaboration among the California Department of Education, representing pre K-12; Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities; California Community Colleges; California State University; University of California; and the California Postsecondary Education Commission. The California Education Round Table endorses and will oversee this state GEAR UP grant. The Round Table is made up of the chief executive officers of these organizations. The state's GEAR UP grant supports services to all California middle schools. Local grants are also for partnerships of K-12 and postsecondary education and focus on specific schools.
"The California State University joins the education community in full support of the GEAR UP program, which is vital to preparing underrepresented students for college, encouraging persistence and ultimately graduation," said California State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed. "Skills gained through this program will reduce the need for remediation, saving students and institutions time and money. This is a program we can all be proud of for what it does for students."
"I am delighted that the federal government has renewed this critical funding to encourage more young people to have high expectations, stay in school, study hard, and take the right courses to stay on track for college," said UC President Robert C. Dynes. "I also very much appreciate the partnership among all segments of California education that advocated for and helped produce this positive outcome."
GEAR UP was authorized in Section 403 of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998. The initiative is designed to give more low-income students the skills, encouragement, and preparation needed to pursue higher education. GEAR UP focuses on middle schools, where California's educational system is showing slow but steady improvement. The program also provides training and development opportunities for educators, teachers, counselors, and families of middle school students, who provide critically needed support to help students succeed. GEAR UP's unique features give California the opportunity to make changes in schools rather than simply prepare individual students for college. Schools and communities work together to create a college-going culture and emphasize that all students master the state's academic content standards.
O'Connell also convened the Superintendent's California P-16 Council last year to increase academic rigor in preschool through grade twelve to better prepare students for college or the workplace, and to help ease students' transition between preschool, elementary, middle, high school, and college.
For more information about GEAR UP, please visit http://www.ed.gov/programs/gearup/index.html (Outside Source). For more information on the P-16 Council, please visit P-16 Council - Initiatives.
# # # #
Attachment
2005 Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for
Undergraduate Programs Awards in California
Grantee |
Partners |
Schools* |
One-Year Award** |
|---|---|---|---|
Bellflower Unified School District |
California State University, Long Beach |
Bellflower Junior-Senior High School |
$423,494 |
California State University, East Bay |
Oakland Unified School District |
Bret Harte Middle School |
|
|
|
Claremont Middle School |
|
|
|
Edna Brewer Middle School |
|
|
|
Elmhurst Middle School |
|
|
|
Frick Middle School |
|
|
|
Havenscourt Middle School |
|
|
|
Madison Middle School |
|
|
|
Roosevelt Middle School |
|
|
|
Simmons Middle School |
|
|
|
Westlake Middle School |
2,808,000 |
California State University, Los Angeles |
Los Angeles Unified School District |
Belvedere Middle School |
|
|
|
Griffith Middle School |
|
|
|
Hollenbeck Middle School |
|
|
|
Stevenson Middle School |
2,878,999 |
Cal. State University, San Bernardino |
Coachella Valley Joint Unified School District |
Badger Springs Middle School |
|
|
Moreno Valley Unified School District |
Cahuilla Desert Academy |
|
|
Rialto Unified School District |
Shandin Hills Middle School |
|
|
San Bernardino City Unified School District |
Sunnymead Middle School |
|
|
William Jehue Middle School |
2,600,646 |
|
El Monte Union High School District |
Whittier College |
Columbia K-12 School |
|
|
Los Nietos Middle School |
||
|
North Park Middle School |
754,000 |
|
Los Angeles Unified School District |
East Los Angeles College |
Eagle Rock Junior-Senior High School |
|
|
Glendale Community College |
Florence Nightingale Middle School |
|
|
Los Angeles City College |
Luther Burbank Middle School |
|
|
Occidental College |
Thomas Starr King Middle School |
|
|
UCLA |
Washington Irving Middle School |
2,800,000 |
Los Angeles Unified School District |
California State University, Northridge |
Francisco Sepulveda Middle School |
|
|
Los Angeles Mission College |
||
|
Los Angeles Valley College |
1,049,600 |
|
Los Angeles Unified School District |
California State University, Northridge |
Walter Reed Middle School |
|
|
Los Angeles Valley College |
Sun Valley Middle School |
|
|
UCLA |
994,141 |
|
Los Angeles Unified School District |
California State University, Dominguez Hills |
Andrew Carnegie Middle School |
|
Los Angeles Harbor College |
Caroldale Learning Community School |
||
|
UCLA |
Glenn Cutler Middle School |
|
|
University of Southern California |
Stephen M. White Middle School |
1,378,554 |
Marymount College |
Los Angeles Unified School District |
Beachy Avenue Elementary School |
|
|
|
Broadous Avenue Elementary School |
|
|
|
Community Charter Middle School |
|
|
|
Haddon Avenue Elementary School |
|
|
|
Maclay Middle School |
|
|
|
Morningside Elementary School |
|
|
|
O'Melveny Elementary School |
|
|
|
Osceola Elementary School |
|
|
|
Pacoima Middle School |
|
|
|
San Fernando Middle School |
2,632,686 |
Palomar Community College District |
San Marcos Unified School District |
San Marcos Middle School |
1,900,865 |
Rio Hondo Community Coll. District |
Mountain View Unified School District |
Madrid Middle School |
705,000 |
Santa Ana College |
Santa Ana Unified School District |
Sierra Intermediate School |
|
Spurgeon Middle School |
800,000 |
||
Shasta College |
Cascade Union Elementary District |
Anderson Middle School |
|
Corning Union Elementary District |
Happy Valley Elementary School |
||
Cottonwood Union Elementary District |
Maywood Intermediate School |
||
Happy Valley Union Elementary District |
Pacheco Elementary School |
||
Pacheco Union Elementary District |
1,180,000 |
||
Sweetwater Union High School District |
Alliant International University |
Castle Park Middle School |
|
Point Loma Nazarene University |
Chula Vista Middle School |
||
San Diego State University |
Granger Junior High School |
||
Southwestern College |
Mar Vista Middle School |
||
University of California, San Diego |
Montgomery Middle School |
||
National City Middle School |
|||
Southwest Middle School |
3,144,000 |
||
University of California, Merced |
Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School District |
El Monte Junior High School |
284,400 |
University of California, Santa Cruz |
Monterey Peninsula Unified School District |
Fitch Middle School |
|
North Monterey County Unified School District |
King Middle School |
||
Los Arboles Middle School |
|||
Monterey Peninsula Middle School |
|||
North Monterey County Mid. School |
1,138,399 |
||
University of California Santa Cruz |
Pajaro Valley Unified School District |
Alianza Charter Elementary School |
|
Cesar Chavez Middle School |
|||
E. A. Hall Middle School |
|||
Lakeview Middle School |
|||
Pajaro Middle School |
|||
|
|
Rolling Hills Middle School |
1,579,200 |
University of California |
Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities |
Middle Schools Statewide |
|
California Community Colleges |
|||
California Department of Education |
|||
California State University |
|||
University of California |
3,500,000 |
