Earlier this year, GEAR UP began implementing a new grant awarded to Appalachian State University allowing us to serve 14,000 students from 2020-2027. Our first cohort includes 6th and 7th grade students from 10 western North Carolina counties including Ashe, Alleghany, Burke, Clay, Graham, Madison, Swain, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey.
In March, GEAR UP Coordinators distributed nearly 5,500 welcome bags to all of our new students. Included in the bag was information about GEAR UP, contact information for GEAR UP staff at their schools, resources for families, information about online tutoring services available to them, stickers, and other goodies.
During the month of April, GEAR UP social media accounts have been highlighting and introducing coordinators in our districts and sharing some of the exciting programming opportunities in store for new GEAR UP students. Some of the activities new students can expect include campus visits, academic and online tutoring, test prep services, college application assistance, financial aid and scholarship information, entrepreneurship programming, summer camps, STEM activities and education, career exploration, and more!
To learn more about the new GEAR UP grant, visit our website and reach out to your school counselor, college access staff personnel, or GEAR UP coordinator in your school.
(GEAR UP student welcome bag contents distributed to each new 6th and 7th grade student)
GEAR UP student welcome bag contents distributed to each new 6th and 7th grade student
