Maryland Gear Up

The State of Maryland is currently in the fourth year of a Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grant.  The grant provides early intervention services for low-income students to prepare them to enter and to succeed in postsecondary education.  The Maryland GEAR UP Program is a federal grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education and administered by MSDE in partnership with the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC).  Currently, GEAR UP services are provided to approximately 2,000 students in nine high schools located throughout Maryland.  Cohort students are in the tenth grade in the 2008-2009 school year.

Six local school systems receive GEAR UP funding as part of the current grant, GEAR UP II:  Focus on Mathematics.  They are:  Allegany County (Mountain Ridge High School); Baltimore County (Dundalk High School); Garrett County (Northern and Southern High Schools); Prince George's County (Central and Fairmont Heights High Schools); Somerset County (Crisfield and Washington High Schools); and Wicomico County (Wicomico High School).  Each local GEAR UP program designs its activities to meet the needs of its geographical areas and student populations, while focusing on three federal goals: increase student achievement in mathematics; increase the rate of high school graduation and participation in postsecondary education; and increase student and parent knowledge of postsecondary options and preparation.

Two community partnerships support the Maryland GEAR UP program.  These include:  the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education, a coalition of leading businesses that participate in an Achievement Counts speakers bureau in schools statewide; and the College Preparation Intervention Program, a project designed by MHEC to utilize higher education faculty and campus facilities throughout the state to enhance GEAR UP students' achievement.