Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Gear Up Grant topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Guthrie named a GEAR UP partner; presenter cites seven-year program and $34.7 million figure
Summary
Oklahoma GEAR UP staff told the Guthrie school board that the district is one of 13 statewide partners in a seven-year GEAR UP grant; presenters described college-prep supports including a district-based staffer, college visits, FAFSA and Oklahoma's Promise assistance, and payment of concurrent-enrollment fees for 12th graders.
Kristi Allison, communications director for Oklahoma GEAR UP, told the Guthrie Public Schools Board of Education on Jan. 13 that Guthrie is one of 13 districts across Oklahoma that will participate in a seven-year GEAR UP partnership.
Allison said the partnership will provide staff and services to help students and families prepare for college and postsecondary training. "We are honored, that you all have, agreed to be a partner with us for the next 7 years, to help students and students and families, educators, learn more and help them prepare and get ready for college," Allison said.
Allison described the position that GEAR UP will place in the district: a staff member based at the junior high or high school who will assist students with college applications, FAFSA and Oklahoma's Promise. She said GEAR UP will coordinate college visits for 7th- and 8th-graders and more focused, major-based visits for 11th- and 12th-graders. "Also exciting is for 12th grade concurrent students. We know the state pays for the, for the tuition, but we will pay for the fees for all your students," Allison said.
Allison said GEAR UP will provide outreach campaigns for parents and families, with particular attention to first-generation college students, and that college coaches based at the University of Central Oklahoma will support students who enroll there during their first year.
Board members and Superintendent Doctor Simpson expressed appreciation for the program and asked about timing for hiring the district-based staffer; Allison said interviews were underway and the district hire was expected soon. Allison also noted that GEAR UP began at the federal level in 1999 and that this cycle is a state-administered grant.
The presentation did not include a line-by-line budget for Guthrie; Allison said the grant "will be" $34,700,000 over seven years as she described it to the board, and she said services and funding will vary year to year depending on provided services.
Board discussion focused on the program's role in supplementing school counselors and on outreach to families; there was no formal vote on the presentation.
