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Urbana SD 116 updates board on GEAR UP grant, tutor.com rollout and CTE expansions
Summary
Dr. Tanya Deacon and GEAR UP coordinator Selena Harper briefed the board on the GEAR UP grant status, describing federal funding delays, current program rollouts (UHS transition, tutor.com for grades 6–12), and grant allocations that include salary and site funding across district schools.
Dr. Tanya Deacon, the district director for grants and secondary leadership, told the Urbana School District 116 board the GEAR UP grant is moving forward after earlier federal funding freezes and that staff are preparing narrative materials for submission before the winter break deadline.
Deacon said the district experienced funding delays — first a freeze and later a stoppage during the federal government shutdown — which disrupted processing earlier this year. "We hit a couple hurdles going out this year because federal funding was frozen at the beginning of the year... then they shut it off again when the government shut down," Deacon said, describing the administrative delays.
Selena Harper, the district's GEAR UP coordinator, outlined program activity funded through the grant: a successful Urbana High School transition program serving 100+ students a day, a career center upgrade at UHS, Project Lead The Way courses at the middle and sixth-grade centers, attendance at college fairs (including an HBCU fair), and the district's subscription to tutor.com for grades 6–12 with 24/7 live tutoring in English and Spanish.
Deacon provided an overview of the grant's allocations: $50,000 toward a coordinator salary plus roughly $20,000 for benefits; $20,000 annually to the high school; and $20,000 shared between the middle school and the sixth-grade center. She said the grant is in its second year of a planned seven-year grant cycle.
Board members asked about curriculum and implementation (the PACE framework was described as "Post-secondary and Career Expectations") and how lessons will be scheduled (during MAP testing at the sixth-grade center and during WIN/ advisory blocks at the middle school). Deacon and Harper said the GEAR UP funding allows some flexibility for snacks and evening event support that other funding streams do not cover.
The board did not vote on grant administration during the session; staff indicated ongoing reporting requirements and that the district is coordinating data access in line with the grant contract (state data access via IWAS without student names).
