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Urbana board approves ISAC GEAR UP grant to expand early college readiness
Summary
The Urbana School Board voted to accept a seven‑year Illinois GEAR UP grant that funds a full‑time district coordinator, $20,000 per school in subgrants, on‑demand tutoring through tutor.com and a scholarship component administered by ISAC.
The Urbana School Board voted to accept a seven‑year Illinois GEAR UP grant on Jan. 16, approving a district agreement that funds early college‑readiness services across the district.
Kim Carondeau of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) told the board the GEAR UP award will prioritize earlier intervention, working with sixth and seventh graders initially and expanding cohort supports through grade 12. "For GEAR UP, they really wanna start working with sixth and seventh graders," Carondeau said, describing a multi‑year structure aimed at improving postsecondary outcomes.
Under the grant, ISAC will reimburse the district for a full‑time district coordinator position whose responsibilities include program compliance, data entry and direct student support. Carondeau said the grant also includes targeted subgrant funding: "We have the ability to offer an additional $20,000 per school," she said, noting the district can propose uses that meet GEAR UP goals such as career exploration and financial literacy.
The program package includes an on‑demand tutoring service run by the Princeton Review (tutor.com) that Carondeau described as live, vetted tutors available 24/7. She also said the award contains a scholarship component administered by ISAC for eligible GEAR UP students after graduation.
During roll call on the motion to accept the grant agreement, the board recorded affirmative votes for Member Jones, Member Hixson, Member Baxley, Member Langendorff, President Pawlowski and Member Statton; the motion passed.
The board moved quickly from the presentation to the action item after questions from members about tutoring, coordinator status and data collection. Carondeau said evaluative data collected under the grant will include demographics and read‑only access to assessment systems, and that test scores are used for program evaluation.
The grant acceptance will allow the district to onboard the coordinator and begin subgrant planning; the board did not identify specific district uses for the $20,000 per school in tonight's discussion. The superintendent told the board the agreement will be on the consent or action list for processing following the approval.
Next steps: implementation planning between district staff and ISAC to onboard the coordinator and establish subgrant proposals for the junior high and high school.
