Join Arizona GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) as it celebrates more than 20 years of success during National GEAR UP Week, happening Sept. 23-27.
Arizona GEAR UP, a project at Northern Arizona University, provides a wide array of college-readiness services and resources to students living in low-income and underserved communities. Since 2000, the NAU project has been part of a national network of programs that helps transform the lives of students, families, schools and communities.
Every year, in the last week of September, Arizona GEAR UP joins countless other GEAR UP programs across the country to celebrate its success and impact. State leaders celebrate, too: Gov. Katie Hobbs recently issued a proclamation that the week of Sept. 23-27 is GEAR UP Week in Arizona.
According to Arizona GEAR UP Director Robert Neese, the program provides support for more than 17,000 high school and middle school students across more than 40 Title I schools every year. GEAR UP staff, coaches collaborative partners, work together to achieve the program’s three primary goals: increasing students’ postsecondary expectations and readiness, improving high school graduation and postsecondary enrollment rates and raising awareness of postsecondary options, preparation and financing among students and families.
Program staff offer tutoring, mentoring and career exploration throughout middle and high school. But that’s not all: They also assist 12th graders in transitioning to postsecondary education by providing academic advising, helping with financial aid applications and providing counseling to prevent “summer melt”—a common occurrence where graduates are accepted to college but change their plans before fall.
“Today, 65% of Arizona jobs require training after high school, but only 45% of Arizonans complete some type of higher education,” Neese said. “At Arizona GEAR UP, we’re focused on leveling the playing field for all students by boosting their academic performance, preparing them for college and setting them up for future success.”
It’s clear GEAR UP is making a positive impact on Arizona’s students: During the 2023-2024 school year, 91% of students who worked with program coaches graduated with postsecondary plans, and 77% of those plans involved postsecondary education.
To learn more about National GEAR UP Week, visit the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships website.
Jill Kimball | NAU Communications
(928) 523-2282 | jill.kimball@nau.edu