Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP) Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP) is a federally funded program designed to elevate the academic achievement, college attendance, and graduation rates of first generation, low income, underrepresented, and underserved students. The GEAR UP vision is to work in partnership with educational and community institutions to support students, parents, and educators to promote higher education and to empower students with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to create and navigate their own educational pathway to success.
GEAR UP operates with a cohort model--each program’s work starts with the complete 6th grade cohort (at the partner schools) and continues to serve that group of students through their first year of college. GEAR UP works to provide students and families with one-on-one and group advising, academic and tutoring support, college and career exploration opportunities, skill building workshops, enrichment programs, college visits, and educational field trips.
★ GEAR UP - Hawthorne is a partnership with the Compton Unified School District and Compton College. The program serves the 850 students of the high school graduation classes of 2024 and 2025 starting while the cohort were students at Roosevelt Middle School, Whaley Middle School, Kelly Elementary, Roosevelt Elementary School, and following them to Dominguez High School and into their first year of college.
★ GEAR UP - Compton is a partnership with the Hawthorne School District, the Centinela Valley Union High School District, and El Camino College. The program serves 800 students in the graduation class of 2024 starting while the cohort were students at Bud Carson, Hawthorne, and Prairie Vista Middle Schools in the Hawthorne School District and following them on to Hawthorne and Leuzinger High Schools and into their first year of college.