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GEAR UP Academic Outreach Program
GEAR UP Academic Outreach Program provides advanced undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Arizona the opportunity to interact with the GU student cohort at Amphi High School as higher education resource liaisons.
GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness) is funded by the U.S. Department of Education Higher Education Act for the purpose of creating partnerships with high-poverty schools and institutions of higher learning to improve the achievement of students, particularly those impacted by poverty. A significant number of studies have documented the correlation between low socioeconomic status and low achievement. This relationship is found to be particularly true in school settings where a significant number of students are facing economic disadvantage. According to the U.S. Census, the median income for the GU student cohort families fall below $20,000. Family life is characterized by struggles with inadequate health care coverage, homelessness, single parent homes, underemployment, and constant economic challenges. AHS alone has 200 known homeless students.
The goal of GEAR UP Academic Outreach is to increase the number of students from AHS who:
► remain in school,
► participate in and successfully complete college prep course work,
► obtain a high school diploma, and
► are prepared to enter and succeed in post-secondary education.
The UA students who participate in this program promote the attainment of higher education regardless of economic, cultural, or ethnic barriers. They are role models and liaisons for higher education for the GU student cohort.
The GU Academic Outreach Liaisons receive training to help them interact successfully with adolescents and to contribute to the students’ learning.
