The GEAR UP Program, now in place in the five high schools in the Syracuse City School District, continues to build upon and create new opportunities to motivate and inspire students to do their best. The program’s mission is to enhance the academic experience for students across all disciplines while assisting district parents in encouraging and motivating their child to strive for high academic standards.

The initiative is a partnership between the City School District and Syracuse University and offers students targeted to graduate in 2012 and 2013 support and assistance to reach their academic goals. Each school has a GEAR UP team in place that includes the principal, an administrator, and a program coordinator.

GEAR UP kicked off the 2009/10 academic year with a variety of summer activities that gave students a head start on planning their future. Students explored interpersonal communication, conflict resolution, finance and money management, and college education preparation.

“The Program is inclusive for all students and their academic and post-education goals,” said Bea González, director of the federal program at Syracuse University. “Whether it’s organizing a college visit or assisting them with FASFA forms and scholarship research, our staff is available to help students transition smoothly to the next phase of their lives.” González said that GEAR UP-sponsored college visits are a valuable resource for all students – including those who are already on a college track.

“The college visits scheduled through the GEAR UP Program give students an opportunity to visit many more colleges that offer diverse programs  to help them make an informed decision,” added Marissa Mims, director of the state-funded program at Syracuse University.

“We are excited that the Syracuse City School District has given us the opportunity to offer these services during the school day,” said González. “Our program continues to grow and we are making a concentrated effort to engage parents in becoming involved.”

“The GEAR UP program is off to a good start at Fowler,” said James Palumbo, principal of Fowler High School.  “We are currently discussing with our parent group ways to get the parents into the school physically – attending sports, chaperoning dances, or attending theater performances. Once we can get parents into the school and attending events, we can incorporate the GEAR UP message and provide parents with information on college and post-education opportunities.”

Palumbo said that the implementation of study groups and tutoring sessions has been particularly exciting. GEAR UP is providing tutoring for all cohort groups. “The tutoring is an exciting part of the program because they are professionally-trained individuals with engineering, performing arts, and education backgrounds,” said Palumbo. “Not only does GEAR UP provide tutoring services, it provides our students with another connection to young people attending college. That’s a great opportunity for us. The program is growing. This is the first year with an incredible commitment from the University – we have some dynamic people involved.”

“GEAR UP has grown to become an integral part of the instructional and student support programming at the Institute of Technology,” added Matthew Williams, principal of Institute of Technology at Syracuse Central. “Not only has it allowed for an increase in academic supports, but it has allowed students to receive the exposure and the social supports that will allow all of our children to graduate from high school and be prepared to enter college.” Williams said that through college visits, student panels, parent information sessions, after-school tutoring, and in-school and out-of-school enrichment opportunities, the GEAR UP program is moving Syracuse toward the dream of post-secondary education for all its students.

The federal GEAR UP program is administered at University College of Syracuse University. For more information, visit the website http://www.gearup.syr.edu or contact Julie O’Connor, assistant director of administration and operations at 443-3262 or jfoconno@syr.edu. The New York GEAR UP program is administered through the School of Education. For more information, contact director Marissa Mims at 443-7848 or mjmims@syr.edu.