U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today announced the award of $41,573,649 for 24 new grants under the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) to help more than 69,000 disadvantaged middle school students receive assistance to prepare for and pursue a college education.

"The GEAR UP program partners with the community to reach students early through mentoring, tutoring, financial aid, and other supports," said Secretary Spellings. "This program aims to assure disadvantaged students that college is within their reach, and then provides them with all the help they need to get there."

Two types of grants are being awarded: nearly $20.8 million for seven state grants to Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Another $20.77 million is being awarded for 17 partnership grants.

State grants are six-year matching grants that must include both early intervention and scholarship components. Early intervention efforts aim to increase college attendance and success and raise the expectations of low-income students through college awareness and academic preparation activities, financial aid counseling and college admission preparations. The scholarship component requires the state to establish or maintain a financial assistance program for GEAR UP students to attend institutions of higher education.

States are required to spend at least 25 percent and not more than 50 percent of grant funds on the early intervention component, and at least 50 percent on the scholarship component, unless the state receives a waiver.

Partnership projects are also six-year grants that must include at least one low-income middle school, one college or university, and two community or business organizations. Partners work together to provide all students at a particular grade level and their families a range of support services needed to prepare for college - such as higher level coursework, summer academies, mentoring, counseling, and help with the college application process. Projects typically begin in sixth or seventh grade and continue through 12th grade. Grantees must match federal funding and partners may contribute in-kind services for their match.

Some 283 GEAR UP applications were received this year, though only 24 could be funded. In addition to the new grants announced today, GEAR UP is funding 166 continuation projects begun in the last five years - 34 state grants and 132 partnerships projects that serve more than 738,000 students.

More information about the GEAR UP program is available at http://www.ed.gov/programs/gearup/index.html.

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NOTE TO EDITORS

A list of grantees follows.

FY 2008 GEAR UP STATE AND PARTNERSHIP GRANTS

* designates a state grant; all others are partnership grants

CALIFORNIA

Emery Unified School District
Emeryville, Calif.
$192,000
Jorge Melgoza, project director
(510) 601-4916

San Jose State University Research Foundation
San Jose, Calif.
$2,404,800
Andrew Hughey, project director
(408) 924-3636

San Leandro Unified School District (USD)
San Leandro, Calif.
$500,164
Dyanna Christie, project director
(510) 332-2151

Victor Valley College
Victorville, Calif.
$1,165,919
Patricia Bejarano-Vera, project director
(760) 245-4271

FLORIDA

*Florida Dept. of Education
Tallahassee, Fla.
$3,000,000
Iris Wilson, project director
(850) 245-0634

Duval County Public Schools
Jacksonville, Fla.
$120,139
Kristen Larsen, project director
(904) 858-6089

IOWA

*Iowa College Student Aid Commission
Des Moines, Iowa
$2,800,000
Karen Misjak, project director
(515) 725-3410

LOUISIANA

*Louisiana Board of Regents for Higher Education
Baton Rouge, La.
$3,000,000
Kerry Davidson, project director
(225) 342-4253

Lafayette Parish School System
Lafayette, La.
$1,841,391
Burnell LeJeune, project director
(337) 521-7112

MISSISSIPPI

*Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning
Jackson, La.
$3,000,000
Diann Lewis, project director
(601) 432-7801

MONTANA

Fort Peck Community College
Poplar, Mt.
$232,800
Margarett Campbell, project director
(406) 768-6300

NORTH CAROLINA

Appalachian State University
Boone, NC
$682,400
Charles Bowling, project director
(828) 262-2846

NEW YORK

Research Foundation of CUNY on behalf of Lehman College
Bronx, NY
$2,000,000
Herminio Martinez, project director
(718) 960-8934

Nassau Community College
Garden City, NY
$883,080
Marilyn Monroe, project director
(516) 572-3575

OKLAHOMA

The University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus
Norman, Okla.
$2,795,369
Mary John O'Hair, project director
(405) 325-2228

OREGON

*Oregon University System
Eugene, Oregon
$3,000,000
Stephanie Carnahan, project director
(541) 346-5761

PENNSYLVANIA

*Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education
Harrisburg, Pa.
$3,000,000
Stephen Pavlak, project director
(717) 720-7240

SOUTH CAROLINA

Lancaster County School District
Lancaster, SC
$491,756
Paul McKenzie, project director
(803) 416-8862

TEXAS

The University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, Texas
$2,308,573
Juliette Caire, project director
(915) 747-5367

UTAH

Ogden City School District
Ogden, Utah
$699,999
Kathleen Bideaux, project director
(801) 737-7300

VIRGINIA

Hampton City Schools
Hampton, Va.
$482,154
Donna Woods, project director
(757) 727-2006

WASHINGTON

Washington State University
Pullman, Wash.
$1,657,600
Genoveva Morales Ledesma, project director
(509) 372-7308

Washington State University
Pullman, Wash.
$2,233,600
Genoveva Morales Ledesma, project director
(509) 372-7308

WEST VIRGINIA

*West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission
Charleston, WVa.
$2,997,294
Denise Whittaker, project director
(304) 558-1112

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