Westwood GEAR UP...What is it??
GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) offers the students, families, educators, and communities of selected SC middle and high schools services that promote academic achievement and college awareness. The GEAR UP Program is a U.S. Department of Education discretionary grant program designed to increase the number of students who are prepared to enter and succeed in post-secondary education.
GEAR UP grantees serve an entire cohort of students beginning in seventh grade and travel with these students through high school. This year the grant is serving over 1300 eleventh graders at four high schools in Richland School District Two. In 2012-2013, the GEAR UP program at Westwood High School serves the entire class of 2014, the senior class. Other schools served under this grant include Blythewood High School, Ridge View High School and Richland Northeast High School. Because of the cohort model, students do not need to "apply" to be in GEAR UP, students are automatically part of GEAR UP if they will graduate in the spring of 2014.
GEAR UP is designed to demonstrate the importance of education in today’s world, set high educational and career goals, and to help students learn how to prepare, enter, and succeed in post-secondary education. GEAR UP provides parents with the information and resources they need to stay involved in their student’s education and help them lay out plans for the future. GEAR UP creates a culture of academic advancement and a pursuit of education that spans beyond high school.
Some of the activities and services GEAR UP facilitates at Westwood High School include:
GEAR UP grantees serve an entire cohort of students beginning in seventh grade and travel with these students through high school. This year the grant is serving over 1300 eleventh graders at four high schools in Richland School District Two. In 2012-2013, the GEAR UP program at Westwood High School serves the entire class of 2014, the senior class. Other schools served under this grant include Blythewood High School, Ridge View High School and Richland Northeast High School. Because of the cohort model, students do not need to "apply" to be in GEAR UP, students are automatically part of GEAR UP if they will graduate in the spring of 2014.
GEAR UP is designed to demonstrate the importance of education in today’s world, set high educational and career goals, and to help students learn how to prepare, enter, and succeed in post-secondary education. GEAR UP provides parents with the information and resources they need to stay involved in their student’s education and help them lay out plans for the future. GEAR UP creates a culture of academic advancement and a pursuit of education that spans beyond high school.
Some of the activities and services GEAR UP facilitates at Westwood High School include:
- Tutoring & mentoring programs
- Job shadowing opportunities
- Technology integration
- Individual academic intervention
- PSAT/SAT/ACT preparation
- College visits
- Family education nights
- College prep workshops/events
- Summer programs