Download the latest GEAR UP Brochure.
GEAR UP is a U.S. Department of Education grant program. GEAR UP allocates resources to provide early college awareness, improve academic performance, increase high school graduation rates, and improve the transition/preparation of all students from middle schools to high schools and from high schools to college, particularly at-risk, low-income, and first-generation students.
Since 1999, The Palomar College GEAR UP Partnership Program has been an excellent resource and has added to a “college-going culture” within the San Marcos, Vista and now Escondido school districts. Our current grant started with 6th and 7th graders in 2016 and we will stay with these same students until their first to second year of college. The program is designed and supported by 64 educational and commerce partners. GEAR UP is a prestigious and proven United States Department of Education grant that puts federal tax dollars, in a collaboration with business partners, back into our educational system.
Funding is acquired when businesses provide in-kind training and informational workshops, products and services, and or financial support. Your in-kind value is then a “match”. GEAR UP is a non-profit 501 (C)3 and all financial donations are tax deductible. (#95-6094128) GEAR UP requires partnerships and demands ways to better connect commerce and future industries with middle school and high school students, teachers, and parents, especially to promote the fields or Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) through these four pillars:
- Parent Involvement and Education
- Advanced Academic Achievement
- College Knowledge and Planning
- Career Awareness and Planning