[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 133 (Wednesday, September 29, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1812-E1813]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RECOGNIZING NATIONAL GEAR UP DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CHAKA FATTAH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 29, 2010

  Mr. FATTAH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize National GEAR UP 
Day and the outstanding work of thousands of GEAR UP participants, 
families and staff. National GEAR UP Day is an opportunity to celebrate 
the hard work and dedication of both former and current teachers, 
counselors, program staff, and students who have been committed to GEAR 
UP and without whom GEAR UP would not be the success it is today.
   This year, I will celebrate national GEAR UP Day with U.S. Secretary 
of Education Arne Duncan at Friendship Charter Academy in Washington, 
DC and with students in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Texas 
remotely. Governors in Iowa, New Mexico, Maine, Washington, Colorado 
and North Carolina have issued proclamations proclaiming GEAR UP Day, 
as has the Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa. They are joined by 
the Mayor of Lowell, Massachusetts and a message from New York City 
Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Nevada has a proclamation and 130 Wisconsin 
students will be travelling to Eau Claire to celebrate GEAR UP Day. In 
Richland, South Carolina, students will sign a College Dreams Wall with 
the name of the college they plan to attend and in Puerto Rico students 
welcomed a group of law students to serve as mentors.
   Twelve years ago, after witnessing far too few students from low-
income communities graduate from high school and enter college, I 
created Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate 
Programs (GEAR UP). The program supports cohorts of students from 6th 
grade into their first year of college by providing essential services 
such as tutoring, scholarship assistance, college campus tours, 
counseling services, mentoring, and financial aid awareness. In 
addition, GEAR UP has created partnerships between postsecondary 
institutions, community groups, businesses, and parents aimed at 
increasing support for our students to ensure success not only in high 
school but college as well. The services and partnerships created by 
GEAR UP have proven to be a successful educational model that prepares 
students both academically and emotionally for the rigors of college.
   Today, I am pleased to announce that twelve years after GEAR UP was 
enacted, 12 million students in 49 states have participated in the 
program. This year alone, GEAR UP is providing vital services to 
approximately 670,000 students in over 5,000 schools across 46 states, 
including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. GEAR UP has been 
remarkably successful. In fact, 80% of GEAR UP students have completed 
high school and approximately half have matriculated into college--a 
significantly larger proportion than their non-GEAR UP peers. 
Furthermore, GEAR UP students take more rigorous and advanced courses. 
For example, half of all GEAR UP students complete Algebra by 9th 
grade--an important indicator for high school graduation and college 
matriculation. These results have proven that with essential services, 
appropriate resources, and high expectations, students from low-income 
communities can and will graduate from high school ready to pursue 
postsecondary education.
   Finally, I sincerely want to thank all GEAR UP staff and students 
throughout the country who have made the program an extraordinary 
success. I look forward to witnessing future GEAR UP accomplishments 
and continuing to see increasing numbers of low-income students 
succeeding in high school, entering college ready to succeed!

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