When students at Clinton High School were handed bananas with their lunch this week, they were receiving more than a healthy snack. Each banana had a motivational or informative message written on the peel to highlight upcoming opportunities to explore the postsecondary pathways available to students and inspire them to pursue the pathway of their choice.
Dubbed 'We're Bananas About Your Future,' this fun exercise helped promote National GEAR UP Week (Sept. 22-26), recognizing GEAR UP's legacy of helping students achieve postsecondary success and providing the tools and programming that students from underserved populations may need to achieve that success.
GEAR UP stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs and is a federally funded program administered by the Iowa Department of Education's Bureau of Iowa College Aid. Through partnerships with local school districts, students and their families receive services to prepare them academically, financially and inspirationally to enroll and succeed in postsecondary education or career training.
Clinton has been a part of all four GEAR UP Iowa cohorts, including the current GEAR UP Iowa 3.0 cohort that supports the class of 2029 and is funded by $25.8 million in federal GEAR UP funding. These funds provide districts with tools and resources for college and career site visits, academic support and financial aid.
In Clinton, GEAR UP Week coincided with the school's Future Ready Planning Night, which welcomed more than 40 representatives from colleges and universities, apprenticeships, trade organizations, local businesses and the military to meet with students about their futures. Clinton school counselor Jeremiah Avise-Rouse and staff also planned themed days such as 'Inflate Your Dreams' with inflatables highlighting different careers and 'Your Future Doesn't Have to Be Scary' with tips and tricks for future career success attached to Halloween candy.
In addition to GEAR UP Week, schools participating in the GEAR UP program support students throughout the year, with various experiences, opportunities and direct assistance in planning their futures beyond high school.
Avise-Rouse recently took more than 60 GEAR UP Iowa students on a campus visit to Iowa State University (ISU), where students experienced a day on campus and met with university staff to learn about the opportunities at ISU.
"For a majority of our kids, they're not even going to get to Davenport to see St. Ambrose, let alone get all the way to Ames to see Iowa State University," Avise-Rouse said. "That's just out of the realm of possibility for them, and that's where we try to focus our money on, getting the kids out and getting them on college campuses so that they can get a real idea of what that looks and feels like."
The impact of these visits is immediate, as Avise-Rouse noted the outpouring of excitement, thanks and appreciation that students shared during the visit and on the bus ride back to Clinton.
"I've actually had kids Facetime their parents while on a visit, and say, 'I gotta go here. This is where I need to be.'" Avise-Rouse said. "Some of those students would never have imagined going to college and now are fired up about going to college. They are seeing that that's a reality and that they can make it happen."
GEAR UP Iowa districts, like Clinton, also work hand-in-hand with their local community colleges and community leaders to maximize the program's impact. Avise-Rouse notes that half of the services GEAR UP Iowa provides to students wouldn't be possible without the support of nearby Clinton Community College in providing programming and opportunities for students to explore their future.
"Partnering with a program like GEAR UP makes total sense," said Clinton Community College Assistant Director for Admissions and Community Outreach Heather Evans. "It's exactly what we should be doing and everything we stand for. The opportunity to do so has impacted our enrollment and connection with students. That partnership really shines and does great things for the students, the school system and community college."
Evans is one of the many critical contributors to Clinton's GEAR UP Iowa team, which is bolstered by associate principal Matthew Tobin, college and career transition coordinator Marla Schultz, work based learning coordinator Jim Bankston and school counselors Taylor Determan and Amanda Steines, in addition to Avise-Rouse. This entire team, and all GEAR UP Iowa partners, also receive extensive professional development from the Department's GEAR UP Iowa Facilitators and the opportunity to collaborate with GEAR UP districts across the state and nation on unique and creative ways to serve students and families.
Inside the walls of Clinton High School, GEAR UP Iowa resources provide additional tutoring, both in-person and online, as well as academic support to students, helping to inspire a culture of academic success.
"Success breeds success and when kids start to feel successful and feel good about themselves, that creates a whole new environment and world for them," Avise-Rouse said. "And they start to envision bigger things for themselves after high school as they become successful."
For students needing an additional boost to reach that success, GEAR UP Iowa helps provide funding to support staff in credit recovery programs, aiding students who have fallen behind in their coursework and need assistance getting back on track to graduation. According to Avise-Rouse, this program alone helped more than half a dozen Clinton students graduate high school from the last GEAR UP Iowa cohort who otherwise might not have.
Avise-Rouse also estimates that Clinton students in GEAR UP Iowa cohorts experience an approximately five percentage point increase in enrollment in four-year programs, as well as similar increases in enrollment in two-year programs.
"I think the big number we see is that we have a higher percentage of our population with a plan for after high school," Avise-Rouse said. "Even if they're not going to some type of continuing education, they have an idea about what they want to do because we've explored it as they've gone along."
In 2020, 88 percent of all GEAR UP Iowa graduates had plans to complete a two-year or four-year degree program or other postsecondary training and education. GEAR UP Iowa students have also demonstrated higher rates of attendance, reading and math proficiency and increased standardized entrance exam scores.
For many students and families, financial hurdles are the biggest impediment to pursuing that plan. GEAR UP Iowa aims to directly lower those barriers with direct financial support as each GEAR UP Iowa graduate receives a modest scholarship for up to four years, assistance in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and accessing other financial aid resources.
"GEAR UP Iowa makes sure that students have knowledge and assistance in learning about paying for college, understanding what it means to pay for college, and that there are multiple ways to be able to access financial aid," Evans said.
Evans, Avise Rouse and the dozens of GEAR UP Iowa professionals throughout the state have seen the impact GEAR UP Iowa has had on more than 25,000 students since the program was first implemented in Iowa in 2008, with the first cohort graduating in 2014.
"I'm so proud to be a part of it, and it's truly one of the greatest joys in all of what I get to do in this career," Evans said. "I'm very grateful for it and GEAR UP works!"