Expressing Support for National Gear Up Day

EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL GEAR UP DAY -- (Extensions of Remarks - July 25, 2008)

SPEECH OF
HON. TOM COLE
OF OKLAHOMA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2008

* Mr. COLE of Oklahoma. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak on behalf of the resolution honoring The Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program. I would also like to thank Mr. Fattah for introducing this bill. He has been a wonderful advocate for the GEAR UP program.

* Madam Speaker, The Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP) is designed to increase the number of low income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. Over the last ten years, this program has met with unprecedented success. As we all know, postsecondary education contributes to the well-being of individuals and their communities and helps to build a more vibrant, open-minded and stronger society. The GEAR UP staff members work with students to help them create personal accounts that allow them to explore colleges and careers, discover ways to plan and pay for college, and apply for colleges online. Even more significantly, students participating in GEAR UP programs have a high school graduation rate almost ten points above other low-income students who are not in the program.

* While the GEAR UP program across the nation has met with tremendous achievement, I would like to draw attention to my home state of Oklahoma which has been one of the front runners in GEAR UP programs. Oklahoma began this program in 1999, making it one of the oldest GEAR UP Programs in the nation. Since Oklahoma has one of the strongest GEAR UP programs in the country, other educators from other states regularly visit Oklahoma to learn about new and innovative ways to implement the program. So far, the efforts have served over 31,000 students throughout the state.

* Madam Speaker, as a result of GEAR UP, participation in Postsecondary Education has increased 10 percent over the last 10 years overall in the state, and there has been a dramatic increase in participation by minority students. The number of African American students going to college in Oklahoma is up 41 percent, Native Americans attending college has increased 55 percent, and the number of Hispanic students attending college is up 80 percent! These figures are just amazing.

* Also, fewer students in Oklahoma are taking remedial courses during their first year of college. In fact, Oklahoma has one of the lowest remediation rates in the nation. The GEAR UP Program has also significantly increased the number of students enrolled in Oklahoma's Promise scholarship program which targeted at low income students. Participation in the scholarship program is up 50 percent since 2005.

* In addition to the overall state grant, Oklahoma's universities and local school districts have 8 GEAR UP partnership grants. These partnership grants serve local school districts and have over $10 million in funding annually from a combination of state and federal dollars that will go towards Oklahoma's educational system.

* Madam Speaker, one of these partnership schools, Eastern Oklahoma State College, hosted a summer camp for students enrolled in the program. The camp is designed to establish a positive direction for the students' future and encourage them to make positive decisions. Recently, our office received literally hundreds of letters from Middle and early High School students detailing their experiences with the GEAR UP summer camp. These low-income youth all detailed that they fully enjoyed the programs that GEAR UP guided and that some are now considering college a an option. The vast majority of these letters said that the students would participate again and hope to continue GEAR UP through high school.

* The results of GEAR UP are clear. This program has helped thousands of students reach college over the last ten years, and I urge my colleagues to vote for this resolution commending its marked success.

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