New Jersey Partnership Programs
A GEAR UP partnership is a locally-designed agreement among colleges and low-income middle schools, plus at least two other partners. These programs are funded through a separate grant offered by the U.S. Department of Education and are not administered by the NJ Commission on Higher Education. The goal of the partnership is to increase college-going rates among low-income youth. Partner organizations may include:
- community organizations
- businesses
- religious groups
- State education agencies
- parent groups
- non-profit organizations.
The following are descriptions of some of the partner programs in New Jersey:
Project Onward
Dr. Ana Maria Schuhmann
Telephone: (908) 527-2136
E-mail: aschuhma@turbo.kean.edu
Kean University and the Perth Amboy school district have a strong and successful record of developing and implementing precollege academic programs designed to increase the high school graduation and college participation rates of urban students. Project Onward builds on the foundation set by these nationally recognized programs.
Onward's primary goals are to improve academic achievement, the high school graduation rate, and the higher education participation rate of low income students in the Perth Amboy, New Jersey school district.
Program services include academic instruction and enrichment aligned with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards; individual, group, and career counseling; support services including tutoring, mentoring, assistance in college admissions and financial aid; college visitations; exposure to positive role models; staff development; multicultural enrichment activities; and parental involvement and English as a Second Language classes for families. Activities take place in the school district and at Kean University with services provided during, as well as outside of, the school day (Saturday and Summer academies). All project services, as well as the assessment of student progress and the monitoring of program goals and activities, are conducted in collaboration with participating school district staff.
During the first year, Project Onward will serve all 550 7th-grade students in the Perth Amboy school district. These students will continue in the program until they graduate from Perth Amboy High School. During the second, third, fourth, and fifth years, a new 7th-grade class will be added to the program. All cohorts will participate until they successfully complete secondary school and enter higher education.
GEAR UP NEWARK
Irene James
Telephone: (973) 877-3560
E-mail: james@essex.edu
The GEAR UP NEWARK applicant organization is Essex County College. The GEAR UP NEWARK partnership includes the Newark Public Schools, the Newark Educational Partnership (primarily higher education institutions-Rutgers-Newark, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Montclair State University), Project GRAD Newark and Communities in Schools of Newark.
The aim of GEAR UP NEWARK is to strengthen and build the capacity of Central High School (CHS) feeder schools to move toward the shared vision of improving student academic achievement and increasing the number of low-income minority students who are prepared for and pursue postsecondary education. GEAR UP NEWARK targets a cohort starting with the 5th grade from nine feeder schools leading to CHS.
The first year cohort includes grades 5, 6, and 7 from the following seven target schools: Burnet, Newton, Harold Wilson, Morton, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Sussex, and Warren. At the end of five years, GEAR UP NEWARK will have served 5,895 students. The fundamental goal of GEAR UP NEWARK is the creation of an enabling environment in which all stakeholders can participate to improve student academic achievement and to raise expectations that Newark students are destined for college.
The GEAR UP NEWARK partnership provides students with tutoring and mentoring, college preparatory courses, social services support, and college scholarships that empower them to perform at grade level and to make successful transitions from middle school to high school and from high school to college, through the baccalaureate degree. Teachers are exposed to professional development activities that provide academic content training, in-class coaching and support, and classroom management training. Parents are provided with information and educational opportunities that empower them to improve the quality of their lives; outreach programs that get them involved in the school lives of their children; and opportunities to learn more about college and financial aid options.
Rutgers University Graduate School of Education GEAR UP Partnership
Dr. Saundra Tomlinson-Clarke
Telephone: (732) 932-7496
E-mail: smaria@rci.rutgers.edu
The Rutgers University Graduate School of Education GEAR UP Partnership facilitates an agreement between the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education (GSE) and the Livingston College Educational Opportunity Fund Program (EOF) with the New Brunswick school community. Lincoln Elementary and Livingston Elementary, both K-8 schools in the New Brunswick Public Schools, and the New Brunswick HUD Teen Center (a community-based social service organization) are partnered with Rutgers University in providing early college awareness and preparation to middle school students beginning in grade 5. This partnership agreement also involves the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education Tutoring Plus Program, a community work-study program comprised of college students, and Rutgers University Livingston College academic student organizations as participants.
Using a holistic approach designed to foster student learning and development, the goals of the GEAR UP initiative are to strengthen the link between home, school, and the community in developing early awareness and preparation for college. Services are focused on two main areas of student development: academic excellence and achievement and personal-social development.
Vineland Public Schools GEAR UP Partnership
Terry Kuhnreich, GEAR UP Coordinator
Telephone: (856) 794-6700 extension 2022
E-mail: tkuhnreich@vineland.org
The Vineland Public Schools GEAR UP Partnership collaborates with VHS North, VHS South, Cumberland County College, the Vineland Public Library, and the Hispanic Leadership Institute to provide college preparation activities and college scholarships to students in the district's AVID (Advancement Through Individual Determination) program