Purdue lands $35M federal grant for K-12 program
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Purdue University has received a nearly $35 million grant—its sixth largest federal grant ever—to continue a program that helps K-12 students prepare for college and careers.
The $34.9 million grant comes through the U.S. Department of Education’s Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs campaign, known as GEAR UP.
The Indiana GEAR UP program is housed in Purdue University’s College of Education.
“I think this is such a big win for the state of Indiana,” Virginia Bolshakova, executive director of the program and a Purdue assistant professor, said in a news release. “It truly required so many partners and match to make it happen. It never would have happened without so many levels of coordination.”
The funding will support a third phase of the program, which began in 2005. The initial phase aimed to recruit eligible students into the 21st Century Scholars program, which aims to make college more affordable for students. The second phase, now underway, provides support to underserved K-12 students, such as apprenticeships, after-school programs, scholarship-application assistance and mentorship, and professional development for educators.
The second phase in 2016 received a $24.5 million federal grant, which was then the largest grant ever received by the college, the university said. Since the second phase launched that year, more than 13,000 Indiana students from 10 school corporations and more than 3,000 educators statewide have benefited. Students who go through the program are more likely to graduate from high school and enroll in college than their low-income student peers, the university said.
With the new funding, Indiana GEAR UP is expected to reach 14,300 students in 28 schools to strengthen academic preparation, college readiness and career guidance as the program begins its third phase, the university said.
“Due to the adoption of many of the changes made through GEAR UP—more rigorous coursework, teachers using skills and knowledge from professional development, etc.—we expect INGU students as well as those who follow them to continue to have improved graduation rates and to show higher postsecondary enrollment rates than students from low-income backgrounds,” Bolshakova said.