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Gear Up Waco aims to reduce school dropouts

Oct. 2, 2009

By Melissa Perry
Reporter

The number of Waco's adults who have dropped out of high school may be high, but Baylor's Gear Up Waco program and its partner organizations are working toward drastically reducing the number of high school dropouts for this generation of students.

Gear Up is a federally funded program that helps students prepare for college through a combination of academic and professional development programs.

It also provides opportunities for parental involvement by providing assistance with financial aid questions, FAFSA help and scholarship applications.

Waco City Council said The U.S. Department of Education awarded Gear Up an $11.3 million, six-year grant to fund their work in the community.

Now in its fourth year, Gear Up has been following a group of ninth and 10th-graders from A.J. Moore Academy, Waco High, University High School and La Vega High School since they were in sixth and seventh grade.

The program will continue to work with the same group of students until they graduate.

"At the ninth and 10th grade level, we are trying to maintain them so they don't drop out," said Dr. Jewel Lockridge, Gear Up director. "If we can get them through ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th grade, college can be a reality for them."

The main focus of research for the program is STEM education, which includes science, technology, engineering and math.

Programs such as Math Initiative, Marsh Madness and Physics Circus seek to cultivate student interest in math and science by providing hands-on learning.

Exposing students to a variety of STEM related careers gives them the opportunity to imagine future possibilities for their life.

"To support them in becoming what they want to be is incredible," Lockridge said.

In addition to the main academic programs, Gear Up offers mentoring and tutoring, both of which are facilitated by Communities in Schools, an external partner.

Communities in Schools is a national organization with affiliates in cities across the country. It is also the nation's leading community-based dropout prevention organization.

Gear Up's other external partner, Texas State Technical College, plays a vital role in bringing college and career awareness to the students in the program.

Hands-on camps and programs allows students who wish to pursue a technical career the opportunity to discover the different programs offered by TSTC.

"What is really unique (about the partnership between Gear Up and TSTC) is that Baylor and TSTC are very different colleges," said Sheryl Kattner-Allen, who works in recruiting services at TSTC.

"It gives students the opportunity to learn more about a different type of education."

Bringing hands-on STEM education to students reminds them of the importance of doing well in their math and science classes.

"I think we forget a lot of the technical fields require math and science," Kattner-Allen said. "We have to get the word out to kids that math and science is important; it's not going away."

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