Area Schools to Get $9 Million in GEAR UP Funding

Congressman James Comer was in Murray Wednesday to announce Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grants for 20 area schools in the West Kentucky Educational Cooperative. The grants from the U.S. Department of Education total over $1.4 million dollars each year for the next seven years, for a total of over $9 million. 

The project will assist students in obtaining a secondary school diploma and prepare them for and help them succeed in post-secondary education. The money will be used to deliver STEM-related programming and opportunities for students from ten school districts. 

Middle and High schools receiving the grants include those in Ballard, Carlisle, Crittenden, Fulton, Hickman, Livingston, McLean Counties, along with Fulton, Mayfield and Paducah Independent Schools. 

Partner institutions include WKCTC, Madisonville Community College and Murray State University, along with numerous career or technical centers, education advocacy groups and higher education organizations in the region. 

The project goal of GEAR UP is "to create a college and career pathway culture at each participating school resulting in an increase in the number of students—particularly minorities, those from low-income backgrounds, English learners, and those who have special needs—who are prepared to enter and succeed in post-secondary education, obtain industry certifications, and enter the workforce in high demand industry sectors with an emphasis on STEM related fields, particularly computer science."