SD GEAR UP Mission:

Increase the number of low-income Native American students that are prepared to graduate from higher education

SD GEAR UP Goals:

• Increase SD GEAR UP student awareness of, access to, and success in rigorous college preparatory curriculum

• Inform SD GEAR UP families about opportunities and planning required to succeed in regental institutions

• Establish partnerships between the SD GEAR UP program and regental institutions to increase student success

• Facilitate professional development focused on changing attitudes regarding Native American student success in higher education to faculty and staff at SD GEAR UP partner schools

      The Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) is a federally funded program designed to better prepare middle and high school students for college through academic preparation programs and scholarships for students, professional development activities for educators, and college access information for students and parents. The South Dakota Department of Education and the Oceti Sakowin Education Consortium (OSEC) have entered into a partnership to implement a GEAR UP Program here in South Dakota. In short the focus of the South Dakota GEAR UP program is to get middle and high school kids and their parents ready for college. The GEAR UP program is a cohort-based model that targets student beginning in the seventh grade and provide interventions for six years, A new cohort of students will be selected in each successive program year and each of those cohorts will continue to be followed throughout the duration of the program. Continued program services are contingent upon an annual renewal of funding from the USDOE.