Centennial's Arellano Named 2024 GEAR UP Student of the Year
Centennial High School 2024 graduate Jordan Arellano was named the 2024 GEAR UP Student of the Year at the recent NCCEP / GEAR UP Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.
Jordan worked with GEAR UP at Centennial. Among the many activities he’s been involved with, Jordan helped the UCI GEAR UP team with social media and interned in IT for the Compton Unified School District. After school, he worked at Jersey Mike’s to support his family.
This fall, he’ll pursue his passion for technology at UCLA, studying Computer Science. Jordan is the oldest of three siblings and he will be the first in his family to go to college.
The Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) initiative is one of the largest and most effective programs focused on increasing the college and career readiness of low-income students in communities nationwide.
GEAR UP is a highly competitive grant program that helps empower local partnerships comprised of K-12 schools, institutions of higher education, state agencies, and community organizations to achieve three strategic goals:
· Increasing the postsecondary expectations and readiness of students.
· Improving high school graduation and postsecondary enrollment rates.
· Raising the knowledge of postsecondary options, preparation, and financing among students and families.
In 2022-23, GEAR UP served 568,775 students enrolled in 2,954 secondary schools in almost every state. To be eligible for GEAR UP, a minimum of 50% of a school’s student body must be enrolled in the federal free and reduced-price lunch (FRL) program.
Applicants identify entire cohorts of 7th grade students to be served. Services include a suite of academic, social, and planning support as students’ progress from the middle grades through high school graduation, and often into the first year of college.
Drawing upon research, GEAR UP engages students early, accelerates their readiness through supplemental programs, and expands the capacity of schools to create college going cultures.