FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (September 2008)
Contact: Linda Castillo, Bryan ISD GEAR UP Director, 979-845-0891 or lcastillo@tamu.edu, or Kelsey Johnson, Communications Specialist, 979-862-4990 or kelsey_johnson@tamu.edu
Texas A&M GEAR UP Project to Prepare Bryan ISD Middle Schoolers for College
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – The Center on Disability and Development at Texas A&M University is pleased to announce that Drs. Linda Castillo and Patricia Lynch were recently awarded a $2.7 million, six-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education to prepare Bryan ISD middle schoolers for college. The GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) project is focused on improving school completion and college attendance rates for first-generation students, students of color and students with disabilities.
"Over the next six years, we will work to provide resources to impact over 1,000 Bryan ISD seventh-graders," says Dr. Castillo, project director. "These resources will include comprehensive professional development services to teachers, counselors and administrators."
Co-director Dr. Lynch adds: "There are a couple of unique aspects to this project. One aspect is that we're targeting the entire seventh grade of BISD, including kids on IEPs, even those with moderate to severe disabilities. The other is that we are taking meetings and trainings out of the schools and into community locations such as community centers and local churches to better reach families and make activities more accessible to them."
According to the U.S. Department of Education, the GEAR UP grant is designed to enable more young Americans to succeed in school, to study hard and to take the right courses to become eligible and competitive for admission to colleges and universities. Based upon proven models, GEAR UP supports institutions of higher education, local schools and their districts, community-based organizations, businesses and states as they work together to help students and their parents receive information, training and support along the pathway to college.
For more information about the Bryan ISD GEAR UP project, contact Dr. Linda Castillo, Bryan ISD GEAR UP Director, at 979-845-0891 or lcastillo@tamu.edu. Additionally, grant information can be found at www.ed.gov/gearup/.
PHOTO
Front row (left to right): Araceli Lopez, GEAR UP Assistant;
Diana Werner, Jane Long Middle School Principal;
Lourdes Goryzcki, Avid District Director & GEAR UP Project Coordinator;
Tiersa Hopkins, GEAR UP Project Assistant;
Patricia Lynch, GEAR UP Co-PI and Co-Director; and
Linda Castillo, GEAR UP PI and Director;
Back row (left to right): Paul Hord, Sam Rayburn Middle School Principal; and
Chad Broussard, Arthur L. Davila Middle School Principal;
Not pictured: Patti Moore, Stephen F. Austin Middle School Principal; Juana Vaquero, GEAR UP Disability Specialist; and
Isaac Salvidar, GEAR UP Assistant
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