GEAR UP SWV

Securing a Legacy of Strength & Resilience in Appalachia

GEAR UP SWV is excited to announce the 2025 Summer Camps! GEAR UP SWV supports opportunities for cohort students attending public school in Mercer, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers, and Wyoming Counties to attend camps, explore professions, and more. Every 8th and 9th grade student, during the 2024-2025 school year, attending public school in Summers, Wyoming, Mercer, Monroe, and Raleigh Counties is part of the cohort and eligible to attend! The opportunities will help GEAR UP SWV cohort students bridge the “summer slump” gap while exploring careers, and even college. GEAR UP SWV students are those attending public school in Summers, Mercer, Monroe, Raleigh, and Wyoming Counties and will graduate high school in the year 2028 or 2029. More details coming soon! Email gearup@concord.edu for more info.

Regional Summer Camp Opportunities

About GEAR UP SWV

Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) is a 7 year federal grant designed to increase the number of students who are prepared to enter and succeed in public and private colleges, universities, and community colleges immediately after high school.

GEAR UP SWV is a partnership grant of Concord University partnering with New River Community and Technical College, community organizations, business partners, and schools. Using a cohort model, GEAR UP SWV works with all students in the classes of 2028 and 2029 in Mercer, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers, and Wyoming Counties from 6^th grade through their first year of post-secondary education.

The GEAR UP program provides funding and programming for professional development for teachers and administrators, academic and cultural enrichment for students, and assistance for parents and students in becoming familiar with college options, financial aid, and transition concerns.

Performance Measures:

Objective 1: Increase the academic performance and preparation for postsecondary education for students.
Objective 2: Increase the rate of high school graduation and enrollment in postsecondary education for schools.
Objective 3: Increase students’ and families’ knowledge of postsecondary education options, preparation, and financing.
Objective 4: Increase Academic, Postsecondary, and Social and Emotional Resilience.

Additional information about our performance measures can be found here.

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Where is GEAR UP SWV Located?

College (IHE) Partners

New River Community and Technical College

Concord University

Mercer County

Monroe County

Raleigh County

Summers County

Summers Comprehensive High School

Wyoming County

Who We Serve

GEAR UP SWV serves students attending Mercer, Monroe, Summers, Raleigh and Wyoming public school who will graduate high school in class of 2028 and 2029.

Students & Parents/Guardians

Local Coordinators

Staff Spotlight

Meet Lisa!

Lisa Arthur is a GEAR UP SWV Local Coordinator. When attending school, she did not care about going and doing well, and had teachers who influenced her in the wrong way. Lisa can remember her high school guidance counselor saying that she “was not college material” which impacted her greatly. She did not attend college right after graduation.

Lisa married her high school sweetheart and started a family. One day, she can remember looking at her daughters and thinking, “I want more for them.” She began working as an AmeriCorps Reading Tutor where her girls attended school. Lisa found that she had a passion for helping young minds. She used the educational grant that was awarded to her from the program and started college. With raising small children, it took five years to earn her first degree: a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education K-6 from Bluefield State College. Later on, she also earned her Masters of Art in Teaching Special Education, LD, BD, MI with Autism K-Adult from Concord University, and her Certificate in Educational Leadership and Supervision from Concord University.

Lisa began working and fell into the Special Education Department in Monroe County. She loved being an advocate for those students who needed a voice. Lisa stayed in Special Education for six years before moving into the middle school environment. She then took a leadership role so those students knew what they chose to do with their lives mattered and she would do what she could to help. The GEAR UP SWV Program has given Lisa a greater voice to accomplish just that. She has watched several students become interested in a career that they may not have thought possible before. This is a joy in my life that she has loved being a part of.

In her spare time, Lisa enjoys restoring old cars and trucks, as well as spending time with her family: two daughters, one son-in-law, and two grandsons.

How GEAR UP SWV Can Help You

West Virginia is rated as one of the highest low-income states in America, listed in 4th place.

Together, we can change this through increasing services such as mentoring, workshops, college visits, and financial literacy lessons.

This can be combated through career exploration and job shadowing to support future employees within West Virginia.

Unemployment rates rose in West Virginia to 7.9%, while America’s national average unemployment rate declined to 6.3%.

Low postsecondary rates lower West Virginia employment opportunities.

Increasing enrollment rates of four-year colleges will increase better-paying job opportunities. Bachelor graduates make twice as much as high school graduates.

Postsecondary success activities increase employment opportunities and increase one’s annual income.

The average income of a person living in West Virginia is $46,711, while the average annual income for the nation is $68,703, putting West Virginia at a $21,992 difference from the national average.

The National Center for Education Statistics calculated that college attendees from rural areas comprise 29%, while people from cities were 48%.

Increasing academic counseling and college visits aid in the availability of resources for children and families in rural areas.

GEAR UP SWV services provide 24-hour online tutor services that increase students’ academic performance.

Income level affects students’ academic performance, represented in a math proficiency test comparison indicating a decreasing gap between 8th and 11th graders within West Virginia.

Campus Visit Request

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