About the Chicago GEAR UP Alliance and the CEA

First GEAR UP Award

The Chicago Education Alliance (CEA), a consortium of Chicago area universities and educational organizations working to improve the Chicago Public School System, was awarded $31 million over five years under the U.S. Department of Education's Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP). This grant will help more than 15,000 disadvantaged Chicago Public School children, beginning in the middle grades, to prepare for and to achieve success in college. The U.S. Department of Education awarded $120 million for 185 new grants under the GEAR UP Project. The Chicago Education Alliance (CEA) grant was the largest grant awarded in the country.

Wendy Stack, Chicago GEAR UP Alliance Partnership Director, Weldon Beverly, principal of Hyde Park Academy, Carmen Martinez, principal of Wells High School, Robert Graham, VP of Merrill Lynch, and Teryl ann Rosch, Executive Director of the CEA. Mr. Graham is presenting a scholarship check to the Alliance for a series of Merrill Lynch/GEAR UP scholarships. Fall, 2000.

The CEA and the Chicago GEAR UP Alliance seek new ways to support Chicago public school students in their desire to go on to college through parnterships with businss and other organizations.

U.S. Department of Education Secretary Riley announcing the national GEAR UP awards at a press conference in September, 1999 at Roosevelt University.

The Chicago GEAR UP Alliance includes an unprecedented partnership of five universities, the Chicago City Colleges, 18 educational, business and cultural institutions and the Chicago Public Schools to address critical needs that impede student access to and success in college (see list of partners by clickin on the CEA Partners icon to the left). Thirty-four Chicago elementary and high schools throughout the city will be involved in the program (to see the list of schools click here - this is downloaded PDF file, you need Acrobat Reader to see it or click here to go to another web page & click on the back button to return to this text).

Teachers and administrators from West Town Network schools awarded a Kids at Hope Hopeology certificate indicating that they believe that all children can succeed, no exceptions.

The Chicago GEAR UP Alliance:

• engages all stakeholders in a high-performance learning community that provides educators with focused, collaborative professional development to improve the school curriculum;
• creates a coordinated system for early intervention through tutoring, mentoring, and enrichment activities;
• implements an inclusive and comprehensive approach for informing students and parents about college, career options, financial aid and required rigorous courses; and
• provides experiences about what college is like; and
• emphasizes that all children are capable of success.

This major initiative draws upon the successes of the Chicago Education Alliance in bringing together influential decision makers from state and local education, community, and business levels.

Kids at Hope is a national program adoptted by the CEA and the Chicago Education Alliance which promotes the idea that all kids have value and can succeed given the proper support. Click on the Kids at Hope icon to go to the organization's website for more information.

The CEA has sponsored a Summer Prep program for the past six years for the Chicago Public Schools and cooperates with Roosevelt University in the Summer Academy for Woodlawn Network's GEAR UP students. These middle school students worked on human anatomy in the bilogy lab at Roosevelt with a Roosevelt undergraduate pre-service teacher during the summer of 2001.

Bridges to the Future

I.n 2000, the the CEA and the Chicago GEAR UP Alliance recieved a second GEAR UP grant, entitled Bridges to the Future, increasing the number of schools participating and including the University of Chicago as a new project partner. Three additional Chicago communities (Humboldt Park, West Ridge, and Kenwood) will receive assistance through the Chicago GEAR UP Alliance thanks to this additional five year grant. Norma V. Cantu, the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, announced the $6 million + award at a celebration held with school partners on Thursday, September 28, 2000, at the Chicago Teachers' Center.

This second grant is very similar to the first proposal and both grants will be administered together.

The Chicago GEAR UP Alliance believes that technology and access to technology are important in improving education. One program, begun in the Woodlawn Network and the adopted by other networks, trains parents and children in basic computer useage and then gives them a computer for home use to support both school work and adult workforce training

Through the Chicago GEAR UP Alliance, increasing numbers of students will realize that learning is a fascinating adventure that allows them to explore themselves and the careers that will enable them to achieve their dreams; while supporting them, individually, to become academically and financially prepared for college.

Parent involvement is a key part of the Chicago GEAR UP Alliance, along with professional development for teachers and direct services to students. Here is a parent meeting at Bessie Coleman Library. Space for these meetings is donated by the Chicago Public Libraries.