GEAR UP program provides free college services for underserved schools

Washington State University Tri-City was recently featured for how they are addressing educational disparities in their communities through GEAR UP. The local NBC affiliate shared a statistic that GEAR UP professionals are very familiar with, “According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 54 percent of students from lower-income schools entered college compared to 69 percent of higher-income students.” GEAR UP addresses these disparities through college access initiatives and early intervention. GEAR UP Director Michelle Parvinen sums it up, “We are trying to break down a lot of barriers to make it available."