The Four Pillars of Student Success

GEAR UP Kentucky services are strategically aligned to the Four Pillars of Student Success, a theoretical framework used to engage, develop, and mobilize students and their key influencers in pursuit of student success.

The Four Pillars are:

Self
Family
Institution
Community

These pillars, developed by Dr. Aaron Thompson, are inextricably interconnected. In an environment with both high expectations and support from all pillars, students are more likely to succeed. Without these supports and expectations, students are less likely to establish sufficient goals or maintain a commitment to postsecondary education.

The F.A.C.E.S. of College Readiness

When we talk about creating a college-going culture, we’re talking about creating an environment in which ALL pillars are engaged and supported to create a sustaining culture that supports the F.A.C.E.S of college readiness, which are:

Financial
Academic
Cultural
Emotional
Social

About GEAR UP Kentucky: An Overview

The GEAR UP Kentucky Vision: Every student prepared for postsecondary success.

The GEAR UP Kentucky Mission: The mission of GEAR UP Kentucky is to increase the number of students in low-income Kentucky communities who are ready to successfully transition to and through postsecondary education. We do this by providing services and support to prepare the whole student and equipping their families, institutions, and communities to promote and sustain student success.

Authorized by Congress in 1998, GEAR UP (an acronym for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a competitive federal grant program designed to increase the high school graduation and college-going rates of students in low-income communities.

In October 2018, the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) was awarded a seven-year, $24.5 million grant by the U.S. Department of Education to serve at least 10,000 middle and high school students in at least 10 school districts. This is the fourth GEAR UP state grant that has been administered through CPE.

GEAR UP Kentucky (GUK) is committed to creating long-term cultural change – creating a postsecondary-going culture – in the 12 school districts in 11 counties in which our staff are working. Additionally, GUK is providing services to their postsecondary-going students, called “GEAR UP Scholars,” through their first year at nine partner postsecondary institutions.

GUK is providing services to middle and high school students in the following school districts: Augusta Independent, Bath County, Bourbon County, Covington Independent, Fleming County, Frankfort Independent, Marion County, Mason County, Mercer County, Paris Independent, Pendleton County, and Robertson County.

GUK is providing services to GEAR UP Scholars during their first year of study at: Bluegrass Community & Technical College, Eastern Kentucky University, Elizabethtown Community & Technical College, Gateway Community & Technical College, Kentucky State University, Maysville Community & Technical College, Morehead State University, Northern Kentucky University, and University of Kentucky.

Click here to review A Year in the Life of GEAR UP Kentucky, 2021-22.