GEAR UP “Make The Best Students”

KOLONIA, Pohnpei (November 11, 2012) - The GEAR UP program is back in action, providing comprehensive after-school sessions on Mondays through Fridays at PICS High School for 400 ninth grade students.

The students have their reasons for considering the program to be better than before.

“Boys are separated from the girls,” said Michael Christian.  Leniva Jonathan is excited about the “new kinds of classes, students, and teachers.” 

Beginning the first week of October, GEAR UP students enrolled in classes such as algebra, phonics, chemical engineering, physical education and ACT test prep.   Instructors from Awak, Saladak, PICS, Kolonia, Nett, COM-FSM, and Sekere led classes and introduced students to the new curriculum as well as helping students learn new skills. The new skills will not only benefit GEAR UP students but also improve their classroom performances, and quality of their contribution to their schools and communities.  In addition, volunteers from Australia and the U.S.A. are contributing their efforts to ensure that all GEAR UP students receive the highest quality of instruction. 

This year’s students are grouped by gender, a new design that has shown positive results both in student and teacher responses.  More importantly, student assessment and data are driving the program so that students “identify the fields of study that [they are] slow in and focus on improving [their] abilities,” said Miltralynn Dadius.

On Thursdays, students meet in their chosen clubs to plan for the GEAR UP Family Christmas Program scheduled for December 15^th at Pohnpei Campus gym.  Clubs this year include Theater, Art, Math, Environment, Ambassadors, and Music/Dance.

Students are also receiving computer instructions on Saturdays in the newly furnished GEAR UP computer lab at Pohnpei Campus.  Each Saturday students complete one or two workshops on Aspirations to Action, a comprehensive curriculum that engages students in expanding their dreams, acquiring key information, and developing personal skills. It is organized around three broad college access concepts of awareness, preparation, and financial literacy.  It walks students through the step-by-step process of turning their aspirations into effective actions.

When asked why GEAR UP is important, all 35 students had a different response.  However, the overall understanding was that without GEAR UP, the students believe that they would not be as successful today nor in the future.  Students and teachers believe that GEAR UP does more than just, “help me pass the COMET” commented Geraldo Route.  

KM Sakai responded that it will “help [us] go to the States and make [us] the best students.” GEAR UP is here to not only educate, but also to “teach [us] how to respect others,” said Jeff Soar.