{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://amo.house.gov/press-release/rhode-island-to-receive-336-million-to-help-students-gear-up-for-college", "Rhode Island to Receive $33.6 Million to Help Students GEAR UP for College", "2024-08-27", "2024", "2024-08", "Democrat", "House", "RI", "Gabe Amo", "A000380", "amo.house.gov", "amo", "https://amo.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 In an effort to help public school students across the statecapitalize on educational opportunities and become college and career ready, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo today joined Governor Dan McKee in announcing that Rhode Island will receive a new federal grant providing a projected $33.6 million over the next seven years.\n\nThe federal funds will flow to the Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner (OPC) through the U.S. Department of Education\u2019s Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grant program. The grant will provide $4.8 million per year for seven years, subject to future federal appropriations, to support promising economically disadvantaged students.\n\nThis federal grant will help serve 4,000 students annually in Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls, Woonsocket, Cranston, and Newport by connecting students to wrap-around services and comprehensive supports beginning in grade six and continuing through the first year of college. Rhode Island\u2019s GEAR UP program is administered by the Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner in partnership with Onward We Learn (formerly known as the College Crusade of Rhode Island).\n\n\u201cRhode Island\u2019s GEAR UP program is a critical, multi-faceted program that stays with our students as they grow and helps them prepare to succeed in the classroom and beyond. This is a smart investment in uplifting promising young people and helping them achieve their full potential,\u201d said Senator Reed, a senior member of the Appropriations subcommittee which oversees federal spending on education programs and who led efforts to secure $388 million for GEAR UP in the fiscal year 2023 appropriations law. \u201cOnward We Learn is an outstanding organization that helps young people from diverse backgrounds prepare for college and careers. This federal funding will help Onward We Learn, in partnership with Rhode Island OPC, expand their efforts and services to reach more deserving students.\u201d\n\n\u201cEvery child, regardless of the zip code where they were born, deserves a quality education and the opportunity to succeed in a career of their choice,\u201d said Senator Whitehouse. \u201cThis federal funding for Rhode Island\u2019s GEAR UP program will provide the resources and long-term support to keep students on the road to higher education and achieving their dreams.\u201d\n\n\u201cEvery student deserves the opportunity to chase their dreams, secure a good-paying job and achieve a higher education \u2014 even if their parents don\u2019t make a lot of money,\u201d said Rep. Seth Magaziner. \u201cI am proud to announce this federal funding with my colleagues in the congressional delegation to support RI\u2019s GEAR UP program and Onward We Learn, expand the idea of what is possible for Rhode Island\u2019s students and set the next generation up for success.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur students deserve all the support we can provide for their future,\u201d said Congressman Gabe Amo. \u201cThis federal funding for GEAR UP RI will help students across Rhode Island access the tools they need to meet their educational goals and get set up for success. I thank Onward We Learn and the Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner for their work to help every student realize their dreams.\u201d\n\n\u201cTwo of our Administration\u2019s top priorities are improving educational outcomes for students and increasing incomes for all Rhode Islanders. This federal funding is crucial to helping us continue the momentum toward reaching both goals,\u201d said Governor Dan McKee. \u201cGEAR UP not only helps students get to college, but also gives them the tools to secure a good-paying job, a fulfilling career, and a better future for their family. I'm thankful to our Congressional Delegation for their unwavering support of Rhode Island students. We\u2019re ready to help put these dollars to work.\u201d\n\nSaid Shannon Gilkey, Ed.D., R.I. Commissioner of Postsecondary Education, \u201cThank you to Senators Reed and Whitehouse, and Congressmen Magaziner and Amo for putting a college degree within the grasp of thousands of Rhode Islanders. Research has tied college degree attainment with higher lifetime wages, which brings economic advantages not only to college graduates but also to their families and communities. The children of college graduates are more likely to attend college so the impact travels onward to future generations. We\u2019re incredibly impressed by Onward We Learn\u2019s exemplary track record in increasing college attendance among economically disadvantaged Rhode Islanders living in the urban core, and this GEAR UP grant will enable them to reach even more students.\u201d\n\n\u201cOnward We Learn is delighted to expand our partnership with OPC to continue our collective efforts to improve the landscape of education in Rhode Island. With the renewal of our GEAR UP grant, we can eagerly expand our service areas to include more students and their families,\u201d said Andrew Bramson, President and CEO of Onward We Learn. \u201cWe are particularly excited that this new infusion of these resources will allow us to sustain our highly successful scholarship program. High-quality college access programming and scholarships are a proven recipe for helping young people become the first in their families to attend and complete college.\u201d\n\nFor the last twenty-five years, Onward We Learn has partnered with Rhode Island OPC to develop and implement RI GEAR UP programs and services as part of the state\u2019s overall education strategy to increase high school graduation rates and strengthen pathways to higher education for Rhode Island students.\n\nAs a result of this grant funding, Onward We Learn will deploy teams of advisors to dozens of middle and high schools as well as Rhode Island\u2019s three public colleges and universities to offer personalized educational support for students and to motivate them to take rigorous courses, graduate from high school on time, and make a successful transition to college and career. Onward We Learn will also provide a continuum of extended learning opportunities for these students across four domains \u2013 academic support, social and emotional development, postsecondary preparation, and career exploration.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:36:13Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://amo.house.gov/press-release/rhode-island-to-receive-336-million-to-help-students-gear-up-for-college"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.818826025351882, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}