Purdue’s College of Education receives $34.9M grant to continue helping Indiana students, teachers succeed

Indiana GEAR UP prepares students for jobs of tomorrow

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Many Indiana students need help transitioning successfully from middle school to high school to postsecondary opportunities. The U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), through their Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) campaign, seeks to ensure students across the country are prepared for college. The Indiana GEAR UP program (INGU, housed in the Purdue University College of Education, has been awarded $34.9 million over seven years to continue its efforts to support Indiana students and educators.

The $34.9 million grant is the sixth largest federal grant ever awarded to Purdue University.

Virginia Bolshakova, executive director of INGU and assistant research professor of in the College of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction, is the principal investigator (PI) on the grant. “I think this is such a big win for the state of Indiana,” she said. “It truly required so many partners and match to make it happen. It never would have happened without so many levels of coordination.”

The current INGU program received USDOE funding in 2016 for $24.5 million, then the largest grant ever received by the college. Since then, INGU has served over 13,000 Indiana students from 10 school corporations plus over 3,000 educators from across the state. About 97% of INGU students graduated from high school compared to 87% of low-income students statewide, and INGU students enrolled in college at a higher rate than comparison students.

The INGU program has played a significant role in supporting students and educators across the state of Indiana. In 2005, the earlier phase, INGU-1, established statewide programming to recruit and enroll eligible students into the 21st Century Scholars program, an early college promise initiative designed to make college more affordable and successful for students. The program’s efforts were scaled statewide through the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (Indiana CHE), making college and career activities accessible to all eligible students.

The current phase, INGU-2 (2016-2024), focused on postsecondary and career readiness, especially in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields, with a partnership between Indiana CHE and Purdue University funded by the USDOE. Purdue’s involvement provided in-depth support to underserved students and professional development for educators. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, INGU-2 successfully improved academic readiness, with notable gains in SAT scores, high school graduation rates, and college enrollment.

With the new funding, INGU will increase its reach to 14,300 Indiana students in 28 schools across 10 partner school corporations to strengthen academic preparation, college readiness and career guidance, with a special focus on Indiana’s 21st Century Scholars.

“Due to the adoption of many of the changes made through GEAR UP — more rigorous coursework, teachers using skills and knowledge from professional development, etc. — we expect INGU students as well as those who follow them to continue to have improved graduation rates and to show higher postsecondary enrollment rates than students from low-income backgrounds,” said Bolshakova.

Many students don’t have the academic preparation or career guidance necessary to be admitted into college. INGU helps by introducing academic options and career and college preparation to students, both key components of college readiness programs.

Background

The grant’s original primary investigator, Carla C. Johnson, former associate dean for research, engagement and global partnerships and professor in the College of Education, led the statewide program from October 2016 to January 2019. Bolshakova succeeded Johnson in 2019.

“Indiana GEAR UP students are pursuing their own definition of success — be it enrollment, employment or enlistment,” Bolshakova said. “Of INGU students enrolled in college, 83% stayed in the Hoosier state, and 14% of college students from the INGU Class of 2022 and 13% from the Class of 2023 attended a Purdue University institution. Among students with a declared major, 50% of INGU college students at a Purdue University institution are majoring in a STEM field.”

The program has demonstrated a strong commitment to early interventions and college access, and with a third grant secured (2024-2031), INGU aims to continue improving pathways to postsecondary success for Indiana students by strengthening community networks.

“Indiana GEAR UP is a perfect example of the multiplier effect,” said Phillip J. VanFossen, interim dean of the college. “Because of this U.S. Department of Education grant, Virginia and her amazing team have been able to implement strategic support for students and to utilize targeted professional development for teachers — both of which generated significant gains in graduation rates and college-going for the Indiana students involved. It’s a very powerful program and the Purdue College of Education is proud to host and support it.”

Who benefits from INGU?

The program supports students and families with information and tools they need to successfully transition from middle school to high school to postsecondary opportunities — whether college, training, apprenticeships or other options. The program helps parents understand their students’ options via Parent University, a program for middle school students and parents to explore and learn about different careers as well as what degrees or credentials are required for them.

Students are excited and grateful for the new worlds opening up before them.

“Going into high school, they had the after-school programs for my freshman year that I went to a lot,” said September Kauchak from Jeffersonville, who is now studying entomology and biochemistry at Purdue. “At the end of the week, every month, we could invite our families, and we’d have dinner, which was really, really nice, especially coming from a low-income family.”

“GEAR UP is a program that comes into your school, and they just prepare you for life,” said Faith Taylor of rural Crawford County, who has a full-ride scholarship studying engineering at Hanover College. “Seventh and eighth grade they were doing college visit trips, and they said, ‘There’s a lot of scholarships out there.’ I never pictured going to Hanover, but GEAR UP definitely taught me (to) take advantage of those opportunities.”

“I picked up an interest in cooking when I was about 13,” said Joseph Coburn from Gary, who is currently studying culinary arts at Ivy Tech Community College’s Lake County Campus at East Chicago. “GEAR UP heard that, they took it, ran with it. They started showing me cooking shows, programs, books, sent me a list of schools, set me up with internships. They set me up with chefs to speak with! I’ve never really met a program that’ll go above and beyond to help you follow your passion and dreams.”

“GEAR UP is helping me be successful with life after high school by teaching us what it means to be a leader and what it is to support people in our community and life in general,” said Dylan Minter of Jeffersonville, who is currently studying architecture at Howard University. “It’s teaching us to be more of a servant leader and leader who cares more than a leader who commands and doesn’t care.”

INGU students explore entomology and tinker with robotics during summer camp and after-school programming.

Parents also are enthusiastic about and grateful for INGU, as it offers programming that engages parents and the community.

“(My daughter) didn’t know what an engineer was before we (visited) Purdue. So for her to even have a thought that it might be something she was interested in is really enough for me as a parent,” said one parent. “I just appreciate GEAR UP for being something that’s been there to broaden our horizon.”

“They got her everything, all the tools that she needed to get ready for college, and somehow she got a full scholarship to Purdue, and I think that GEAR UP had 100% to do with that,” said Greg Kauchak, father of Purdue student September Kauchak.

“They make you feel comfortable as even a parent to reach out to them. There is no discrimination — it just felt like we’re family,” said Ann Shafe-Smith, mother of Zion Adedipe, a cybersecurity student and Army ROTC private first class at Purdue University in Indianapolis.

INGU also helps teachers, schools and school corporations, as teachers in all grades will receive professional development and support to ensure that their students will benefit from GEAR UP services.

“GEAR UP’s primary, No. 1 thing is, ‘We’re here to help you to help yourself grow and learn and to improve your grade in your classes,’” said Isaac Adams, physics and engineering teacher at Arsenal Tech High School in Indianapolis. “GEAR UP not only provides them (students) with academic opportunities for growth, but it also provides them with food — which for some of our students is not a small thing. It’s a space where you have paid professionals who are certified educators who are here to help you with anything that you need help with.”

Successes

There are many reasons for INGU’s increasing success. One is due to implementing models that work, starting with a “cohort” model (2016-2024) that served students continuously from seventh grade through their first year of college or postsecondary training. With the new grant, this will evolve to a slightly different model supporting “priority” juniors and seniors as well as a new cohort of students who will graduate in 2030 and 2031.

“This ‘sandwich’ approach will allow us to continue establishing and growing momentum gained during INGU-2 with current students who haven’t graduated yet by using high school curricula, programming, and impactful connections made between secondary and postsecondary institutions,” Bolshakova said. “We know this will better support student success.”

Another reason for INGU’s success is its emphasis on fostering academic and extra-academic skills. While mastery and achievement in academically rigorous coursework is important, developing extra-academic skills via volunteering, internships, arts and creativity, and leadership opportunities are equally valuable in predicting postsecondary success.

A third success weaves financial literacy, savings plans, estimating costs for career and college, and scholarship searches into programming, providing families with knowledge to help current students as well as younger children who follow. Other financial help may include access to:

• Academically challenging and extra-academically enriching STEM-focused after-school and summer programs that integrate social and emotional learning and project-based learning
• A to-be-developed, one-time GEAR UP scholarship worth the minimum Pell Grant, which will be available to “cohort” and “priority” INGU students who do not qualify for state-based aid
• A college textbook “library” that provides funds toward college textbooks and lab materials for students enrolled in postsecondary activities
• Food
• College visits
• Trips to national GEAR UP conferences in places like San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

“Gary (Indiana), to a lot of people — it’s their world. They know nothing else,” said Coburn, the future chef. “So for (GEAR UP) to take me and a few other kids and say, ‘Hey, let’s go to the East Coast to Washington, D.C., and meet people from all across the U.S. and U.S. territories’ — it was amazing! Really getting to network with other kids my age and see that we’re not so different after all.”

A fourth success is that INGU school teachers and administrators receive professional development from INGU staff, aligned with career and college outcomes and addressing topics that they themselves identified in an INGU needs assessment.

“I love the idea of actual application in my classroom using the content I’m already teaching,” said a participating teacher.

“I enjoyed the hands-on experience. I came in as a novice and am leaving with enough information to begin, as well as implement, FABLE robotics in math class,” said Lydia Colaire, a math teacher at the West Side Leadership Academy in Gary.

“I like the practical, simple strategies to help our students to better succeed,” said Angie Currier, a teacher who attended an INGU professional development workshop. “I also enjoy the lightheartedness of our presenter. This is heavy material, and it could have been super hard, but it was not.”

Research and collaboration

Besides partnering with students, parents, teachers, schools and communities, INGU is impacting the field of education by conducting research about the impact of the interventions on student success, among other questions. Through this research, educators can better understand STEM learning, literacy, persistence and entry into postsecondary study and careers among middle school and high school students.

Collaborators include other College of Education faculty and staff members Karen George-Friedman, Terron Phillips, Ofelia Schepers, LaMonica Williams, and former faculty member Amanda Case. Other campus partners include the Purdue Polytechnic Institute, Purdue Extension, Purdue Minority Engineering Program, Purdue Women in Engineering Program, Purdue Polytechnic High Schools, Purdue Promise, Office of Research, and the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars.

Results

“It’s just one of the greatest programs for any of the students who are wanting to do an after-school activity that’s going to forward them into the world,” said Greg Kauchak, father of September, the Boilermaker studying entomology and biochemistry.

“(Even though I’m in college now) GEAR UP’s right there,” said Taylor, the Hanover engineering student. “It definitely just changed my life — it changed how I viewed everything.”

“(GEAR UP) is something that influences kids that come from low-income families and provides that support for them to be able to grow, to achieve whatever they want to believe in,” said Adedipe, the Purdue cybersecurity student in Indianapolis. “GEAR UP is a program that encourages students to be successful in anything they put their mind to and to provide that extra support for everyone.”

“I really appreciate what GEAR UP has done for me,” said Coburn, the future chef. “Because without them, I would have most likely never continued my education. They wanted to make sure that I had a set future and that I would do what I love.”

“Jobs of the future are changing, and alignment between education-to-workforce has never been more critical,” Bolshakova said. “Indiana GEAR UP’s role is to ensure that INGU students are prepared not only for the jobs of today, but also for the jobs of tomorrow.”

“It’s changing generations of families and generations of lives,” she added. “We want all students to succeed in life.”

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition for 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.

About the College of Education

The Purdue University College of Education has prepared thousands of professionals for challenging and rewarding careers in education, administration, counseling, learning design and technology, and more. The college is committed to rigorous graduate programs, ground-breaking research, social justice, and the education of all children of all people – especially in the area of P-12 STEM education. Our centers, programs, and degrees prepare our graduates for rewarding professions. We are preparing the next generation of Boilermaker Educators for the future via a small college experience in a Big Ten environment.

Source: Virginia Bolshakova, vbolshak@purdue.edu

Purdue News Media contact: Trevor Peters, peter237@purdue.edu

News: U.S. Department of Education funding announcement

High-resolution versions of the story’s photos are available via this Google Drive folder.

INGU Videos:

INGU Program Overview: https://youtu.be/fQSHi4NF3ao

My GEAR UP Story — Faith, Hanover College: https://youtu.be/tOTz7o5IneA

My GEAR UP Story — Joseph, Ivy Tech: https://youtu.be/W0GtlELktsU

My GEAR UP Story — September, Purdue University: https://youtu.be/TTsqPaMhvAI

My GEAR UP Story — Zion, Purdue in Indianapolis: https://youtu.be/If94T5fOVdM

Animated Infographic: https://youtu.be/RCsKvxTZViY

NWI Times Video: https://youtu.be/yfIzOxqyKjU

Other news: Indiana GEAR UP: Creating doors and opportunities for students