Maine groups are receiving a $28 million federal grant to boost high school graduation rates in rural Maine and prepare students for college or a career.
The GEAR UP Maine RISE program will work with more than 5,000 Maine students — some as early as 7th grade — and provide counseling and support through the year after they graduate.
Project Director Debbie Gilmer says that the GEAR UP program has worked with Maine students for more than two decades. The latest grant will include money for scholarships, college visits, and funding for "coaches" to help students navigate the first year of college.
Gilmer says the support is particularly vital, as college attendance dropped off significantly during the pandemic.
"We hope to change the direction of some of those numbers, and overcome the impact of COVID, which has been devastating on students across the age span," Gilmer says.
The grant, which will last for seven years, will also go towards offering new courses to help students explore teaching careers.
Kathy Yardley, the interim co-provost at the University of Maine at Farmington, says part of the new grant will also go toward early college courses in education, in order to help more students explore the teaching profession.
"We know we have a shortage of teachers right now in the state of Maine, so we're trying to get students interested early on," Yardley says.
According to the state, the number of Maine teachers completing educator preparation programs has fallen by more than 50% since 2010.
