By proposing to eliminate this vital program, the Administration is demonstrating an unconscionable lack of concern for students and families from low-income and working class communities who depend on GEAR UP for a better future. Just as baffling is the Administration's failure to understand that GEAR UP is realizing their stated educational goals. Eliminating GEAR UP and proposing new programs is not just inefficient - it jeopardizes the progress made to date and the ongoing efforts in hundreds of communities nationwide. |
Here you have an administration that says it is only cutting inefficient programs. The president's high school reform does exactly what GEAR UP does. There is no need for a new program. |
The reality is that by eliminating GEAR UP in his budget, the President directly contradicts many of his objectives laid out in his State of the Union speech. The irony is that the GEAR UP program is one of the best vehicles for accomplishing what he claims to want to do. |