WASHINGTON
Neither soggy terrain nor vehement thunderstorms detoured nearly 200 students from across the nation from assembling on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building Tuesday to join officials from the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) in petitioning legislators to increase funding for federal TRIO programs, such as Upward Bound, and the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP). The petitioning students participate in TRIO programs in their respective communities and campuses, according to a COE spokeswoman.
TRIO includes seven outreach and support programs targeted to serve low-income, first-generation college students, veterans and students with disabilities to progress through the academic pipeline from middle school through college. While participating in their respective TRIO programs, students receive tutoring, mentoring, leadership training and college counseling from well-trained counselors and directors. Like TRIO, GEAR UP initiatives encourage low-income students to consider and prepare for college.
With a federal appropriation of $905 million this year, TRIO programs and GEAR UP can only afford to serve about 11 percent of the students who are eligible nationally, says Kimberly Jones, director of congressional affairs for COE.
Under the Obama administration, COE officials hope to see a $120 million increase for the 2010 fiscal year.
“We are only serving a fraction of the people who are eligible,” says Jones. “When we fight for increased funding, it broadens the size and scope of existing programs and allows a greater number of students to access them.”
