PROGRAM DESIGN
Participating schools are organized into geographic clusters made up of a high school, one or more feeder middle schools, and one of the seven universities in the Oregon University System. Even though middle and high schools are paired with a particular OUS campus, they are encouraged to develop relationships with multiple colleges and universities.
The following is a list of the participating GEAR UP schools:
| Schools | Communities |
| Azalea Middle and Brookings-Harbor High | Brookings |
| Lincoln Middle, Kennedy and Cottage Grove High | Cottage Grove |
| Glendale Junior/Senior High | Glendale |
| Irrigon Junior/Senior High | Irrigon |
| La Pine Middle and High | La Pine |
| Lost River Junior/Senior High | Merrill |
| North Marion Middle and High | Aurora |
| Fleming Middle and North Valley High | Grants Pass |
| Coffenberry Middle and South Umpqua High | Myrtle Creek and Canyonville |
| Stanfield Secondary | Stanfield |
| Sweet Home Junior and Senior High | Sweet Home |
| Taft 7 - 12 | Lincoln City |
GEAR UP activities revolve around five primary focus areas:
Rigor Right Classes Relevance Relationships Reality of Affordability 
School clusters receive assistance from project partners, including OUS, in planning and implementing activities to address all five areas.
School GEAR UP plans and best practices from the first GEAR UP project (2002-2008) can be found here: