Nearly half of the funding for the St. Louis In-Gear for Success, or SLINGS initiative, is provided by a six-year, $28 million grant secured by UMSL from the U.S. Department of Education. It's the largest single grant received by UMSL in its 42-year history. The remaining funds will be provided by the more than 40 participating groups.

SLINGS will operate through Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR-UP, a UMSL-led collaborative program that empowers low-income and underrepresented students to take full advantage of higher education opportunities.

More than 6,000 seventh-graders will enter the program this fall and continue receiving services until they graduate high school in May 2011. Activities will include educational and cultural field trips; tours of college campuses; career exploration; and rigorous academic preparation with an emphasis on literacy skills, mathematics, science, social studies and technology. In addition, more than $660,000 in college scholarships will be awarded to eligible students.

"We are thrilled that we will be able to build and expand on GEAR-UP's past success and make a difference in the lives of more than 6,000 students and their families over the next six years," said Patricia Simmons, the William R. Orthwein Jr. Endowed Professor of Life-Long Learning in the Sciences at UMSL and director of GEAR-UP.

SLINGS will be the largest collaborative education effort in the St. Louis area, according to Charles Schmitz, dean of the College of
Education at UMSL.

"This grant is extremely rewarding, because it affords UMSL the opportunity to work with many fine organizations and school districts toward college preparedness for thousands of students," Schmitz said.

SLINGS will educate not only students, but also parents, about the importance of higher education, said St. Louis Community College Chancellor Henry Shannon.

"Today, education beyond high school is the rule rather than the exception," Shannon said. "Through programs like SLINGS, by the time these students are juniors and seniors in high school, they should be pondering which college to attend, rather than if they should go to college."

The participating school districts are: Ferguson-Florissant, Hazelwood, Jennings, Normandy, Riverview Gardens, St. Louis Public Schools, University City and Wellston. In addition to activities for students, the program will offer districts administrator and professional development for school leaders and teachers.

"With growing global job competition, access to higher education for students from all economic backgrounds is vital for the economic health of the St. Louis area," said UMSL Chancellor Tom George. "It's important to ensure the region has an educated citizenry and a work force that's abundant, well prepared and qualified."