MAPLE GROVE, Minn. TopLine FCU has joined Hennepin Technical College and Brooklyn Park Campus in a seven-year study funded by the U.S. Department of Education tracking students’ academic performance, college preparation, enrollment and achievement.
The project, known as GEAR UP for Gaining Early Awareness & Readiness for Undergraduate Programs will follow seventh graders at two local middle schools who just started a college preparatory program. It will follow them all the way through high school and into the first year of college.
TopLine said it will help GEAR UP students and their families learn more about post-secondary education options, as well as preparation and financing.
Recently, TopLine taught in-school sessions on finance basics to nearly 700 area middle school students, and hosted personal management sessions for parents at a resource fair in the Fridley school district. These sessions will continue on a regular basis for the duration of the GEAR UP grant, and will cover basic financial skills, highlighting the benefits of long-term financial planning and promoting the opening and management of savings accounts.
The goal of the project is to increase the number of students who are academically and financially prepared for post-secondary programs.
The Department of Education is providing $460,000 a year for the seven years to fund the program.
