The Iowa Department of Education announced that the state received more than $25.8 million in a competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Education to increase the number of students from low-income backgrounds who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. The federal Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, commonly referred to as Gear Up, provides competitive matching grants to states and partnerships working with high-need middle and high schools. The program provides a variety of services aimed at preparing students and families academically, financially and inspirationally to enroll and succeed in college and other postsecondary education pathways. Iowa’s grant will provide funding and support to 13 Iowa school districts over a seven-year period. This is the third competitive Gear Up grant award that the state has received. “We are grateful for this federal investment in our work to provide 7,500 students most in need of support with critical wrap-around services as they meet high expectations in middle school and beyond,” McKenzie Snow, director of the Iowa Department of Education, said in a press release.