| The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission learned Monday it will receive a total of $21 million over the next seven years to help middle and high school students get to college and stay there.
Ten WV county school systems will benefit from the funding.
Regionally, Wirt County schools will be funded.
The competitive grant comes from the U.S. Department of Education and will be used on the HEPC's GEAR UP programs.
The "Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs" have been around for the last few years and HEPC Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Dr. Adam Green said they've learned a few things about what students need in academic support services.
"Services like tutoring, ACT and SAT test prep, dual enrollment opportunities and in addition we've really learned a lot about the soft-skilled side of things. Our students really do better when they have opportunities to participate in mentoring activities as well as leadership development," Green said.
Calhoun schools have benefited earlier from the "Gear Up" program.
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