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Seventh-grade students at four predominantly low-income schools in Prince George's will receive additional educational support through a $5.6 million grant awarded to the county from the U.S. Department of Education.

The grant is known nationally as GEAR UP, or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, but in county schools, it will be known as STEPS, or Steps to Excellence by Preparing for Success. Officials hope the assistance will help students to graduate on time and prepare for college.

Grant funding will go toward counseling and mentoring, career fairs, college tours, tutoring, after-school programs, college-testing preparation, parent workshops and college financial planning. Administrators also will be able to track the progress of students from seventh grade through high school.

"It provides that seventh-grade class at those four schools with an exceptional opportunity for sustained support over six years," said Donna Muncey, chief accountability officer for the school system.

The county was one of 38 school systems nationwide awarded the grant, which will provide funding over six years, according to a report given to the school board at its Oct. 30 meeting.

The grant will serve the entire current seventh-grade class at Benjamin Stoddert Middle School in Temple Hills, Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi, Drew-Freeman Middle School in Suitland and William Wirt Middle School in Riverdale — a total of 1,378 students — through the rest of their time in the county school system.

The grant will follow the students to Potomac High School in Oxon Hill, High Point High School in Beltsville, Suitland High School and Bladensburg High School.

Superintendent John E. Deasy told board members the grant was very competitive and being chosen is "a great feather in the cap of Prince George's County."

Natasha A. Mitchell, coordinating supervisor for the GEAR UP program, told board members that many of the activities are already occurring in the school system but will provide school leaders with more support and allow them to track the students through high school.

Mitchell said the grant was important for the school system because the on-time graduation rates — the number of those who graduate when expected — of black students, Latino students and low-income students have declined. From 2004 to 2007, the on-time graduation rate for black students went from 88.3 percent to 85.9 percent. For Latino students, the rate dropped from 79.2 percent to 76.1 percent, and for low-income students, the rate dropped from 90.2 percent to 86.9 percent.

Mitchell said in her presentation to the board that targeted support was needed to help low-income and minority students not only graduate from high school, but also successfully complete their college education.

Of the county's students, 75.8 percent of the students are black and 15.3 percent are Latino, according to the school system's 2007 Annual Report.

The grant's activities are scheduled to begin in January.

In other business, the board approved the application of Sojourner Truth Preparatory Charter School to open a public charter school in the county during the 2009-2010 school year, but the location of the school has not yet been chosen. The board denied applications for Career Opportunities Academy Charter School and Arthur D. Wright III Public Charter School to open schools in the county. Charter schools were evaluated based on a variety of criteria, including location, curriculum and the ability to meet the state's standards for schools, said Board Chairwoman Verjeana M. Jacobs.

In 2003, the state legislature passed a bill establishing for opening charter schools within public school systems in Maryland. The county school boards have authority for granting charters.

E-mail Megan King at mking@gazette.net.