GEAR UP stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs and is a program designed to create a college going culture in middle and intermediate schools. The goal of the California GEAR UP program is to develop and sustain the organizational capacity of middle schools to prepare ALL students for high school and postsecondary education through the establishment of a statewide network of support... The model is designed to create a self-sustaining college-going culture by working with whole schools through the adults that have the greatest impact in student life and experience: the principals, teachers, counselors, families and community leaders... By increasing the academic capacity of California middle schools, GEAR UP helps students meet the State Board of Education standards and advance toward successful high school completion and college participation.

Desert Willow Intermediate School has been a GEAR UP school since 2006.  GEAR UP is a strong supporter of AVID which is a program with a 40 year history of providing students with the skills they need to be successful in college.