The GEAR UP Austin: Impacting Lives program serves a cohort of approximately 3,369 seventh graders from 10 Austin Independent School District (AISD) middle schools and 28 seventh graders from the Texas Empowerment Academy charter school. More than half of these students come from low-income households, and many are considered at risk. This partnership of the AISD, higher education institutions, businesses, and community organizations focuses on support services designed to increase students achievement and prepare them to enroll in postsecondary institutions on graduation. GEAR UP has experienced some of the familiar successes and challenges of new programs. This first annual performance report provides information on the status of program implementation and serves as an assessment of the extent to which project objectives have been achieved. It also documents outcomes for cohort students. Evaluation findings are consistently positive for the program. Project participants indicated positive perceptions of the GEAR UP project. The project provided students with a reliable source of academic support, with approximately 1,700 students receiving tutoring and 400 attending GEAP UP summer camps. The guidance and counseling component has encouraged students to begin thinking and planning for college. The professional development component provided learning opportunities for teachers, 127 of whom completed Professional Development Academy courses. More than 900 parents attended campus Kick-Off conferences, and 1,098 parents completed a parent needs assessment. Project partners demonstrated their commitment to the project through the donation of their expertise and resources totaling $1,131,366. Recommendations are made for project continuation and improvement. Thirteen appendixes contain information about project participants and supporting organizations. (Contains 8 tables and 13 figures.) (SLD)