Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs

(GEAR UP)

FY 2006 Project Abstracts for Partnership Grants

Salinas Union High School District

Hartnell College: East Salinas GEAR UP Project

The Hartnell College: East Salinas GEAR UP partnership will serve two
cohorts totaling 1,890 students at two middle schools in the Salinas
Union High School District. Located in the poor east-side section of
Salinas, California, in the agriculturally rich Salinas Valley and a
mere 50 minutes from Silicon Valley, the area is undergoing rapid growth
and economic change. The influx of highly paid relocating Silicon Valley
employees has contributed to both the growth and the economic disparity
between east-side families compared to families in the rest of Salinas.
Hispanic workers in the agriculture industry and migrants dominate
crowded east Salinas residences and their children dominate east Salinas
schools.

The need in the target schools, El Sausal Middle School and La Paz
Middle School is profound: 96 percent of the students are Hispanic; 72
percent are English language learners; 91 percent are potential
first-generation college students; and 87.5 percent are eligible for
free and reduced lunch. Academic performance (based on standardized test
scores) in language arts and math are below district, county, and state
levels, carrying over into Alisal High School.

The partnership proposes to customize activities for each school, each
cohort, and each student and family offering quality services that will
lead to improved academic performance, high school retention and
graduation rates, and assist them to prepare for, pursue, and complete
postsecondary education successfully. The school day will be
restructured; education, programs to support teachers and parents, will
improve expectations of teaching and learning and update information
about college going and financing. Teachers, released from normal
duties, will modify, articulate and align curriculum among departments
and the entire K-16 academic pipeline. Impacting 11,340 students over
six years, the changes will be permanent and sustained. The project
meets the 30 percent match waiver requirements and the college
acceptance priority.

Project Director: Celia Barberena

Telephone Number: 831-755-6822

E-mail Address: <cbarbere@hartnell.edu>

Des Moines Independent Community School District

GEAR UP for the Future

The Des Moines Independent Community School District's GEAR UP for the
Future creates a broad-based partnership of the schools, parents, higher
education institutions, community agencies, and businesses to bring the
dream of a college education to reality for 1,480 low-income students.
Cohorts of all 7^th^ Graders will be formed at eight middle schools that
have free and reduced lunch enrollments of 56 percent or more and
significant minority enrollments. Eleven GEAR UP Advisors will work
directly with students, families, school staff, and the partners to
implement a comprehensive GEAR UP curriculum and provide academic and
family support services to students most in need. The advisors will move
with their cohorts to high school and stay with them until graduation.
Made up of partners, students, parents, and school staff, the GEAR UP
Advisory Council will meet quarterly to monitor the implementation of
the program and identify additional partners needed to meet the needs of
students and families. This partnership represents a community
investment of \$1,184,000 in the life-long success of low-income
students. In-kind matching contributions include scholarships, early
college awareness, financial aid planning, campus visits and activities,
professional development, and support of an external evaluator. GEAR UP
goals address:

> \(1\) Increased academic performance and preparation for postsecondary
> education;
>
> \(2\) Increased rate of high school graduation and postsecondary
> education;
>
> \(3\) Increased knowledge of postsecondary options and financing; and
>
> \(4\) Professional development in curriculum, instruction and school
> design to support all students.

As a result of GEAR UP for the Future, systematic changes will lead to
on-going success for low-income students in both the K-12 and
postsecondary settings.

Project Director: Dr. Elizabeth Celania-Fagen

Telephone Number: 515-242-7871

E-mail Address: <elizabeth.celania-fagan@dmps.k12.ia.us>

Lorain City Schools

Lorain GEAR UP Coalition

The Lorain GEAR UP Coalition will marshal community-wide services and
resources to raise the overall academic performance of an entire cohort
of 698 incoming 7^th^ graders

and increase their likelihood of enrolling in college. More than 77
percent of these students qualify for free and reduced-priced lunch, and
many combat social problems typical of an inner-city. As a result,
students in the Lorain City School District (LCSD) struggle to meet Ohio
academic standards and high school graduation requirements. Students who
graduate face the daunting challenge of navigating through the college
application and financial aid process that are foreign to both them and
their families. To address this situation, LCSD and its partners will:

-   Provide sufficient tutors and summer programs to enable students to
    practice academic skills;

-   Offer a more rigorous curriculum by increasing enrollment in
    pre-algebra and algebra in all middle schools, and by increasing
    Advance Placement (AP) classes in all high schools;

-   Reduce social barriers to academic success by introducing
    school-based social workers and social services in all target
    schools, and recruiting 60 adult mentors to assist students;

-   Offer a myriad opportunities for students and parents to increase
    their awareness of college benefits through community-wide outreach,
    college visits, and guest speakers;

-   Assist students and their parents to prepare for college entrance
    examinations, to complete college applications and to access
    financial aid through workshops and consultations; and

-   Improve the teaching skills of over 300 middle and high school
    teachers with intensive, ongoing training in math, science, and AP
    instruction, as well as classroom management.

> After six years, Lorain's GEAR UP students will demonstrate: increased
> performance over baseline standardized test scores; a graduation rate
> of at least 90 percent and a college enrollment rate of at least 65
> percent.

Project Director: Traci McCaudy

Telephone Number: 440-233-2247

E-mail Address: <tmccau@lorainschools.org>

El Paso Independent School District

The El Paso Independent School District (EPISD) proposes a GEAR UP
Program that will address the identified funding priorities including:

\(1\) Low academic readiness and achievement;

\(2\) Poor performance in the core subjects areas of math, science, and
language

arts;

> \(3\) High incidences of risk factors, disciplines and low attendance
> that eventually
>
> contribute to low graduation rate;
>
> \(4\) A low college going rate; plus high rate of remediation once
> they enter
>
> postsecondary institutions.

The proposed activities will address the weaknesses and gaps in current
services provided to students, parents, and teachers. Key components of
EPISD's GEAR UP include tutoring, mentoring, professional development,
academic readiness testing, positive coping and life skills, transition
events, and exposure to higher education. The program will also increase
parents' awareness of success factors for the GEAR UP cohort by
impressing upon them the significance of their support for their
children\'s futures. GEAR UP staff will also provide them knowledge of
the benefits and accessibility of both college and financial aid. Staff
development includes training on technology-based curriculums for math
and science, preparing students for academic readiness in high school
and beyond, and strategies for increasing students' ability to relate
academics to every day experiences. The expected outcomes are academic
readiness for high school graduation, high achievement on entrance
exams, and college entry. Parents will gain awareness of support for
pursuing postsecondary education and teachers will receive support for
up to date research proven effective strategies. GEAR UP is proposing an
average budget of \$1,000,000 per year to serve 2,759 students. The
average cost per student is \$362. This is a relatively small cost
considering the services proposed for the students and the extension of
service to parents and partner school staff.

Project Director: Karen Taylor

Phone Number: 915-775-2139

E-mail Address: <ketaylor@episd.org>

San Diego Schools GEAR UP Project

The San Diego City Schools GEAR UP Project will enhance and existing
partnership among the University of California, San Diego; the San Diego
Unified School District; the San Diego California Student Opportunity
and Access Program (CAL-SOAP); and, Advancement Via Individual
Determination (AVID), with the addition of new partners: the San Diego
Community College District and the Parent Institute for Quality
Education. Needs being addressed through a comprehensive set of services
and activities include gaps in achievement, high school completion,
completion of college prep courses, colleges entrance examinations
preparation and scores, lack of college-going culture, limited
availability of counselors; many inexperienced teachers with limited
understanding of students' cultural background and the culture of
poverty that may affect the way they behave in school, and lack of
parental and community involvement.

Proposed activities for students include: tutorial support; mentoring;
intensive summer academic programs; test preparation; leadership
development; additional counselors assigned to the cohort at each
school; information about financial aid and college preparation courses;
college campus tours; field trips; and 21^st^ Century Scholars
certificates. Proposed activities for staff include: staff development
to address the effect of economic class on student behavior and mindset;
instructional strategies using content standards; tools to improve the
quality of instruction in the classroom; AVID training; a counseling
institute; a leadership training institute for principles; and planning
seminars. Proposed activities for parents include: workshops on helping
their children prepare for college; leadership training; college campus
tours; information about financial aid and scholarships; home
visitations; child care for program events; and translators and program
materials available in their native languages. Intended outcomes
include: improved academic achievement among students; professional
enhancement among staff; increased parental involvement; increased
aspirations to attend college; development of a positive school climate
and college-going school culture; and improvement through continuous
program monitoring and evaluation.

Project Director: Loren Thompson

Phone Number: 858-534-3544

E-mail Address: <lthompson@ucsd.edu>

Friendship Public Charter School

Lead Applicant: Friendship Public Charter School (FPCS), a local
education agency (LEA), funded to prepare a cohort of 375 low-income
7^th^ graders to complete four-year college degrees. Since its inception
in 1998, FPCS has been recognized for increasing test scores through
research--based practices and the use of educational technology. In
January 2006, ABC News featured FPCS in a 20/20 television program
segment about successful public charter schools. Partners include a
local social service agency, the Center for Youth and Family Investment;
two local radio stations (WAMU and WOL), the Washington Post, the George
Washington University; and the Uniformed Services University.

Needs: FPCS serves 3,542 students preK-12 on five campuses in high
crime, high poverty areas in Washington, D.C., where 74 percent of them
qualify for free and reduced lunches. Students who enter FPCS secondary
schools, with an average of 3.5 grade levels behind, face daunting
academic challenges. While students have improved once they enter the
FPCS LEA, they are still not on par with their peer public charter
schools in other urban areas. More than 100 of FPCS students in
2004-2005 took an advanced placement (AP) class, but only one earned a
3.0 grade point average or better, which is the threshold for earning
college credit. A full 95 percent of the GEAR UP cohort will be the
first in their families to attend college.

Interventions include: comprehensive, advisor-lead efforts with
portfolio assessments to track progress through six-year college plans;
individualized counseling; math and reading clinics; student-parent
college visits; professional development for teachers; PSAT and SAT
tutoring; early college credit and AP opportunities; career exposure;
parent counseling on financial aid; and intensive assistance with the
college applications process.

Outcomes will show: enrollment in selective colleges; increased
enrollment in advanced science and math classes; and improved overall
grades and test scores in high school.

Project Director: Patricia Brantley

Phone Number: 202-675-9060

E-mail Address: <pbrantley@friendshipschools.org>

Pasadena Independent School District

Pasadena Independent School District (PISD) provides public education to
a culturally and economically diverse student population enrolled in
pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district enrolls a total of
48, 758 students of which 80.6 percent are minority (total: 3.5 percent
Other; 6.5 percent African-American; 70.7 percent Hispanic; and 19.4
percent Caucasian). Sixty-seven (67) percent are eligible for the free
and reduced lunch program and 26 percent are identified as having
limited English proficiency. PISD will partner with one institution of
high education, San Jacinto College, and two community organizations,
HOSTS and the Rotary Club of Pasadena to form a program called GEAR UP
for Success that will result in the 2006-2007 school-year cohort of
2,870 seventh graders at eight PISD intermediates to be academically
prepared, enrolled, and successful in postsecondary education by fall
2012.

Historically, PISD graduates have not pursued postsecondary schools.
Surveys from the 2004-2005 graduated revealed that approximately 41
percent enrolled in postsecondary education. GEAR UP for success will
raise that percentage by preparing the cohort academically through
increased intensity in the classroom, providing student academic support
programs, providing teachers with research-based teaching techniques
through an intensive program of ongoing professional staff development,
and implementing vertical Pre-AP and AP curriculum alignment between the
intermediate and high schools.

GEAR UP for Success will use its three partners to prepare the cohort
mentally by counseling students and parents on financial aid, career
awareness, by guiding students through post-secondary education
application sand financial aid, and engaging students in college-based
enrichment programs. By fall 2013, GEAR UP for Success and PISD expect a
minimum of 70 percent of the 2012 graduates to enroll in postsecondary
education.

Project Director: Pat Sermas

Phone Number: 713-740-0104

E-mail Address:
[psermas@pasadenaisd.org](mailto:PSERMAS@PASADENAISD.ORG)

American Samoa Community College

GEAR UP SAMOA

American Samoa Community College (ASCC) in Pago, U.S. Territory of
American Samoa, in collaboration with the American Samoa Department of
Education and four social service agency partners, is seeking funds to
establish GEAR UP SAMOA to significantly increase the number of
low-income students prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary
education.

There is an urgent need to improve opportunities for American Samoa
students' extremely poor remedial skills (3-4 grades below grade level)
and chronically low standardized test scores seriously threaten the
territories' abilities to generate college-bound youth. Of the
approximately 300 high school graduates who enter ASCC every year, 90
percent require additional remedial support prior to taking college
courses. Primary issues underlying this academic crisis include:

\(1\) Inadequate remedial skills due to lack of English proficiency;

\(2\) Lack of qualified teachers;

\(3\) Lack of coordinated student support services; and

\(4\) Lack of family emphasis and resources for postsecondary education.

Virtually all students in American Samoa are low-income. Currently, 99.4
percent (15,824) of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. GEAR UP
SAMOA will serve a cohort of 846 students by providing: (1) intensive
after-school tutoring, summer school workshops and standardized test
preparation; (2) new Advance Placement (AP) courses held at the
community college; (3) teacher training toward certification and degrees
for up to 50 teachers each year and; (4) coordinated counseling, support
and financial assistance for all cohort families. The island's strong
communal structure almost completely precludes student mobility and
reinforces high classroom attendance. The project's partnership will
provide a 36 percent match for funding based on federal eligibility
requirements. Comprehensive baseline, process, and outcome evaluation
will ensure core GPRA outcomes are measured.

Project Director: Roy Fua

Phone Number: 684-699-6128

E-mail Address: <rfua@yahoo.com>

Memphis City Schools

21^st^ Largest School District

As the 21^st^ largest school district in the United States, Memphis City
Schools (MCS) serves a student base that, on average, is poorer than
other public schools systems (75 percent free and reduced lunch
recipients vs. 59 percent nationally), serves more minority students
than other systems (91 percent minority vs. 39 percent nationally), and
has fewer students who are prepared for college (ACT Composite average
of 17.6 vs. 20.4 nationally). MCS students also graduate at a rate lower
than the national average (62 percent vs. 71 percent) and have the
stability rate of 72 percent, meaning that less than three-fourths of
all students who begin the school year are at the same school in May.

To address the needs of the students in nine schools, a comprehensive
model of intensive intervention is proposed here as a way to achieve the
following outcomes of the GEAR UP program:

1)  Increase participation, students' academic performance, and
    preparation for postsecondary education;

2)  Increase the rate of high school graduation among participating
    students and help ensure eventual participation in postsecondary
    education; and

3)  Increase the knowledge of participating students and their families
    about postsecondary education options, preparation, and financing.

GEAR UP Memphis will serve approximately 1,400 students over the course
of the six-year grant project through enhanced guidance counseling,
tutoring, coaching for college-going behavior, support and information
for parents and families about college requirements and costs, and
meaningful partnerships between the schools, the school system, and
three higher education institutions.

Project Director: Denise Rupert

Phone Number: 901-416-5884

E-mail Address: <rupertd@mcski12.net>

> South Carolina State University
>
> GEAR UP

Need To Be Addressed: This GEAR UP project will address the need in the
target area school districts of Allendale County and Orangeburg 3 in
South Carolina to ensure children achieve academically and are prepared
for college. The needs to be addressed include: increasing the number of
students who meet SC State Performance Standards; increasing the number
of students who complete a college preparatory course of study; training
teachers to identify and implement methods of instruction which maximize
student achievement; increasing parental and community involvement;
increasing the awareness of financial aid resources for college; and
developing a rigorous curriculum that will meet the needs of all
students while preparing them for college entry.

Proposed Project Activities: This GEAR UP project will provide services
to a cohort of approximately 450 seventh grade students in the
districts' middle schools. These students will continue in GEAR UP
through high school graduation. Activities of this project will include
direct services to students including tutoring, mentoring, counseling,
enrichment instruction, workshops, field trips, college visitations, and
college preparatory and financial aid sessions. Staff development
activities will be conducted to assist teachers and school staff in
identifying best practices for student achievement. Parental involvement
activities, including workshops, school and classroom aides, etc., will
be implemented, as well as activities to increase community involvement.
Activities will be scheduled during both an academic year and summer
component.

Anticipated Project Outcomes: The anticipated outcomes of this project
include an increased number of students who leave high school that are
college-ready and college bound, that parents and community have joined
in collective efforts with the school in the education of students, and
that practiced and validated best practices in pedagogy and supplemental
services to students are adopted throughout the Allendale School
District.

Project Director: Tony-Adams Aburime

Phone Number: 803-536-7191

E-mail Address: <aburimet@yahoo.com>

Savannah State University

GEAR UP

Savannah State University---a four year, co-educational unit of the
University System of Georgia---seeks funding for a six-year GEAR UP
Partnership grant. This high-quality program will enroll sixth and
seventh graders (approximately 637 students) from Tompkins and Hubert
Middle Schools as a cohort to begin the program in fall 2006.

The major partnership will include Savannah State University,
Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (Tompkins and Hubert Middle
Schools, Beach, Groves, and Savannah High Schools), Memorial Health
University, Carver State Back, Parent University and St.
Joseph's/Candler Hospital. GEAR UP services will be sustained beyond the
grand period by Savannah State University in collaboration with project
partners.

There is a compelling need for intervention services in the target
schools. The majority of students enrolled at Tompkins and Hubert Middle
Schools come from traditionally underrepresented groups in higher
education. Tompkins and Hubert Middle Schools have a population of 967
students, of whom 87.3 percent qualify for free or reduced lunch.

The GEAR UP project promotes rigorous academic coursework. The project
will enhance the curriculum of the Savanna-Chatham County School
District. Services will include parental involvement, tutoring, study
skills, summer programs, mentoring, personal counseling, test-taking
skill, career exploration, and college and financial aid awareness.
Students will receive 21^st^ Century Scholarship Certificates during
parent and student orientations. The program will include an academic
year component and a summer component.

Project Director: Tamara Waterman

Telephone Number: 912-303-1658

E-mail Address: <waterman@savstate.edu>

The Regents of the University of California

Building a College-Bound Community

The proposed "Building a College-Bound Community" GEAR UP project will
serve 902 at-risk and underrepresented sixth and seventh grade students
in three rural, agricultural communities located in southern Monterey
County, California.

Needs being addressed: Numerous socioeconomic and educational indicators
demonstrate the need for this project, including the large percentage of
children who are from low-income families (82.71 percent of students are
eligible for the Federal Free/Reduced-Price Meal Program), migrant farm
worker families (54.8 percent of students are English language
learners), or households with parents who have extremely low educational
attainment levels. The severity of the problem is intensified because
the targeted GEAR UP schools have been designated by the state as
"persistently low-performing."

Proposed activities: The project will address several gaps in services
at our partner schools in the following four key areas.

\(1\) Students will receive academic and college advising, tutoring,
counseling and

coaching, help with college applications, college awareness, and online
academic

support services.

> \(2\) Families will receive ongoing information about college planning
> and financial aid, counseling through the Parent Peer Network, and the
> opportunity to attend an annual Parent Conference.
>
> \(3\) Teachers will receive professional development in language
> development, mathematics, and applied mathematics in science, with an
> emphasis on English learners.
>
> \(4\) Communities will mobilize to build strong school and community
> partnerships and create the necessary structural changes in schools to
> provide access to college preparation for more students and insure the
> sustainability of the project.

Intended Outcomes: Intended outcomes include increasing student academic
performance and preparation for college through success in gatekeeper
mathematics courses; increasing student and families' college awareness;
increasing teachers' capacity to prepare students for college; and
creating a college-bound community that supports retention through high
school graduation and college enrollment.

Project Director: Carrol Moran

Telephone Number: 831-459-1633

E-mail Address: <carrol@ucsc.edu>

University of Kansas Center for Research, Inc.

APEX GEAR UP

The Mid-America Regional Council, in seeking Empowerment Zone status for
Kansas City, noted that since 1960 in Kansas City, Kansas, Wyandotte
County, the population and the range of economic opportunities have
declined at the core, "which has three times the poverty rate, twice the
unemployment rate, and half the median housing value" of the local
suburbs.

Many elements have changed but many others remain constant in Kansas
City, Kansas Public Housing community in Wyandotte County. Kansas City
continues to be an Empowerment Zone and Kansas City, Kansas Public
Housing-Wyandotte County continue to face severe economic and
educational challenges: 72.9 percent of our target population who are 18
years old and under are eligible for free or reduced lunch, 53 percent
of the population is at or below poverty level, and 89 percent of the
population over age 25 do not have a college degree. These extremely
harsh socioeconomic conditions have a direct impact in school completion
and college aspirations in a population where, on average, 57 percent of
students score "below proficient" and 8 of 9 target schools did not make
"Academic Year Progress." The extreme need of the population supports
the need for APEX GEAR UP, which will partner with local agencies and
the school district, to provide students and families with comprehensive
academic support services (research-based professional development for
teachers, supplemental instruction, college admission awareness and
preparation, tutoring, professional mentoring, college visits,
age-specific summer enrichment programs, and after school programs) aim
to increase the number of students who pursue postsecondary education
and live a productive and fruitful life. The APEX GEAR UP project design
reflects up-to-date knowledge and research, encourages parental
involvement, and supports rigorous academic standards for participants.
The program will open new academic opportunities for this underserved
population, promoting systematic changes in the community's conception
of and access to opportunities in higher education.

Project Director: Maritza Machado-Williams

Telephone Number: 785-864-3971

E-mail Address: <mmachado@ku.edu>

Syracuse University

Syracuse University (SU) GEAR UP

Over the last five years, Syracuse University (SU) GEAR UP has
demonstrated that it is a unifying agent in building genuine
collaboration among diverse partners. Students in the City of Syracuse
are in dire need of thoughtful, targeted support to improve academic
performance, graduation rates, and interest in pursuing postsecondary
educational opportunities. A partnership between Syracuse University,
LeMoyne College, Onondaga Community College, the Syracuse School
District, and diverse community/business partners seeks to continue this
support. Two cohorts of seventh grade students (fall 2006 and fall 2007
-- 1,720 students each year) attending school in a Federal Empowerment
Zone as designated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development,
their families, and the teacher and guidance counselors who serve them
will be targeted to participate in the project. Participants will
experience a career/college culture that includes tutorials after
school, summer academic enrichment, and career and college-focused
development linking successful instruction to college access and career
attainment. The proposed project will also provide information and
training to enrich parent, student and guidance counselor knowledge of
postsecondary and financial aid options; direct services to students
including mentoring by college students and adults; intellectual
enrichment; access to college level courses; preparation for success in
gateway math, science, and English/language arts courses; professional
development experiences for teachers/counselors that develop effective
methods for the urban student; and training to support the infusion of
career curricula. The project will deliver improved student academic
performance, graduation rates, and understanding of and interest in
postsecondary education opportunities, increased parent involvement, and
a revision in curriculum and teaching methods consistent with a career
focus and the needs of urban children.

Project Director: Horace Smith

Telephone Number: 315-443-4181

E-mail Address: <hsmith@syr.edu>

City University of New York

Numerous obstacles hinder the readiness of New York City (NYC) public
school students for college---poverty, gaps in school services, lack of
teacher experience, and insufficient parental support among them. The
City University of New York (CUNY) successfully addressed these
obstacles for 2,300 mostly black and Hispanic students through a New
York State-funded GEAR UP grant between 2000 and 2005. The University
has since established the CUNY Middle Grades Initiative (MGI), modeled
on the best practices and lessons learned from our previous GEAR UP
grant. Despite limited resources, MGI has established strong
relationships with 13 schools. CUNY now seeks a GEAR UP partnership
grant, in the amount of \$800,000 per year to work with 1,000 students
at these schools from September 1, 2006 through August 31, 2012.

We have developed a comprehensive consortium project made up of the CUNY
Central Office, five colleges, 13 schools, and 2 external partners that
is designed to increase the number of low-income public school students
prepared to enter and succeed in college. This goal will be achieved
through the integrated delivery of academic support services in math,
reading and writing; advisement and counseling; college awareness and
readiness activities; curriculum-linked arts learning; and parent
outreach and professional development.

CUNY GEAR UP will build students' academic skill and help them begin to
plan for college in middle school and then guide them through a rigorous
high school program that will include college-credit course work. CUNY
GEAR UP will ensure that parents understand how their children can
attend college and what they must do to get there. The multi-layered
resources of CUNY GEAR UP linked through a comprehensive strategy will
show an increase in the high school graduation rate of our cohort and,
ultimately, an increase in their enrollment into postsecondary programs
and their successful matriculation.

Project Director: Donna Linderman

Telephone Number: 646-344-7352

E-mail Address: <donna.linderman@mail.cuny.edu>

Eastern Oklahoma State College

BRIGHTER TOMORROW GEAR UP

Our proposed BRIGHTER TOMORROW GEAR UP project is designed to meet the
specific needs of low-income, underserved, and underrepresented students
and, in particular, American Indians who make up at least 45 percent of
the student population in nineteen target schools in a rural and
isolated area of southeastern Oklahoma officially designated as the home
of Choctaw Nation. At least 78 percent of students are eligible for free
and reduced lunches. The project is meant to address severe gaps in
services and resources at these schools primarily serving low-income
Caucasian and American Indian youth. The gaps include inadequate school
staffing and funding per student; faculty development not primarily
professional or instruction-centered; inadequate counseling and academic
support to attack the problem of only 40.2 percent of high school
graduates who pursue postsecondary education (57.5 percent state, 63.9
percent nationally). None of the schools met benchmarks for the Oklahoma
Core Curriculum Test (2004).

Eastern Oklahoma State College is proposing services to improve academic
performance and preparation for college, increase graduation rates and
participation in college, and increase students' and their families'
knowledge of college options and financing beginning with a cohort of
sixth graders and a cohort of seventh graders totaling 1,718 students.
Project services include mentoring, tutoring, cultural field trips,
21^st^ Century Scholar Certificate Awards Event, summer camp,
college/career advisement for students and parents, access to multimedia
computers and online interactive educational material -- because some
schools do not even have libraries, and FISH! For Schools (teacher
training and classroom resources for Active Learning). In addition to
the nineteen school partners, a major partner will be the Choctaw Nation
providing cultural activities and, more importantly, American Indian
mentors.

Total First Year Request: \$1,374,400

Total Cost Per Student: \$800

Project Director: Linda Morgan

Telephone Number: 918-465-1722

E-mail Address: <lmorgan@eosc.edu>

University of Tennessee

Hamilton County GEAR UP 2006

The applicant for this GEAR UP grant is the University of
Tennessee-Chattanooga, working in conjunction with the Hamilton County
school system and six community partners. The students served will be
sixth and seventh graders in the fall of 2006 at five inner-city middle
schools that all feed into Howard and Brainerd High Schools. Currently
at Howard and Brainerd, only 21 percent of the students in ninth grade
will go on to graduate and go to college. The overriding goals of this
project will try to address this disparity by improving our target
students' academic preparation, increasing students' self esteem and
motivation, and facilitating parental and community involvement in
students' self-esteem and motivation, and facilitating parental and
community involvement in students' academic and social preparation. The
objectives to meet these goals are:

-   To increase the academic performance and preparation for
    postsecondary education of GEAR UP students;

-   To increase the rate of high school graduation and participation in
    postsecondary education of GEAR UP students;

-   To raise educational expectations for GEAR UP students as well as
    student and family knowledge of postsecondary education options and
    financing; and

-   To facilitate systematic, sustainable improvement of the target
    schools.

Project Director: Hunter Huckabay

Telephone Number: 423-425-5386

E-mail Address: <hunter-huckabay@utc.edu>

Louisiana State University and A&M College

GEAR UP LSU

GEAR UP LSU is a proposed partnership involving Louisiana State
University, East Baton Rouge Parish Schools, Baker Schools, The Young
Leaders' Academy, Volunteers in Public Schools, Baton Rouge Area
Chamber, Access2, Teach for America, and Baton Rouge Parent University.
The project seeks to progressively improve changes to teaching and
learning in five middle schools populated with students that qualify
demonstrably for free or reduced lunch within East Baton Rouge Parish,
Louisiana. The program focus is especially conceived to raise student
skill levels in English/Language Arts and Mathematics. Moreover, this
undertaking will simultaneously concentrate on advancing thinking and
problem solving capabilities, while raising the education aspirations of
both students and parents. In Year One, all seventh grade students in
participating middle schools will be recognized as the project's first
cohort. In each subsequent year, the original cohort will matriculate to
the succeeding grade until completion. The population to be served will
remain the same each year of the project, from the original cohort of
1,199 students, recognizing that the project's goal seeks to increase
the number of low-income students prepared to enter and succeed in
postsecondary education. Attaining this goal, likewise, revolves around
three key supporting objectives:

> \(1\) Increase the academic performance and preparation for
> postsecondary education for GEAR UP students;
>
> \(2\) Increase the rate of high school graduation and participation in
> the postsecondary education for GEAR UP students; and
>
> \(3\) Increase GEAR UP students' and their families' knowledge of
> postsecondary options, preparation and financing.

The project-specific measures will generate a dearth of quantitative and
qualitative data to ascertain overall project patterns and successes.

Project Director: Mark Goodson

Telephone Number: 225-578-3118

E-mail Address: <ketaylor@episd.org>

Duval County Public Schools

Jacksonville's Future

The mission of Jacksonville's Future (Duval County Public Schools) is to
ensure that a cohort of seventh grade students from Eugene Butler Middle
School and Northwestern Middle School are prepared for, pursue, and
successfully complete a postsecondary degree after graduation from
William M. Raines High School. The schools were selected because they
are the most academically and socio-economically needy schools in the
system, with 89-90 percent of students eligible for free or reduced
lunch benefits in the middle schools. Retention rates range from a high
of 73.5 percent at the ninth grade level and from 70-94 percent of the
students score unsatisfactory levels on Florida's state assessment of
academic achievement in reading and mathematics.

Project success depends on collaboration among all four of
Jacksonville's institutions of higher education, two of the city's most
effective child advocate agencies, parents of the project's children,
and the schools system's educators. Activities will include summer
academic camps on the college campuses, intensive guidance counseling
with students and parents, one-on-one tutoring in reading and
mathematics, mentoring for every student in partnership with community
agencies, a professional development plan for teachers that will focus
on high expectations, and training and support for parents as key
partners. Intended outcomes for the participants are as follows:

-   Improved academic achievement for all students.

-   Increased enrollment rate in postsecondary education.

-   Enhanced student and parent awareness of and involvement in
    activities that develop understanding of postsecondary requirements,
    options, preparation, and financing.

-   Implementation of a coherent, consistent plan for professional
    development for all teachers, administrators, and guidance
    counselors at the target schools.

Project Director: Patricia Cascone

Telephone Number: 904-390-2186

E-mail Address: <casconep@educationalcentral.org>

Washington State University

One Vision Partnership GEAR UP Program

The One Vision Partnership GEAR UP Program has brought together five
higher education institutions, ten public school districts, and three
community partners to provide a range of comprehensive early
intervention services. This project will serve small, rural, isolated
schools located in the Columbia Basin of Washington State. These schools
have a large number of immigrant and Hispanic migrant farm worker
students. The characteristics of these students include limited English
speaking students, high poverty rates, low graduation rates, high
mobility rates, low academic achievement on state testing standards, and
limited opportunities for entering postsecondary education.

The One Vision Partnership GEAR UP will offer a range of comprehensive
services starting with a sixth and seventh grade cohort of 2,478
students and serve them through high school graduation. The services
will include: (1) Professional Development; (2) Before and After School
Tutoring; (3) Saturday & Summer Programs; (4) Mentoring; (5) College
Planning; and (6) Family Financial Planning. All services will be
culturally appropriate, researched-based, and proven-effective
practices.

The One Vision Partnership GEAR UP will serve 2,478 students each year
of the six-year grant to achieve the following measurable outcomes:

> \(1\) Increase by 10 percent the number of seventh and tenth-grade
> students passing the state standard WASL Test in math and reading;
>
> \(2\) Increase by 10 percent each year the number of students either
> passing or enrolled in advanced math courses;
>
> \(3\) Increase by 20 percent the number of students who take the SAT
> and ACT tests;
>
> \(4\) Increase by 50 percent the number of students taking the PSAT in
> eighth grade;
>
> \(5\) Increase by 20 percent the number of students enrolling in
> postsecondary; and
>
> \(6\) Increase the number of parents aware of college requirements and
> increase college knowledge for their children.

Project Director: Genoveva Morales Ledesma

Telephone Number: 509-372-7308

E-mail Address:
[gmorales@tricity.wsu.edu](mailto:GMORALES@TRICITY.WSU.EDU)

City University of New York/Discovery Institute

This project builds on and expands a 1999-2005 GEAR UP program that
produced dramatic improvements in the achievement of high-need students.
Through a unique approach to teacher professional development coupled
with tutoring/mentoring, parental involvement, and college
experience/counseling, the project effected fundamental changes in the
"culture" of the target schools and therefore in student achievement.

However, the project did come up short of success for many high-need
students, thus exposing the problem's complexity and long-term nature.
Two major shortcomings were exposed: (1) intervention began too late;
and (2) too many parents were not reached.

The proposed project provides the same fundamental approach and
activities as in 1999-2000, centering on improving academic achievement.
But it also includes several initiatives to remedy the shortcomings.
There are two primary remedies. The first, through the infusion of major
funds from other sources, provides project services much earlier,
beginning with high-need children in elementary schools that feed into
the target intermediate school, and then into the target high schools
and even into college. It also provides services continuously, at every
grade level in every year of the project. The second, through 11 new
partnerships with local civic, ethnic, and faith-based organizations
reaches parents and children where they feel most at home by providing
counseling, tutoring, and homework assistance at community-based sites.

It is expected that these new initiatives infused into an already
successful model will succeed in producing substantially greater and
longer-term improvements in achievement and college attendance for a
much greater number of high-need students.

Project Director: Dr. James Sanders

Telephone Number: 718-982-2566

E-mail Address: <sanders@mail.csi.cuny.edu>

Los Angeles Unified School District, Local District 6

The South Gate College Partnership will serve a cohort of 1,334 seventh
grades that are predominately Latino students. The Partnership will
follow these students, which will come from South Gate and South East
Middle School. The Partnership will work with the students as they
transition to and through South Gate and South East High School. South
East Middle and High School were constructed to relieve South Gate
Middle and South Gate High Schools' bulging enrollment. For over twenty
years, South Gate Middle and High School were overcrowded multi-track
schools. The new and old schools now operate on a single track with six
small learning academies. The Partnership will provide tutoring,
mentoring, parent/student education programs, academic enrichment
academies, SAT Prep, teacher/counselor trainings, and college
information. Services aim to fulfill objectives in the following order:

> \(1\) Increase academic performance and preparation for students'
> postsecondary education;

\(2\) Increase the rate of high school graduation and college
admissions; and

> \(3\) Increase students' and their families' knowledge of
> postsecondary options and financial aid assistance.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has partnered with the
University of California at Los Angeles; California State University,
Los Angeles; East Los Angeles College; Salvadorian American Leadership
and Educational Fund; Parent Institute for Quality Education, HON
Company, and the City of South Gate. This South Gate College Partnership
will use their resources and expertise to collaborate and make a
difference in the lives of low-income, first-generation college-going
students.

The project director and evaluators will collect and analyze data to
monitor student progress. Our analysis includes monitoring of course
performance, attendance, test performance, and participation in program
activities. Student and parents will provide qualitative and
quantitative data through attitudinal surveys.

Project Director: Merle Price

Telephone Number: 323-278-3900

E-mail Address: <merle.price@lausd.net>

El Paso Community College

EPCC GEAR UP

The overall goal of El Paso Community College (EPCC) GEAR UP is to
"increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter
and succeed in postsecondary education." Our specific goals are:

> \(1\) Increase the academic performance and preparation for
> postsecondary education for EPCC GEAR UP students;
>
> \(2\) Increase the rate of high school graduation and participation in
> postsecondary education for EPCC GEAR UP students; and
>
> \(3\) Increase EPCC GEAR UP students' and their families' knowledge of
> postsecondary education options, preparation, and financing.

We will address the needs of 979 youth (7th through 12 grade) and their
parents in five school districts in El Paso County, in far west Texas on
the border with Mexico. We will target 10 schools (five pairs of feeder
middle and high schools) and have three key community partners. Our
project will: (a) target rural school districts; (b) reach a population
that is predominantly low-income, Hispanic, and has a low college
enrollment rate; (c) focus on using cross-institutional activities that
will concentrate on early college awareness and readiness; (d) pay
particular attention to sharing practices that are best for engaging and
reaching youth in the target schools; (e) establish a sustainable
research-based model that encourages high academic achievement and
college preparedness; (f) build in the positive experiences and lessons
learned in a previous GEAR UP project which provided college and
financial advising, tutoring, and academic enrichment programs that
incorporated culturally relevant activities; (g) develop effective
practices in learning and teaching for students, parents, and teachers;
(h) aim to decrease the number of students who must take remediation
courses before enrolling in courses for credit at colleges and
universities; (i) strengthen weaknesses in math, science, and English
language arts; and (j) close the gap between secondary and postsecondary
academic standardized tests.

Project Director: Alfred Lawrence

Telephone Number: 915-831-4463

E-mail Address: <alfredl@epcc.edu>

Eastern Michigan University

Goal: Eastern Michigan University has formed a partnership with three
small area urban school districts serving low-income middle school
students to raise educational attainment and promote college enrollment.

Objective 1: Increase the educational aspirations of low-income
seventh-grade students and their parents.

Objective 2: Increase the number of low-income students who are prepared
to enter and succeed in postsecondary education.

Objective 3: Increase the number of low-income students who apply to and
enroll in postsecondary education.

Students in each of these school districts, Wayne-Westland Community
Schools, Ypsilanti Public Schools, and Willow Run Community Schools,
face significant hurdles to high school graduation and postsecondary
enrollment. These include low academic expectations, failure to take
rigorous coursework that lead to college success, and lack of knowledge
about the college application and enrollment process.

This project will provide academic support for students, information and
help for families of students, and professional development for teachers
and administrators to boost academic achievement and postsecondary
enrollment and success rates.

This project includes a partnership with the local business and
nonprofit communities including such local companies as Pfizer, United
Parcel Service, and Altarum, and such nonprofits as the Ypsilanti Area
Chamber of Commerce, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and the Ypsilanti
District Library, each of which has committed time and resources to this
effort to help the communities' seventh-grade students attain college
enrollment.

Project Director: Russell Olwell

Telephone Number: 734-487-1018

E-mail Address: <rolwell@emich.edu>

Board of Trustees University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

SMARTS

The Principal's Scholars Program (PSP), a statewide pre-college
initiative at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in
partnership with the Chicago Public Schools and nine other entities,
proposes to implement an early intervention college preparatory program
entitled, Students Training for Academic Readiness (SMARTS), for 700
elementary students. The needs to be addressed in this project include:
below standard academic achievement in the classroom and on standardized
tests; low high school graduation and college attendance rates; and
above average student to counselor ratios and dropout rates. In order to
begin to remediate the impending needs of target schools and
communities, SMARTS will initiate a Studying & Learning Plan which will
provide consistent academic monitoring designed to lower dropout rates
and improve overall academic growth as a result of the SMARTS advanced
tutoring concept combined with test taking preparation of sufficient
intensity and duration. In order to provide increased college-going
rates, this project will expose participants to an array of college
preparatory pathways such as college tours, financial aid presentations,
summer college experiences, mentoring, academic competitions, college
and career portfolios, personal development workshops and academic
counseling.

Parent-directed activities support student achievement by exposing
parents to college and financial aid information and personal
development opportunities. SMARTS student and parent intervention, along
with engagement in new teaching methodology in studying and learning and
standardized test preparation will result in SMARTS participants
graduating from elementary school and high school with a grade of "B" or
better and enrolling in postsecondary education.

Project Director: Lynette O'Neal

Telephone Number: 312-575-7855

E-mail Address: <dloneal@uiuc.edu>

Baylor University

GEAR UP Waco

The GEAR UP Waco partnership will serve the sixth and seventh grades in
the Waco Independent School District. To address the needs of at-risk
students, Baylor University, Texas State Technical College-Waco, Making
Connections with Youth Count, Inc., City of Waco Academy for Educational
Development, and the Waco Independent School District will build upon an
established partnership with sustained, successful commitment to youth
and public education. The GEAR UP Waco partnership has made considerable
strides over the past seven years to become a community catalyst for
educational change and a leader in college access and awareness both
locally and nationally.

The partnership's primary goal is to significantly increase the number
of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in
postsecondary education. The partnership plans to increase the number of
students who graduate from high school on time and are prepared for the
demands of college curricula by expanding opportunities for meaningful
interaction with colleges and universities; training faculty and other
professionals in innovative, research-based strategies for the delivery
of rigorous, accelerated, and enriched curricula; supporting the
emotional and social development of all students; expanding student and
parent awareness of postsecondary education opportunities; training
students and parents to navigate financial aid access systems
successfully; and increasing the academic achievement of middle and high
school students. Finally, GEAR UP Waco seeks to increase the number of
students pursuing advanced placement, dual credit, concurrent
enrollment, and enrichment courses, as well as the percentage of
students who pass standardized state exams and continue their education
beyond high school.

Project Director: Truell Hyde

Telephone Number: 254-710-3763

E-mail Address: <truell_hyde@baylor.edu>

Green River Regional Educational Cooperative

The Green River Regional Educational Cooperative (GRREC), a local
educational agency, has for 35 years provided professional development
to central Kentucky educators. In recent years, we have expanded our
collaboration with Western Kentucky University (WKU) to tackle
significant teacher and principal shortages in rural schools.

With PostSec (Preparing, Overseeing, and Steering Today's Students to
Expect College), we call upon WKU and more than 50 community partners to
help us remedy yet another shortage\--a shortage of rural college-going
Kentuckians.

Our 1,126 students are from seven districts in four rural counties. They
come to school each day from low-income homes where college is not even
a dream. In face, the college-going tradition in these seven middle
schools and their seven feeder high schools is half the national
average. The dropout rate is higher in these schools than in neighboring
GRREC districts. Math performance, particularly in the ever-critical
Algebra I, is abysmal; state assessments show a middle school system
that is trying to improve, but it fails to transition students
successfully to high school. About half of our 8^th^ graders perform at
proficient in math, meeting state standard; and only a quarter of our
high schoolers do. More 9^th^ graders in our region fail Algebra I than
any other course at any other time in K-12.

Through PostSec, we will lead students to postsecondary opportunities
and, along the way, teach them to be successful when they get there. By
meeting four clear goals, we will:

1)  Create a college-going culture through familiarization,
    demystification (parents,

> students);

2)  Increase success in math by increasing success in Algebra I (teacher
    training, software);

3)  Increase teacher quality and enthusiasm via collegial Learning Teams
    and

> AP/Pre-AP; and

4)  Create a community support system by bringing families, teachers,
    and businesses together.

Project Director: Elizabeth Storey

Telephone Number: 270-745-2451

E-mail Address: <liz.storey@grrec.ky.gov>

Imperial Valley Office of Education

TEAM ([T]{.underline}ogether, [E]{.underline}xpect &
[A]{.underline}chieve [M]{.underline}ore) GEAR UP is funded by federal
grant PR334A060168/Years 2006-2012, plus equivalent matching funds, to
provide comprehensive support for two cohorts of 7^th^ graders and their
families to overcome obstacles and enter college in significantly larger
numbers. Imperial County Office of Education (lead education agency) and
a county-wide P-16 Council unite all school districts, Imperial Valley
College, San Diego State University-Imperial Valley, University of
California, Imperial County Partnership for Higher Education, and
diverse business and community partners *to change the current culture
of low college expectations and increase college attendance.*

Students and their families receive personalized assistance through
coaches, tutors, and cross-age partners. TEAM GEAR UP starts or extends
proven programs such as Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID),
Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA), Parent Institutes
for Quality Education, test and financial preparation, summer and
after-school activities, and college visits. Clear academic pathways,
more mathematics and advanced courses, algebra academies, and teacher
training in mathematics and writing increase rigor. College Action
Plans, *Invest in Your Future* campaign, and *7 Habits of Highly
Effective Teens* enable students and their families to make good choices
about their futures.

TEAM GEAR UP serves students (Cohort 1=2224/Class of 2012; Cohort
2=2138/Class of 2013) at 13 schools with 7^th^ graders and follows them
into six high schools: Barbara Worth Junior High School (Brawley School
District); De Anza, W. Moreno and Enrique Camarena Junior High School
(Calexico Unified School District); Pine and Holtville Middle School
(Holtville Unified School District); Kennedy and Wilson Junior High
School (El Centro School District); Meadows Union (K-8 District),
Mulberry (K-8), and San Pasqual Valley Middle School (San Pasqual Valley
School Unified School District); Seeley Union (K-8), Westmorland Union
(K-8), and Brawley Union High School (Brawley Union High School
District); Calexico High School (Calexico Unified School District);
Central Union High School and Southwest High School (Central Union High
School District); Holtville High School (HUSD); and San Pasqual Valley
High School (SPVUSD).

Project Director: Betsy Lane

Telephone Number: 760-312-6114

E-mail Address: <blane@icoe.org>

University of Washington

The Two Valleys One Vision GEAR UP Program has brought together three
higher education institutions, 13 school districts, one tribal school,
and eight community partners to provide a range of comprehensive early
intervention services. This project will serve small rural schools
located in the Yakima and Skagit Valleys of Washington State. The Yakama
Nation Indian Reservation is also with the Yakima Valley. These schools
have a large number of immigrants, Hispanic migrant farm workers and
Native American students. The characteristics of these students include
many being limited English-speaking students, all have high poverty
rates (average 77 percent), overall low graduation rates, high mobility
rates, overall low academic achievement on state testing standards, and
limited opportunities for entering postsecondary education.

The Two Valleys One Vision GEAR UP Program will offer a range of
comprehensive services starting with 6^th^ and 7^th^ grade cohorts of
2,423 students and serve them through high school graduation. The
services will include: (**1)** professional development; (**2)** before
and after school tutoring; (**3)** Saturday and summer programs; (**4)**
mentoring; (**5)** college planning; (**6)** family financial planning;
and (**7)** 21^st^ Century Scholar certificates. All services will be
culturally appropriate, researched-based and proven effective practices.

Project Director: Loueta D. Johnson

Telephone Number: 503-865-8677

E-mail Address <johnsonl@u.washington.edu>

10/05/2007