**Project Abstract – GEAR UP Virginia Applicant:**State Council of Higher Education for Virginia **City/State**: Richmond, Va.

**Contact:**Erin McGrath, erinmcgrath@schev.edu and (804) 274-8797

**Project Goals and Objectives**: The goals are to increase the number of low-income students prepared to enroll and succeed in postsecondary education and support the Virginia Higher Education Plan with its commitment to make Virginia the best state for education by 2030.

Objectives are to: 1) Increase the academic performance and preparation for postsecondary education of GEAR UP students; 2) Increase the rate of high school graduation and enrollment in postsecondary education for GEAR UP students; and 3) Increase GEAR UP students’ and their families’ knowledge of postsecondary education options, preparation and financing.

**Activities and services**: Student and family workshops on college preparation, financial aid/literacy; tutoring, mentoring/advising, professional development for teachers on social- emotional learning, STEM, data-driven instruction, and remote learning, college visits, guest speakers, summer camps, text messaging initiative, career interest inventories, FAFSA completion assistance, coding programs, Advanced Diploma support/advising, GEAR UP scholarship, family engagement activities.

# Number of students to be served: 8,119

**Target Schools: Middle Schools**—Arcadia, Nandua, Chincoteague Combined, Tangier Combined, Russell, Bonner, Westwood, Halifax, Tarrant, Syms, Eaton, Lindsay, Harrison, Skyline, Woodson, Lancaster, Montross, Johns, Nottoway, Manassas Park, Metz.

**High Schools**—Nandua, Arcadia, Chincoteague Combined, Tangier Combined, Brunswick, George Washington, Galileo Magnet, Halifax County, Phoebus, Hampton, Kecoughtan, Bethel, Harrisonburg, Hopewell, Lancaster, Osbourn, Manassas Park, Nottoway, Petersburg, Washington & Lee.

**Partners:**Accomack County Public Schools (PS), Brunswick County PS, Danville PS, Halifax County PS, Hampton PS, Harrisonburg PS, Hopewell PS, Lancaster County PS, Manassas PS, Manassas Park PS, Nottoway County PS, Petersburg PS, Westmoreland PS, Henry Ford Learning Institute (Ford Next Generation Learning), Institute for Advanced Learning, United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg, CodeVA, Virginia College Advising Corps, Virginia College Savings Plan (Virginia 529), Virginia Community College System, Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Virginia Department of Education, Virginia Latino Higher Education Network, State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.

**Proposed Budget:**$24,693,732 over seven years, with a dollar-for-dollar non-federal match

**Performance Period:**84 months, 2021-2028

PR/Award # P334S210011

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**West Virginia GEAR UP- Abstract**

**State: West Virginia**

**Grantee: West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission Contact Information: Elizabeth A. Manuel**

**Telephone Number: 304-558-0655**

**E-mail Address: elizabeth.manuel@wvhepc.edu****Year One Funding: $3.5 Million**

**West Virginia GEAR UP (WVGU),**charged by Governor Jim Justice**,**will serve students through a hybrid model that includes 17,595 cohort and priority students in 50 of West Virginia’s neediest schools located in small rural communities across the state. WVGU is housed within the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, identified as the applicant agency, to provide services to students attending **Boone, Clay, Lincoln, Logan, Mason, Mingo, Nicholas, Roane, Wayne, Webster, and Wirt school districts.**

**Services**: WVGU activities and services, delivered over a 7-year project period (2021-28), are designed to increase hope in a future that higher education holds for rural students and their families. The WVGU project will support the rural identities of students and their families to cultivate hope through GEAR UP college readiness services that are designed to lead to better life outcomes through increases in three core tenants: 1) **academic outcomes**, 2) s**ocial emotional learning**, and 3) **postsecondary education outcomes.**For each of these research-based tenants, services have been identified to produce multiple pathways to enrollment, persistence, and completion of postsecondary education for students. Services include academic mentoring, outreach, financial aid information, rigorous and challenging curricula, professional development, career exploration, college visits, parental involvement, student workshops, Science Technology Engineering and Math enrichment, summer programs, transition programs, and tutoring and test preparation.

**Partners:**WVGU is informed by emerging research on best educational practices, rigorous evaluation, and productive, strategic collaborations with **National partners**: NCCEP, ACAC, College Board, and XAP; **State Partners**: WV Department of Education, WV Council for Community and Technical College Education, WVACRAO, WV Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, WV Treasurer’s Office, and WV Education Alliance; and **Local Partners**: LEAs and 2 and 4-year colleges and universities.

**Outcomes**: Through the identified services, WVGU will achieve the objectives of the GEAR UP program: (1) to increase the academic performance and preparation for postsecondary education of participating students; (2) to increase the rate of high school graduation and participation in postsecondary education of participating students; and (3) to increase education expectations for participating students and increase student and family knowledge of postsecondary education options, preparation, and financing.

**Evaluation:**The methods of the WVGU evaluation offer an opportunity for partner school districts, the state of WV, and the U. S. Department of Education to better understand postsecondary enrollment and success, as well as the GEAR UP services associated with these outcomes. Distinct to this project is the opportunity to determine the impact of formative, data-driven services delivered under a model of hope. These data will enable continuous assessment of GEAR UP services and how they influence project outcomes related to academic growth, high school graduation, and postsecondary enrollment, persistence, and completion.

PR/Award # P334S210003

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# Project Abstract

**Applicant:**Shippensburg University on behalf of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE)

**City/State:**Shippensburg University, Pennsylvania

**Contact Person:**Katrina Eady, keady@passhe.edu, (717) 720-4046

**Project Goal:**Equitable college access and success for students by increasing student achievement through data-driven decisions, developing a sustainable college-going culture, and establishing a shared community vision for equitable college access and success.

# Project Objectives and Services:

Objective 1: Increase student achievement and preparation for postsecondary education.

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· Academic Counseling

· Summer Programs

· Student Workshops – Academic

· Tutoring

· Professional Development

Objective 2: Develop a college-going culture by increasing the cohort graduation rate and preparation for postsecondary education.

· College & Career Counseling

· College Visits

· Educational Trips

· Financial Aid Counseling & Workshops

· Financial Literacy Workshops

· Job Site Visits

· Mentoring

· Student Workshops – College-Going

· Student Workshops – Non-Cognitive Skills

Objective 3: Increase parent awareness of postsecondary education options, preparation, and financing.

· Parent College Visits

· Parent Counseling

· Family Events

· Parent Workshops

Objective 4: Increase enrollment and first-year to second-year persistence in postsecondary education institutions.

· Counseling

· Mentoring

· Student Workshops

· Summer Programs

· Leadership Opportunities

**Number of Students to be Served:**2,198, projected 7th grade enrollment in the three districts from the PA Department of Education

# Target Schools:

· Allentown School District (Francis Raub MS, Harrison-Morton MS, South Mountain MS, Trexler MS, Building 21 HS, Louis E. Dieruff HS, William Allen HS)

· Norristown Area School District (East Norriton MS, Eisenhower MS, Stewart MS, Norristown Area HS)

· Pottstown School District (Pottstown MS, Pottstown HS)

**Additional Partners:**Cambridge Educational Services; CAYEN Systems; CoBro Consulting; FHI 360; Frederick Douglas Institute Collaborative; The FulPhill Company; Montgomery County Community College; National Council for Community and Education Partnerships; Oracle; PA 529; PA Cyber Charter School; Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency; Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union; Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Universities; Seeds Training

**Performance Period:**Seven years, 9/2021 to 9/2028, specific dates will be determined by the GANS

Shippensburg University

PR/AwaArdb#sPtr3a34cSt 210005

PA State GEAR UP

# ABSTRACT

**Applicant, city, state**: Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE, LEA), Columbus, Ohio

**Contact information**: Carlos Bing, cbing@highered.ohio.gov, 614-466-4818

**Project goals and objectives**: The proposed GEAR UP OHIO (GUO) project’s goals and objectives mirror GEAR UP objectives to: (1) increase the academic performance and preparation for postsecondary education of participating students; (2) to increase the rate of high school graduation and participation in postsecondary education of participating students; and (3) to increase educational expectations for participating students and increase student and family knowledge of postsecondary education options, preparation, and financing. Specific goals are tied to each objective and are aligned with GEAR UP performance measures, GPRA performance measures, and specific program performance measures that address specific student and community needs. GUO will substantially increase the number of students who are prepared to enter, who enter, and who succeed in postsecondary education.

**Activities and services**: Via six project sites, required and permissible activities and services will be provided during the school-day, after-school, and during the summer. Services include tutoring; mentoring and coaching; dual enrollment and rigorous coursework enrollment supports; staff training; comprehensive college access advising; career exploration; construction of career pathways; financial aid counseling; financial literacy classes; targeted parent/family engagement events; college entrance exam preparation; college and career visits; scholarships; program evaluation; among others. Activities and services are based on WWC and other evidence-based research. GUO will address the Competitive Preference Priorities 1 and 2 and Invitational Priorities 1, 2, and 3. CPP1 demonstrates ODHE/GUO’s past success in two GEAR UP State projects implemented prior to 8/14/08 (as well as another current project); CPP2 integrates components of coaching and transition programs and services that demonstrate Strong Evidence, exceeding the required evidence threshold; IP1 improves capacity for remote activities, including training; IP2 addresses pandemic-exacerbated academic and mental health challenges experienced by target students; and IP3 addresses needs of rural students.

**Number of students to be served and target schools**: GUO’s priority model will serve approximately 8,268 GUO participants each year, including students enrolled in their first year of IHE. GUO targets 17 schools in six diverse communities. Target schools are Heskett Middle and Bedford High (Bedford); Conneaut Middle and High (Conneaut); Spanish Immersion, Mansfield Middle, and Sr. High (Mansfield); Baldwin Rd. Jr. High, Hannah Ashton Middle, Waggoner Rd. Jr. High, 9X Impact, Health Sciences & Human Services STEM, and BELL (Business, Education, Leadership & Law) Academy (Reynoldsburg); Mt. Healthy Jr. High and High (Mt. Healthy); and North College Hill Middle and High (North College Hill). High percentages of these schools’ students qualify for Free and Reduced-Price Lunch and are students of color, the definition of the traditionally underserved students that GEAR UP exists to support.

**Partners**: Ohio Dept. of Education; College Now Greater Cleveland, ACCESS Ashtabula, and Cincinnati Youth Collaborative; Bedford City, Conneaut Area, Mansfield City, Mt. Healthy, North College Hill, Reynoldsburg City school districts and local Educational Services Centers; John Carroll Univ., Kent State Univ. at Ashtabula, North Central State, Univ. of Cincinnati, Cincinnati State Technical Community College, Columbus State Community College; and local chambers of commerce/businesses.

**Performance period**: The proposed GUO is a seven-year state project (FY21-28).

PR/Award # P3G34ESA21R000U8 P OHIO (GUO) Abstract - Page 1 of 1

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