We are lucky to have a guest blogger Michele Molitor, California GEAR UP School Services Coach, share with us some of the systemic success at Everett Middle School in San Francisco.

Everett Middle School, located in the Mission District of San Francisco, continues to lead the way as a “School on the Move” for California GEAR UP!  Everett has set some big goals, and has had amazing results, including an increase API of 40 and 54 points over the last two years respectively. (insert dramatic pause here, these are MASSIVE API gains) This spring has been a busy time for them as they have engaged their staff and students in a variety of College Going Culture activities.  Their latest success story was College Week – held March 8^th through March 15^th.

They had a terrific line up of activities for parents and students alike.  They kicked College Week off on Friday evening with Parent University.  This involved inviting parents, students and community members to attend a dinner and college presentation.  There were a variety of providers that shared information on college going programs and college information, which was relevant in helping their students prepare for college.  The community partners included:

• Mission Beacon
• Aim High
• SF Promise
• Aspire
• Strengthening Families for Success
• Mission Graduates
• PODER
• Instituto Familiar de La Raza
• SF Ed Fund
• 100% College
• Good Samaritan
• Young Community Developers

There was so much enthusiasm for all the terrific information being shared, dinner was delayed so everyone could soak it all up! While everyone shared in a meal together, a powerpoint presentation was shared, reviewing the A-G requirements, college entrance requirements, where to go for help and information about the upcoming college week on campus.

Earlier in the day, all students received the “College Making It Happen” booklet along with additional information on college and curriculum from their homeroom teachers on how to find the answers to important college prep questions.

Starting on Monday, there was a series of different activities each day for the students.  They received a Student Passport, which they were to fill out during the week as they attended the different activities. A completely filled out passport earned them an A-G t-shirt given out by SF Promise.

Here is just a snapshot of the fun activities they had for the students:

• Each day homeroom teachers encouraged students to fill out their passport and learn more about what it takes to go to college, plus they had different college talk points to share with them as well.
• There was a lunch time “rapper” that talked about college and the A-G requirements
• Students had a chance to get their faces painted with different school logos and take a picture with their high school graduation year as the backdrop.
• Students had the opportunity to join different college clubs.
• There was even a booth there about credit cards, to warn students of the interest rates when they borrow money.
• They brought in real “live” college students too. Students had to interview them and fill out their college bingo sheet to win prizes.
• Friday was the big finale with a college debrief in their homeroom, followed by a quick student survey.  The Gear Up leadership team also put on a school wide assembly that included:
  • Review of college week photos
  • A student led video with Q&A about college
  • An A-G powerpoint to continue to engrain these important points for students
  • Raffle winners were announced
  • A “Tell us about your college experience” teacher panel was conducted so students in the audience could ask questions of the five different teachers on the panel.
  • And last but not least, students got to silk screen on their A-G shirts “College is my Hustle” or  “I Hecka Heart College”

Overall, it was a powerful week for teachers and students alike.  Big kudos to the entire GEAR UP leadership team that coordinated all of the efforts and spent 2 months planning all of the activities!

This huge effort was only piece of the puzzle too. Everett has a myriad of other activities going on an any given time to help raise student awareness of what’s needed to go to college, increase parent and community participation and improve student test scores.  It’s no wonder that Everett’s API score increased by 94 points in two years! Under the leadership and direction of Principal Richard Curci, Everett’s faculty and student body continue to raise the bar for success – knowing that when given the information, guidance and support Every Student can have the opportunity to go to college!

If you have questions about Everett’s successful College Week activities, contact:

Tracy Brown-Gallardo

Community Schools Coordinator

Everett Middle School

BrownT1@sfusd.edu

Saving for college is more important than ever. With the cost of college tuition on the rise, ScholarShare  and California GEAR UP are working together closely to provide families, parents, and young adults with resources and tools to help them prepare for higher education.

ScholarShare, California’s 529 college savings plan, has long been a partner of the California GEAR UP Education Trust Awards. GEAR UP has awarded 5,370 middle school students with Education Trust Awards, opened in individual ScholarShare accounts established in the student’s name in the amount of $2,000 each, for a total of $10,740,000. The awards are available to students within one year of high school graduation and upon college enrollment.

ScholarShare is a way for parents to share in their child’s road to a higher education.  There are a number of benefits offered by ScholarShare.

• Any adult or U.S. legal resident with a social security number or federal taxpayer identification number can open an account.
• Grandparents, friends, aunts, and uncles can open an account or contribute to an existing one.
• Earnings are tax free when withdrawals are used for qualified higher education expenses.
• Accounts can be opened with as little as $25.
• Funds can be used at eligible schools nationwide and many international schools.
• Funds can be used for a variety of qualified higher education expenses.
• A variety of low cost investment options are offered.

College remains important to California parents.  According to the California College Saving Survey in September 2012, 84 percent of parents strongly believe in the importance of a higher education as an objective in its own right, and as a way to open doors to other dreams and aspirations.  Even during challenging economic times, parents are still putting a priority on saving for a higher education while making sacrifices in other areas. Many California parents are willing to cut back on family vacations or eating out, even more striking delaying their retirement.

While California parents consider a college education crucial, most are worried about being able to afford it.  Here are some helpful tips on how families can save for college.

• Be supportive:  Children will aspire and be prepared for college if they are surrounded by adults who foster a positive educational environment not only in school but at home.
• Set realistic goals:  You may not be able to save enough for all four years of tuition, room and board, and other expenses, but you could save enough to help put your child’s education within reach.
• Reach out to friends and family:  Instead of birthday and holiday gifts for your child, let your friends and family make contributions. Of those that know about 529 plans, few know that people other than the child’s parents can contribute, such as grandparent’s aunts, uncles, and even the students themselves.
• Let your child know you’re saving for their higher education:  You may be surprised at how much pride and appreciation they demonstrate, knowing that college is in their future.
• Start saving as earlier as you can:  The key to saving for college is to start early and save regularly. By saving a set amount regularly, your money can grow as your child does. And before you know it, you’ll be just as ready for college as they are.

ScholarShare offers a way for families to save for college and to help make college become affordable. When it comes to college savings, it is never too late for families to share in their child’s future.

For more information about ScholarShare, visit www.ScholarShare.com, call toll-free 1-800-544-5248, or visit the ScholarShare Facebook [link to www.facebook.com/scholarshare529] and Twitter [link to www.twitter.com/scholarshare529] pages.

####

Consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses before investing in the ScholarShare College Savings Plan. Visit ScholarShare.com, or call the Plan, for a Disclosure Booklet containing this and other information.  Read it carefully. Before investing in a 529 plan, consider whether the state where you or your Beneficiary resides has a 529 plan that offers favorable state tax benefits that are available if you invest in that state’s 529 plan. The tax information contained herein is not intended to be used, and cannot be used, by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties. Taxpayers should seek advice, based on their own particular circumstances, from an independent tax advisor. Investments in the Plan are neither insured nor guaranteed except for TIAA-CREF Life Insurance Company’s guarantee to the ScholarShare College Savings Plan under the Funding Agreement for the Principal Plus Interest Portfolio, and there is a risk of investment loss. Account values will fluctuate based on a number of factors, including general market conditions. TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing, Inc., Program Manager

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Congratulates California’s 2013

“Schools to Watch™–Taking Center Stage” Model Middle Schools

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced that 12 high-performing California middle schools have been newly designated as model middle grades schools in the Schools to Watch™−Taking Center Stage (STW−TCS) program. Another nine high-performing California schools will also retain their model middle grades schools status under the same program.

“My congratulations and admiration go out to these schools for continually striving to improve student performance,” Torlakson said. “Their success is the result of effective and innovative practices that motivate their students to learn and excel.”

STW‒TCS middle grades schools are high-performing model schools that demonstrate academic excellence, developmental responsiveness to the needs and interests of young adolescents, social equity, and organizational support. STW‒TCS model schools host visitors from California and around the world who are looking for replicable practices that will help them improve their middle grades schools and close the achievement gap.

The 12 newly designated STW‒TCS model middle grades schools are:

Fresno County

1.     Fairmont Elementary K-8 (Sanger Unified School District, Sanger)

2.     Quail Lake Environmental Charter K-8 (Sanger Unified School District, Sanger)

3.     Sanger Academy Charter K-8 (Sanger Unified School District, Sanger)

The three schools are small, rural K-8 schools that have specific programs for middle grades students and have significantly closed the achievement gap. They act as one professional learning community frequently collaborating on better instructional strategies. (In 2011, Sanger Unified’s Washington Academic Middle School was designated a STW−TCS.)

Los Angeles County

4.    Frank J. Zamboni Middle School (Paramount Unified School District, Paramount) is an urban school whose Academic Performance Index (API) scores (on a scale ranging from 200 to 1000, with 800 established as the statewide target) in nearly every student group have risen from the 600’s in 2006-07 to the 800’s in 2011-12. Students who are English learners scored at 789, but made a significant 27-point growth last year. The staff has focused on poverty issues facing their students as part of their concern for the whole child.

Orange County

5.    Pioneer Middle School (Tustin Unified School District, Tustin) has seen significant and sustained improvement over the past five years in student achievement, meeting all significant subgroup targets on state standardized tests. The school developed a successful program, Pyramid on Interventions, to assist all students in becoming proficient, as well as having been recognized as a national professional learning community model.

6.    Thurston Middle School (Laguna Beach Unified School District, Laguna Beach) is a suburban school and has made all its growth targets every year on state standardized tests by supporting all students in using “Best First Practices” and “Response to Intervention” strategies.

San Bernardino County

7.    Summit Intermediate School (Etiwanda School District, Etiwanda) is a suburban school that has made significant increases on state standardized tests over the past five years. Nearly every numerically significant student group is at or above the 800 statewide target. These diverse learners have had increased learning opportunities with “X-Time,” a period where teachers provide additional support.

8.    Vanguard Preparatory K-8 (Apple Valley Unified School District, Apple Valley) is a rural school with more than 1,000 students that is consistently closing the achievement gap. With a focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), the school offers family STEM nights to explore these areas.

Santa Clara County

9.    Union Middle School (Union Elementary School District, San Jose) is a suburban school whose API score is a noteworthy 932 points and is ranked in the top 10 percent of state middle schools. Part of the school’s success is due to the school’s collaborative approach, “Intervention on a Page,” that provides all the necessary information for student support.

Santa Cruz County

10. San Lorenzo Valley Middle School (San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District, Felton) is a rural school with a smaller population of about 500 students. The school has gained 46 points on the API since 2007, while the socioeconomically disadvantaged student population has gained 82 points. During the third week of the year, academic counseling and intervention is started so that no child is allowed to fall behind academically.

11. Scotts Valley Middle School (Scotts Valley Unified School District, Scotts Valley) is a suburban school with a growing diverse population and whose state’s standardized test scores show a closing of the achievement gap. The support strategy is using the “Enrichment” period where many services are offered to meet individual needs.

Ventura County

12.  Sinaloa Middle School  (Simi Valley Unified School District, Simi Valley) is a suburban school that is closing the achievement gap with all of its student groups. The API scores for students with disabilities have increased 96 points on state standardized tests since 2007. The school has a plethora of strategies that the faculty has developed through collaboration to engage its students.

The redesignated model middle schools are:

1.    Canyon Middle School (Castro Valley Unified School District, Castro Valley, Alameda County); a STW‒TCS school for six years

2.    Edna Hill Middle School (Brentwood Union School District, Brentwood, Contra Costa County); a STW‒TCS school for six years

3.    Frank M. Wright Middle School (Imperial Unified School District, Imperial, Imperial County); a STW‒TCS school for six years

4.    Granger Junior High (Sweetwater Union High School District, National City, San Diego County); a STW‒TCS school for three years   and previous California GEAR UP School.

5.    John Glenn Middle School (Desert Sands Unified School District, Indio, Riverside County); a STW‒TCS school for nine years

6.    Medea Creek Middle School (Oak Park Unified School District, Oak Park, Los Angeles County); a STW‒TCS schools for nine years

7.    Mistletoe School (Enterprise Elementary School District, Redding, Shasta County); a STW‒TCS school for three years

8.    Oliver Wendell Holmes Middle School (Los Angeles Unified School District, Northridge, Los Angeles County); a STW‒TCS school for six years and previous California GEAR UP School.

9.    Reyburn Intermediate (Clovis Unified School District, Clovis, Fresno County); a STW‒TCS school for three years

In order to be named a STW‒TCS model middle school, school administrators must conduct a self-study evaluation and complete an extensive narrative application. Each site is then reviewed by a team of middle grades experts. In order to retain the designation, each school is re-evaluated every three years.

The nine redesignated schools named today were reviewed last October and are among 36 others selected in previous cycles since 2003 as STW‒TCS designees. All of the schools will be formally recognized at the California Middle Grades Alliance annual luncheon on February 28, 2013, and during the California League of Middle Schools Conference on March 1-3, 2013. Both events will be in Sacramento. At that time, the schools will have an opportunity to showcase their accomplishments and network with other middle grades educators from around the state.

For more information about the Schools to Watch™−Taking Center Stage model school program, visit the California Department of Education Web site at California Schools to Watch — Taking Center Stage . Schools to Watch™−Taking Center Stage is a partner of California GEAR UP. 

Washington, DC–Recently, the U.S. Department of Education opened the School Turnaround Learning Community (STLC)  to the public, offering a wealth of resources and networking opportunities to educators throughout the country. The STLC is a collaboration platform that enables educators to share success stories, learn from colleagues throughout the country, and inform the Department with their expertise. Currently, the STLC has 4300 subscribed members, provides approximately 500 turnaround school resources, facilitates eight discussion boards, and has hosted nearly 60 webinars on various topics including teacher and leader effectiveness,increased learning time, and community and parent engagement.

According to the STLC site, “The goal of the STLC is to provide states and districts with easy online access to resources and to facilitate networking that will enable them to support schools more effectively…. Both research-based practices and practical examples from states, districts, and schools inventing on-the-ground solutions are available. The purpose of the STLC is to provide one-stop access to these resources and to promote and facilitate sharing across states and districts to deepen learning over time.”

If you are working to support school turnaround, you may want to take a moment to join the School Turnaround Learning Community (STLC) and their two active groups, Increased Learning Time and Teacher Effectiveness.  Once you join, visit the My Account page and click on the Notifications tab to set your preferences for receiving updates on activity in the online STLC.

####

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson urged all Californians to find ways to appreciate teachers during May 6-12, designated as National Teacher Appreciation Week.

“Teaching is the most important job there is,” Torlakson said. “Ask just about anyone about the person who made the biggest difference in their life, chances are that person is a teacher. Let’s all take a moment this week to say `thank you’ to California’s teachers.”

Here’s Torlakson’s top 10 list.

For students:

1.     Thank your teacher for all of his or her hard work.

2.     Do your best on homework and in-class assignments.

3.     Behave in class, so your teacher can devote more time to teaching.

4.     Respect your teacher and your fellow students. This will create a better learning environment for everyone in the classroom.

5.     Raise your hand to answer your teacher’s questions and participate in learning.

For parents:

6.     Send an e-mail or a note with your children to school, thanking their teachers for their hard work.

7.     Appreciate teachers for the professionals that they are, and give them the same respect you would give a good friend who takes care of your children.

8.     Provide a helping hand in the classroom, during sporting events, on field trips, or at the school site.

9.     Donate school supplies. Teachers often pay out of their own pockets to provide their students with the tools they need to learn.

10. Hold fundraisers and donate the proceeds to schools that have been hard hit by state budget cuts.

May 8 is National Teacher Appreciation Day, an annual tradition continued by the National Teachers Association. May 9 is California Day of the Teacher, a day established under California Education Code Section 37222, to encourage schools to conduct exercises commemorating and directing attention to teachers and the teaching profession.

For the California Day of the Teacher, two organizations created themes to honor educators. The California Teachers Association theme is, “Great Teachers: Building a Better State for Public Education.” The Association of Mexican American Educators theme is, “Educating Students for a World of Opportunities.”

OAKLAND, CA (January 12, 2012) – Today, The Education Trust—West releases the findings of a two- year-long study of data from the second largest school district in the nation, revealing profound inequities in access to effective teaching.  In Learning Denied: The Case for Equitable Access to Effective Teaching in California’s Largest School District, The Education Trust—West finds that low-income students and students of color in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) are less likely to be taught by the district’s top teachers – the very teachers capable of closing the district’s achievement gaps. These inequities are exacerbated by teacher mobility patterns and quality-blind layoffs.

“This is one of the largest and most comprehensive analyses of this type ever completed, accounting for over 17,500 teachers and more than a million students,” said report co-author Carrie Hahnel, Director of Policy and Research at The Education Trust—West. “We were able to quantify the impact of effective teachers on student learning. We looked at the extent to which students of color and students in poverty had access to effective teachers, and we also looked at the impact of quality-blind teacher layoffs.”

The report reveals that:

• Teachers have the potential to dramatically accelerate the learning of their students – with the average student taught by a top 25% teacher (top quartile in terms of value-added) gaining half a year more of learning in English-Language Arts and four months in math than a student placed with a teacher in the bottom 25% (bottom quartile).
• Second-graders who started off behind academically and then had three top quartile teachers accelerated to academic proficiency, while students with consecutive bottom quartile  teachers remained stuck below grade level.
• Commonly used measures of teacher quality, such as years of experience, are poor predictors of effectiveness in the classroom. While teachers do improve over time, the differences among teachers are far greater than those between teachers at different levels of experience.  For example, the difference between a 10th-year teacher and first-year teacher is only about three and a half weeks in ELA and two and a half weeks in math.
• Effective teachers are inequitably distributed in LAUSD with Latino, African-American and low-income students much less likely to have access to top-quartile teachers. In addition, these top teachers are more likely to leave the district’s highest need schools.
• Quality-blind teacher layoffs in 2009 resulted in the removal of high value-added teachers from the highest need schools. If the district had instead laid off teachers based on effectiveness, only about 5 percent of the ELA teachers and 3 percent of the math teachers actually cut by LAUSD would have been laid off.

The report reveals that a low-income student is more than twice as likely to have a low value-added ELA teacher as a higher income peer, and 66 percent more likely to have a low-value added math teacher.  Latino and African-American students are two to three times more likely to have bottom-quartile teachers in math and ELA, respectively, than their white and Asian peers.

According to the report, state and local policies can prevent students from accessing the most effective teachers or cause students to lose access to these teachers. The report recommends that district and state leaders invest in high-quality evaluation systems to identify effective teachers and those who are failing to improve student performance. It calls for developing programs and policies that attract and retain the best teachers in the highest need schools, offering teachers the high-quality professional development that leads to gains in student achievement, and fundamentally reforming state policies that prevent local leaders from making decisions in the best interests of students. This includes ending once and for all quality-blind, “last in, first out” (LIFO) teacher layoffs.

The goal of California GEAR UP is to develop and sustain the organizational capacity of middle schools to prepare all students for high school and higher education through a statewide network of support for adults who influence middle school students, specifically their counselors, faculty, school leaders and families.  As a result of this expanded capacity, a higher proportion of students, particularly from backgrounds and communities that have not historically pursued a college education, will enroll and succeed in higher education.

To read the full report, click through to the Ed Trust West website HERE.

The Education Trust—West, a California GEAR UP Partner, works for the high academic achievement of all students at all levels, pre-k through college. They expose opportunity and achievement gaps that separate students of color and low-income students from other youth, and identify and advocate for the strategies that will forever close those gaps.

The California Academic Partnership Program (CAPP) highlighted a new report released by the Public Policy Institute of California that measures the effectiveness of the Mathematics Diagnostic Testing Project (MDTP) as a tool to improve student learning. The MDTP is used throughout the state in California GEAR UP Schools.

“The MDTP is a prime example of inter-segmental work of K-12, community college, UC and CSU faculty in developing tools for secondary classroom teachers to help improve student learning,” said from Andrea Ball, Statewide Director of the California Academic Partnership Program (CAPP). “MDTP’s diagnostic approach is appreciated by educators for its high quality and concordance with the common core standards. PPIC’s report is extremely timely and useful to educators in the field.”

CAPP is an inter-segmental program administered by the California State University whose work combines on-the-ground efforts to improve teaching and learning in secondary schools with research to identify effective practices and share what we learn with educators and policymakers.

MDTP is a joint statewide project of the California State University and The University of California. MDTP develops, distributes, scores, and reports the results of diagnostic tests that measure student readiness for mathematics courses ranging from Prealgebra to Calculus. Diagnosing a student’s mathematical strengths and weaknesses helps teachers focus on areas needing review to increase students’ chances of success in mathematics, better prepares students for further study in mathematics, and keeps open many career paths.

The PPIC report on MDTP was prepared by Dr. Julian Betts, chair of the department of economics at the University of California, San Diego. As part of its ongoing work to improve the quality of secondary education so that all students are prepared for successful postsecondary education, CAPP provides support to the Math Diagnostic Testing Project’s work with K-12 schools. CAPP is also supporting additional research, survey and interview work by Dr. Betts on the use of MDTP in the San Diego Unified School District.

The PPIC report and Dr. Betts’ additional CAPP-supported research delve into specific ways teachers use the diagnostic information from MDTP results to adjust their instruction to meet students’ needs. CAPP’s goal in supporting this work is to identify opportunities to expand professional learning so that MDTP becomes a more valuable resource for classroom teachers, students, schools and districts.

“MDTP offers teachers timely and detailed feedback about what their students know, don’t know, and misunderstand about essential mathematics content required for success in their course,” said Bruce Arnold, the director of MDTP. “Teachers can adapt their instruction and modify learning activities based on this diagnostic data.”

CAPP supports MDTP’s services to California’s K-12 schools. CAPP’s newest grant program will incorporate the use of MDTP with collaborative learning communities of middle and high school teachers to develop common formative assessments so that teachers can immediately learn and then address students’ needs. CAPP also supports the use of MDTP materials and services by university and college outreach programs.  For more information on MDTP see http://mdtp.ucsd.edu.

It is only in the last decade that educators finally have access to high-quality, large-scale studies of what works and what doesn’t work to improve student outcomes is the middle grades. Particularly powerful was the monumental 2010 “Gaining Ground” study by EdSource, Michael Kirst, and the American Institutes for Research. Here at California GEAR UP we have successfully focused on middle grades for over 12 years with amazing results. It is research and tools like this EdSource kit that continues to support our work throughout California.

The “Gaining Ground” report is the largest study of its kind. EdSource and Stanford University researchers analyzed data and test scores from more than 200,000 students at 303 middle grade schools in California for the 2008-09 school year. They also surveyed the principal at each school, more than 3,700 ELA and math teachers in grades six thru eight, and over 150 district superintendents.

The key finding of the Gaining Ground study is that a relentless and intense schoolwide focus on improving academic outcomes most distinguishes higher- from lower-performing middle grades schools. That conclusion, says Trish Williams of EdSource, “came out on top no matter which analysis we ran.”

Now available from EdSource is a downloadable, free action kit based on the findings of the landmark study, and gives educators tools and provides schools with key strategies that will help prepare students for academic success in high school and beyond. The components include:

Middle Grades Playbook describes how the classroom, school, and district levels each can contribute to stronger middle grades education—including self-assessments and a compendium of actionable practices.

School profiles provide a window into how selected schools from the Gaining Groundstudy are thinking about, undertaking, and improving their practices.

Principal and teacher survey tools help you take stock of the existing foundation for improvement in your district or middle grades school and get people talking.

We highly recommend taking a look at the EdSource kit and put the research into action in your school community. It is the courage and commitment to use research based tools into good use at underperforming school and this is an essential tool not to be missed.

As you may remember from previous posts, Doing What Works from WestEd, the American Institutes for Research and RMC Research Corporation, is a great multi-media site that is a wonderful clearinghouse for research based education practices online. This site from  the U.S. Department of Education offers an online library of resources that may help teachers, schools, districts, states and technical assistance providers implement research-based instructional practice.

This Practice Guide offers educators, administrators, and policymakers five research-based practice recommendations designed to increase postsecondary access, particularly for underserved, low-income, or first-generation college-going students. Fitting perfectly with the goals of California GEAR UP, each recommendation includes a summary of the research evidence and a level of evidence rating. Developed by an expert panel convened by the Institute of Education Sciences, the Practice Guide is the foundation for all the Doing What Works content on increasing postsecondary access.

As usual, the site provides easy to navigate tools and well produced multimedia all education professionals and families can use to help students navigate the path to college.

The Fostering College Aspirations section speaks directly to the GEAR UP community, which focuses on surrounding students with adults and peers who support their college-going aspirations. The practice guide and multi-media provides examples of ways schools can foster college-going aspirations beginning as early as middle school. Carefully designed mentoring programs connect students with college-educated professionals who can share their college experiences, talk about career planning, assist with the application process, and check on students’ academic progress.

Helping students navigate the steps to apply for college and understand financial aid is another extremely important piece of the college access puzzle. Knowledgeable school officials should offer one-on-one support regarding preparing for and taking admissions tests, searching for and selecting between colleges and other postsecondary education options that meet students’ needs, and completing the application and enrollment process. Under the Assisting with College Entry practice, the site provides additional support, downloadable guides, and video that further demystify the college entry process.

Checking out this extremely useful site is a must for all GEAR UP and education professionals concerned with college access. The wealth of materials and information is a one stop website that should be an automatic go-to for the GEAR UP community.

Let us know how you use the site on our Facebook page!