The 2013 GEAR UP National Conference will be in San Francisco this year, and we are excited to share conference information and registration. This national convening of GEAR UP professionals, parents, students, policymakers, and community partners is coordinated by the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP) and planned in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education. The purpose of this conference is to highlight the importance of education/community partnerships and the accomplishments of the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP). This conference also serves to facilitate the forging of new alliances among faculty, to help attendees learn about other federal and foundation-sponsored college awareness efforts, to learn about other academic and student support programs, and to find new ways to engage local communities, businesses and professional associations in the work of GEAR UP partnerships. The conference is especially relevant to education practitioners, business leaders and policymakers who wish to learn more about creating and sustaining education collaboratives that can help improve public education and promote student academic achievement.

Roll Call of the GEAR UP States

The Roll Call of the GEAR UP States is a much-anticipated tradition at the Conference. Each state is called, celebrated, and cheered by the audience as a way to welcome all participants to an exciting few days of learning and sharing.

Concurrent Sessions

The conference program includes concurrent sessions focused on impacting middle school and high school students, their families, faculty and administrators, student services and college access professionals, program evaluators, parent involvement coordinators, business and community partners, and education policymakers. Sessions will include panels of experts, researchers, practitioners, how-to presentations, research presentations, and descriptions of the most effective GEAR UP practices. These sessions will present proven models and promising practices.

Plenary Sessions

Plenary sessions serve as the core of the conference curriculum and are designed to provide the context for concurrent session dialogues. Plenary sessions will feature nationally recognized individuals in the field of education and workforce development, as well as educational policymakers, political appointees, congressional staff, business leaders, and others who champion the cause of improving public education and making postsecondary education more accessible to underrepresented communities.

2013 NCCEP/GEAR UP Youth Congress
Sponsored by Texas Instruments

NCCEP’s Youth Congress is a youth leadership program that implements a student-focused curriculum, blending leadership development with life skills and strategies for increased learning. The Youth Congress is part of NCCEP’s Annual Conference being held this year in San Francisco from July 14 – 17, 2013.
GEAR UP youth who participate in the Youth Congress will have the opportunity to experience a professional conference while interacting and learning with other students from around the country. The students will learn strategies for increasing learning capacity, as well as relationship and communication skill-building. They will also experience leadership skill development, while strengthening their confidence to effectively tell their story.
GEAR UP Programs that wish to register students to participate in the 2013 Youth Congress must first register the student as part of the regular NCCEP Annual Conference registration. In order to be fully registered, the GEAR UP Program Director (or designee) must coordinate the completion of the necessary permission forms and guidelines for youth to participate. These forms can be completed and submitted prior to registration, or you can find a link to the forms as part of the registration.

For any questions or to learn more contact NCCEP’s Director of National Programs,Diane_Charles@edpartnerships.org. 
Click Here to download the 2013 form.

Post-Conference Events

NCCEP Evaluators’ Institute

Evaluators’ Institute 101 – The Basics of GEAR UP Evaluation

Wednesday, July 17 • 1:30 PM – 5:30 PM

Session Description: Evaluation has always been a necessary component of administrating a GEAR UP grant. While we often think of the U.S. Department of Education’s Annual Performance Report (APR) when it comes to evaluating GEAR UP, it is important to realize that this tool alone does not provide the depth and breadth needed to adequately evaluate individual GEAR UP programs or entire GEAR UP partnerships. Other evaluation is needed to continually improve our work and demonstrate the effectiveness of the GEAR UP program.
This workshop will provide participants with:
• An understanding of the GEAR UP Annual Performance Report (APR) and how to conduct effective program evaluation beyond the APR.
• An understanding of the types of program evaluations their GEAR UP grant should be undertaking.
• Tips for negotiating relationships with other GEAR UP program and institutional staff.
• An opportunity to interact with and learn from experienced GEAR UP evaluators.
• Materials and suggested topical resources for further exploration following the Institute.
Facilitated by GEAR UP evaluators, this session will provide new GEAR UP evaluators with a foundation for their critical evaluation work. Materials will be provided.

Who Should Attend? Evaluators new to the field or new to GEAR UP are encouraged to attend this session. A basic understanding of GEAR UP and evaluation methods is desirable, but not required.

Evaluators’ Institute 201 – An Introduction to Quantitative and Qualitative Analyses for GEAR UP Evaluators 
Wednesday, July 17 • 1:30 PM – 5:30 PM

Session Description: GEAR UP evaluation activities hold much promise to be more than a simple exercise of collecting and reporting APR data. However, once you have the data there are so many options for analyzing and reporting. Join seasoned GEAR UP evaluators and analysts to learn about specific quantitative and qualitative methodologies for analyzing GEAR UP data to answer some questions about your program.
Through the sharing of analytical knowledge by the GEAR UP evaluator community, this workshop will provide participants with:

Evaluators’ Institute 301 – Creating Comparison Groups through Propensity Score Matching 
Wednesday, July 17 • 1:30 PM – 5:30 PM

Session Description: GEAR UP evaluation has become more rigorous over the past few years. Grantees are encouraged to use comparison groups to analyze GEAR UP data. Given the limitations on educational research for experimental studies, Propensity Score Matching is a leading method for creating comparison groups for data analyses. To advance GEAR UP evaluation, GEAR UP grantees must evaluate their data in ways to answer questions about program effectiveness.

U.S. Department of Education GEAR UP Sessions

Annual Performance Report 
Wednesday, July 17 • 10:45 AM – 12:00 PM

The U.S. Department of Education will provide technical assistance designed to assist grantees in completing an Annual Performance Report (APR). Each grantee’s annual and cumulative result has a direct impact on the future of the GEAR UP program as appropriations are connected to program results aggregated from individual project data. This session will review the process for completing the web-based APR.

Documenting the Match
Wednesday, July 17 • 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM

This session is designed for GEAR UP project directors and budget representatives who want to learn about the rules and regulations associated with matching GEAR UP funds. The session will explore allowable, allocable and reasonable matching purchases as well as unallowable costs that grantees should avoid.

Final Performance Report 
Wednesday, July 17 • 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM

The U.S. Department of Education will provide information to grantees regarding the closeout of their grants. This session will include information about how to request a no-cost extension period and detailed information about the Final Performance Report that each grantee is required to file at the end of the grant performance period.

Click HERE or a complete conference description and registration information.

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With the 2013 GEAR UP Capacity-Building Workshop (CBW) just around the corner, it is a good idea to get registered before the holidays!

The dates for the upcoming CBW are February 3 – 6, 2013 – at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. To learn about the tracks for the conference, the schedule and the hotel, click here.

The daily learning tracks at NCCEP’s Capacity-Building Workshop are designed to provide information and practical tips and tools that you and your GEAR UP team can incorporate into your current projects. There is also time to network with fellow GEAR UP professionals from other projects to hear about ways to strengthen GEAR UP programming. Roundtables are offered as another venue to explore ideas with colleagues in a smaller, informal setting. In keeping with the Capacity-Building Workshop approach, the general sessions provide both a networking time and a chance to hear speakers elaborate on the key issues facing higher education and the GEAR UP community today.

You don’t want to miss out on this valuable learning experience. I hope to see you in February at the CBW!

Nathan Monell, CAE
President & CEO
National Council for Community and Education Partnerships

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On Tuesday July 24, members of the GEAR UP community held a briefing on capitol hill entitled: GEAR UP: The College Access Program that Drives Education and Economic Success in Your Community. The briefing, hosted by NCCEP, was convened to share success stories and to learn why GEAR UP is widely viewed as the most effective solution for increasing academic achievement, high school graduation rates, college enrollment rates, and economic development in high poverty communities.

Congressman Chaka Fattah (PA‐2)

Congressman Ruben Hinojosa (TX‐15)

Lisa Brady Gill, Texas Instruments (invited)

Shelley Davis, Director, California GEAR UP

Hector Garza, Alumnus from Texas Region One ESC GEAR UP

Joshua Sparks, Alumnus from GEAR UP Kentucky

Nathan R. Monell, Executive Director, NCCEP (Moderator)

As one of the featured speakers, California GEAR UP Director Shelley Davis shared the success of GEAR UP in California and also how GEAR UP is addressing the state’s education challenges. Here is an excerpt:

In our state, the challenges for achieving educational equity are unprecedented. Funding for K-12 public schools remains a critical challenge while tuition and fees for postsecondary education continues to rise. The nearly four million students who are Latino or African-American have a 1 in 20 chance of graduating from a California public university. Clearly, our prosperity is dependent on us changing these odds. With an increasingly diverse student population and an ever widening achievement gap, the GEAR UP mandate to serve low-income students in high poverty communities – most of whom are African-American and Latino –positions us to address this challenge 24 hours a day every day.

In California, GEAR UP funds have supported the State grant and over 50 partnership projects since 1999. The California State grant was funded for its third six-year cycle on October 1, 2011. Working in partnership with other college access programs and initiatives, our program goal is: 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 — counselors, faculty, school leaders and families –who influence middle school students.

We believe that with enhanced organizational capacity, schools will be able to educate all students to the high levels of mastery required for college admission and graduation as well as for the increasingly technological world where the contributions of graduates are needed for both individual and societal benefit.

The briefing included testimony from student alumnus and representatives Fattah and Hinojosa, all sharing the power and impact GEAR UP has and continues to have across the country in creating a college-going culture.

For more information on GEAR UP success stories, check out the GEAR UP Works! blog prepared by NCCEP.

The 2012 NCCEP/GEAR UP Capacity-Building Workshop provides professional development and strategic planning activities for new and experienced GEAR UP professionals to effectively meet their project goals and objectives. Most importantly, the Capacity Building Workshop is a unique opportunity to have your GEAR UP team learn and explore new concepts together, developing common strategies to positively impact the valuable college access work at your program sites. The Capacity-Building Workshop will address issues pertaining to STEM, parent engagement, meeting the needs of Rural schools, evaluation, and much more. The Capacity-Building Workshop is designed and coordinated by the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP) and planned in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education.

This year’s Capacity-Building Workshop is different from the NCCEP/GEAR UP Annual Conference in that participants register for a specific strand each day over the three-day event. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore different topics during the workshop sessions, as well as the opportunity to participate in lively dialogue during Wednesday’s roundtables.

The conference is also a valuable professional development and education tool for long time GEAR UP folks as well as first time attendees. Here are some quick tips to get the most out of this year’s National Conference:

• Help make the conference dynamic: participate and ask questions during sessions and share your successes.
• Attend panels and workshops you wouldn’t normally attend, you will be surprised how this sparks new thinking.
• Connect and converse: get to know fellow GEAR UP community members and learn about their program.
• Make a plan. Focus on the purpose of the conference “Linking Programs, Practice and Policy”. How does this pertain to you?
• Take notes and collect resources like business cards and sponsor materials.
• Follow up-to-the-minute conference news and information on the California GEAR UP blog and Twitter. http://castategearup.org/blog ::http://twitter.com/CAGEARUP
• Have fun!

One of the highlights of this year’s national conference was the Gearing Up for Excellence Youth Leadership Summit. Gearing Up for Excellence has been working with GEAR UP programs and NCCEP since 2003 to provide youth training, teacher development, and professional speakers. Some of the highlights of this years National Conference YLS can be seen on their website HERE.

GEAR UP isn’t about just one thing that happens just one time and then you are on your own. It’s 5,6,7 year commitment not simply offering, but maximizing from the available resources.

Having worked with tens of thousands GEAR UP students from 60 + cohorts, our belief is that while they have a lot to learn (in order to get to College), they have even more to teach us.

Justin Boudreau – Executive Director

Gearing Up for Excellence primary focus is that the students gain experience and learn skills that they can apply everyday, in the real world.

Today’s GEAR UP students are preparing for an increasingly competitive and ever-changing global environment. YLS and GEAR UP believe students need to be better equipped to perform well in the academic, workplace and social settings in order to succeed in college and beyond.

What kinds of youth leadership activities are you doing with your GEAR UP students?

At this years NCCEP/GEAR UP National Conference, University of Texas Pan American GEAR UP student Lazaro Leal was presented a $1,000 scholarship from Texas Instruments to the higher education institution of his choice. As you might be able to tell from the photos, he wasn’t aware he was getting the award and was extremely surprised.

The TI Insider program is a secure online community where students provide feedback to TI Education Technology about products, programs, etc.  The students who participate are nominated by their teachers and must complete an application process.  This online community currently had approximately 300 members.

Yet another great story of GEAR UP and Texas Instruments changing lives forever.

For more information on Texas Instruments Insiders, contact Terri Grosh tgrosh@ti.com.

Chad Foster, best selling author and nationally acclaimed speaker addressed the crowd on our last day of this years national conference. He shared with the crowd the importance of imparting students with 21st Century Skills. Other key thoughts:

• Students must understand the connection what they are being asked to learn and how that content will apply to their workplace journeys later in life.
• If education is about knowledge, then preparation must be all about skills.
• It is essential that all students be exposed to the essential 21st century skills they will need to succeed.
• It is equally important that these skills be taught in an engaging environment where students will have the greatest chance of acquiring these critical skills.
• All skills must be learned and skills only improve if they are practiced.

UPDATE:

We had time to chat with the Mexican delegation who are visiting from the international offices in Mexico. You can read their updates on their blog: http://nccepgearup2010.blogspot.com/

UPDATE:

Attended todays GEAR UP state directors meeting today. Here is what Shelley Davis had to say:

The Directors meeting was a provocative dialogue and exchange of ideas and planning for the upcoming grant cycle. The session was driven by key questions to encourage and solicit full audience participation. It was especially helpful to have James Davis, Acting Director of Teacher and Student Development and Program Officer McNeil join us for this discussion.

Shelley Davis, Director, CA GEAR UP

We also visited our friends at Shasta college presenting on their excellent GUTS University student services program. GUTS is a 3 week comprehensive summer program that combines academics, career exploration, leadership, and character development. See a slideshow HERE.

UPDATE:

Another great program is SLiCK (student leadership inspired by Consuelo Kickbusch) presented by CoolSpeak. They engage students with combination of:

• motivational presentations
• team building
• small group discussion
• individual personal development assignments.

Share with us your insights on these topics or if you attended the conference and have stories to share.

The flagship program in NCCEP’s Youth Services programming is the Youth Leadership Summit. In an effort to include student perspectives and the opinions of young people, NCCEP created national opportunities for youth to participate in the NCCEP/GEAR UP Annual Conference. More than 200 GEAR UP high school students have participated in the Youth Leadership Summit since the inception of the program in 2003. NCCEP has been partnering with GEAR UP for Excellence to present the Summit since 2005.

Blending leadership development with the experience of participating in a professional conference, the Summit teaches participants how to be advocates for their schools and communities, empowering them to become the voice for their peers. Youth leaders, known as GEAR UP Scholars, work together to compile a Summit report focused on what educators should consider as they design strategies and programs for increasing student achievement.

The culmination of the Summit, and the highlight of the NCCEP/GEAR UP Annual Conference, is the presentation of the report to the conference attendees. For a half an hour, the Scholars are given the stage to voice their opinions and share their ideas. Conference attendees frequently comment that the Summit report brings a fresh and energized perspective that reminds them why they became engaged in the education arena.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO!  YLS 2010

The National Council for Community and Education Partnerships has established the Dr. Peter A. Dual International Fellowship Program in honor of NCCEP founding board member and chairman, who was a champion of providing students and young professionals the experience of global education.

The program was created to develop research projects and education initiatives that will better prepare students to operate in a global society. As part of the NCCEP mission, this project seeks to expand education opportunities for low income students and their families in the US and Mexico, as well as other countries.

The fellowship will be awarded to recent college graduates and young professionals who plan to become engaged with international education development and implementation.

Applications will be accepted from individuals within the US, Mexico, and other countries in which NCCEP has an international presence. For more information contact marianafranco@edpartnerships.org or visit the website.

Long time GEAR UP champion Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island received an award for Educational Achievement this morning and spoke about education reform efforts in his home state, including investment in community colleges and technical schools.

The key note speaker was Ruby Payne, best selling author of “A Framework for Understanding Poverty”. She shared her insights on the “hidden rules of poverty” as well as:

• The knowledge that is taken for granted are the hidden rules of that socioeconomic class.
• Characteristics that make generational poverty different from situational poverty.
• Support systems that can be used in schools to help students of poverty.
• Relationships are significant motivators in poverty and therefore can lead to achievement for students.

The highlight of the morning was the GEAR UP Parent Leadership Awards sponsored by CollegeEd.

More to come as the day unfolds. Looking forward to the lunch plenary as I understand there will be some surprises!

UPDATE:

Sessions we attended today:

• “How to get male students in college and keep them out of trouble” (hint: you involve them early in the college process)
• “Self determination: A strategy for enhancing postsecondary outcomes for students with disabilities.”  (hint: you prepare them for a non-structured environment and start early)
• “Successful transitions from middle to high school”  (hint: use student academic-year clubs and articulation strategies)

UPDATE:

The last function of the day is the Movie at 8, which premiered “El Juego Perfecto“. Based on a true story, in 1957 a ragtag, shoeless group of poor kids in Mexico shocked the world by winning 13 games in a row and won the Little League World Series. The encounter many adversities along the way to Williamsport, PA for the championship game. A really heartening movie that was attended by many. Check out the trailer HERE.