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!

A new report from SchoolsMovingUp discusses closing the achievement gap for hispanic students. Here are some of the recommendations:

Federal level:

• Recognize and share with colleagues that the majority of Hispanic children in ELL classes are U.S. citizens by birth
• Clearly define Limited English Proficient (LEP) and former LEP students in Title III of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
• Create a 50-state consortium to share best practices and develop common academic standards, assessment, and reclassification procedures
• Recommend teacher education policy to ensure all current teachers and teacher candidates learn about second language and literacy acquisition, reading across the content areas, and sheltered instruction and ESL methods
• Educate parents about college requirements and funding options for post-secondary education
• Educate and prepare students for various workforce opportunities in addition to traditional college options

State and local level:

• Introduce college awareness in middle school
• Coordinate in a comprehensive manner the policy and procedures in ELL placement, reclassification, and assessment;
• Call for transparency in ELL placement, assessment, reclassification, and aggregate public dissemination of the data
• Recognize and reduce disparities across schools in the quality, experience, credentials, and professional training of teaching staff
• Require objective data on the effectiveness of different instructional programs

SchoolsMovingUp, a WestEd initiative, helps schools and districts address the challenge of raising student achievement. In an interactive web format, SchoolsMovingUp offers resources to help education professionals make sound decisions and take action in their school reform efforts. You may remember our post on Doing What Works, also a WestEd initiative.

For the access to the entire report please visit SchoolsMovingUP.

New for our ‘Courageous Conversation’ and ‘Discussion’ catagories:

Our friends over at WestEd (thanks Sanjay) shared with us a great multi-media site that is a wonderful clearinghouse for research based education practices online. This site is a joint venture lead by the Department of Education to create an online library of resources that may help teachers, schools, districts, states and technical assistance providers implement research-based instructional practice.

What we at GEAR UP particularly like about this site is the well produced videos, slideshows, and information under each topic. It is hard to think of another website that has as much information and is as user friendly as Doing What Works.

One example that fits nicely into the organizational capacity building efforts of California GEAR UP is the topic of ‘Turning Around Chronically Low Performing Schools”. It has an easy to implement step-by-step process with multimedia presentation that makes it easy to share at Leadership Team meetings.

Check it out:

Signaling the Need for Dramatic Change With Strong Leadership

Here are the recommended best practices with video:

• Improved Leadership
  Signal the need for dramatic change with improved leadership.
• Focus on Instruction
  Maintain a consistent focus on improving instruction.
• Quick Wins
  Make visible improvements early in the school turnaround process.
• Committed Staff
  Build a staff committed to the turnaround process.

Here, from the California GEAR UP Community, we present proven practices, thought provokers, walk the talk, and other exemplary stories and articles of information for you to peruse. The idea is to stimulate or reframe the conversation during the next meeting in the teachers lounge, lunch break, supervision duty, staff meeting, conference or professional development or other gathering of your committed colleagues.

Share your thoughts, ideas, comments, or just give us a thumbs ‘up’ or ‘down’.

We want to hear from you.