school-based services
COMPONENTS
Criteria to participate
Middle Schools with at least 51% of students receiving free or reduced price lunch may apply to be a GEAR UP school.
School Leadership Team
The principal and members of the school team lead the effort to realize their school vision. The team includes the principal, a counselor, mathematics teacher, English/language arts teacher, and a parent leader. Frequently the Title I Coordinator, counseling administrator, and partnership coordinator are members.
Regional Coordinator
A GEAR UP staff person provides on-site guidance and support to schools and serves as liaison with GEAR UP partners. The Regional Coordinator helps to clarify expectations and monitor school progress.
School Site Contact
The Site Contact is the primary school contact with the Regional Coordinator and Leadership Team, providing communication about GEAR UP resources and services to school site staff. This person and Leadership Team members also inform others in the school community about GEAR UP.
TOOLS
School Self-Assessment Rubric (SSAR)
The SSAR is an assessment tool used by the School Leadership Team to measure progress towards developing a college-going culture and becoming an effective middle school community. This tool promotes visible shared goals and helps to identify staff expectations. [View form] [SSAR Tally Form]
The SSAR identifies six conditions of a college-going culture as:
- Development of a College-Going Culture
- Rigorous Academic Curriculum
- High Quality Teaching
- Intensive Academic and College-Going Support
- Multicultural College-Going Identity
- Family-Neighborhood-School Supports
At the Fall Institute, each Leadership Team member reviews the SSAR and makes a determination of where the school is now. The assessments are discussed to see where the agreements and differences are, and a school profile is created. Schools rate themselves each year on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 representing a model program. This process of guided discussion and reflection promotes the beginning of a shared vision, the identification and coordination of resources, and the use of student data to develop and implement a unified schoolwide plan.
Professional Development Action Plan (PDAP)
GEAR UP provides resources to ensure progress on the elements identified on the School Self-Assessment Rubric. [PDAP Template] [PDAP Sample Chart Cohort A] [2007-2008 PDAP Guidelines]
Based on the SSAR process to determine priorities, the School Leadership Team prepares a PDAP for the current year with guidance from the Regional Coordinator. California GEAR UP provides a professional development budget and links schools to the partner services by providing training opportunities at no cost. The school uses the discretionary funds to pay for classroom substitutes for teachers to attend the workshops, institutes, conferences, or summer trainings. Funds may also be used for stipends for staff doing after school, intersession or summer planning on GEAR UP goals.
SUMMARY
Each GEAR UP school receives annual discretionary funding to participate in professional development activities that promote a college-going culture.[View Summary of School-Based Services 2007-2008]
[View School-Based Services Information for 2006-2008 Schools]
ACTIVITIES
Planning Phase Orientation
During the Spring Planning Phase, the School-Based Manager and Regional Coordinator provide an orientation for all members of the School Leadership Team at the school site. The school team informs GEAR UP staff of their current vision and expectations. Statewide GEAR UP resources are shared, including newsletters, the California GEAR UP website, the Resources and Materials Clearinghouse, workshops, training Institutes and Forums, and conferences. In addition, two school site training sessions occur for the Leadership Team, one on assessing staff perceptions regarding a college-going culture and the other on use of the Clearinghouse. The last event is the Principals’ Institute.
[View Spring 2009 Planning Phase]
Principals’ Institute
The Principals’ Institute is convened at the end of the Planning Phase to focus on leadership skills for middle school principals. As instructional leaders, principals are responsible for identifying high quality professional development opportunities for their teaching staff; ensuring resources are available to support the participation of school staff and families; and, creating a culture of learning, predicated on professional development opportunities that build strong teams.
Institutes and Forums
Strategic planning sessions are the core of Institutes and Forums involving all School Leadership Team members, Regional Coordinators, GEAR UP staff, and partners. The two-day fall Institute uses the SSAR and offers strategies and techniques for focusing on the school-determined needs. It provides opportunities to learn about successes and challenges from other school teams. During January and February, the Forum provides additional opportunity for the School Leadership Team to work on the SSAR conditions and plan for implementation of their PDAP goals. Trained facilitators provide direction.
Counseling Institute
A series of Middle School Counseling Institutes are held throughout the state to encourage counselors in their role as college advocates and to strengthen awareness about the importance of academic planning for all students and families. Counseling staffs from GEAR UP participating middle schools and neighboring middle schools, which may be non-GEAR UP schools, are invited to participate. The institute also supports the involvement of faculty from local high schools.
Educational Trust Awards
Each participating GEAR UP school selects a designated number of students for the Educational Trust awards of $2,000 each. These awards are deposited in a trust account, earning interest, until the students enroll in college. The awards are accessed through the California Student Aid Commission.
Facilitation Services
School-specific services are provided by GEAR UP staff. By request, trained facilitators work with school teams and staff at planned retreats and/or staff meetings to accelerate progress in areas determined by the SSAR analysis.
Family Engagement
The Parent Institute for Quality Education conducts a nine-week seminar series for families at every GEAR UP school, culminating in a graduation ceremony. Their services are adapted to the needs of the school community and provided in the language of the parents. Their facilitators recruit families and lead these dialogue-based family sessions at the school site.
 
The Family Initiatives Project offers five-week sessions at selected schools based on the need for family programming strategies to enhance the participation of English speaking families at California GEAR UP schools. Schools take the lead in making community connections to ensure full participation. GEAR UP facilitators lead the interactive sessions. [View sample FIP flyer]
      
Continuing Sustainability Project
The Continuing Sustainability Project develops and implements long-term strategies to maintain the active participation of middle schools with California GEAR UP and to chart the sustainability of program initiatives towards the development of a college-going culture. Two workshops and a planning meeting for facilitation are provided annually for the selected schools. [View CSP Outcomes] [View CSP services]
School Recognition Project
The School Recognition Project is an initiative to engage and challenge GEAR UP schools in their efforts to develop a college-going culture and to provide opportunities for sharing and rewarding successes. Selected “Schools On The Move” will present best practices from their schools, as defined by the six conditions of the School Self-Assessment Rubric (SSAR) at the Institutes and Community Conferences, and be featured in newsletters and on the website. The project also engages student Educational Trust Award recipients in the GEAR UP program.
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