California GEAR UP Welcomes 45 Middle Schools

California GEAR UP has selected 45 middle schools to continue their efforts to develop a college-going culture with California GEAR UP. These schools participated in school-site sessions that included an orientation to GEAR UP, facilitation on school perceptions and attitudes with the school Leadership Team, and website training on available resources by Regional Coordinators. During the spring Planning Phase the schools also sent staff members to other professional development trainings: principals attended the Principals Institute in Oakland while academic counseling staff and teachers attended one of the four Counseling Institutes. Each school also established a baseline for evaluation by completing a school survey in February.

The first off-site workshops will occur in October 2009 with the Principal and Leadership Team Institute at which the Leadership Team members will begin using the School-Self Assessment Rubric (SSAR) to determine their school progress on six criteria. From this self- assessment, Leadership Team members will create a Professional Development Action Plan (PDAP) with a budget for GEAR UP. Through professional readings and dialogue focusing on school practices, Leadership Team members will gain knowledge of tested strategies that improve the academic skills of students and close the achievement gap.

GEAR UP also provides two programs that support family engagement at schools. The Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE), a GEAR UP partner, will contact schools to schedule a series of workshops for families, provided in the language of the parents. The Family Initiatives Project (FIP) will contact selected schools to arrange workshops or a Family University Day event, targeting English-speaking and African-American families.

The California GEAR UP staff is excited to be working with middle school staff, parents and community leaders who have already demonstrated a commitment to instituting a college-going culture at their schools. The two-year intensive program for the following 45 schools begins September 1, 2009 and continues through September 2011: