GEAR UP is at risk of being reduced or cut completely, and it is time to act. But do you get queasy when you receive our calls to action?  Do you feel others are better qualified to do this in your stead?  Do you think your actions won’t really make a difference?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, then please read on.   Over the coming days GEAR UP and TRIO supporters will be calling Washington to save our programs.

• Wednesday, July 13 – U.S. House of Representatives
• Thursday, July 14 – U.S. Senate
• Tuesday, July 19 – White House

Informing Public Policy vs. Lobbying So, you’re not allowed to lobby you say?  We’ll let you in on a little secret:  advocating for GEAR UP is not lobbying. Lobbying is an act that attempts to influence specific legislation.  Advocacy is educating and informing the public policy process.  As a leader in your community, you are in a unique position to inform public policy based on what you have learned in the course of developing and executing your GEAR UP grant.  Advocating gives you the opportunity to boast on the remarkable impact GEAR UP is having in your community or state.

Overcoming the dread of reaching out Meeting with or calling your elected officials can be nerve-racking, but as you’ll see, you have nothing to fear.  Firstly, Members of Congress never answer their office’s main line, so you can take that out of the equation.  Interns, usually young college students or recent graduates, man the telephones to take messages or redirect calls.  Most of the times, they are very nice and will be happy to be of assistance to you. Here is what you do:

1. Search who your legislators are here.
2. Call your House Representative via the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
3. Deliver the message: “Tell [LEGISLATOR NAME] not to cut GEAR UP in FY 2012!”
4. Find five other people to do the same!

VERY IMPORTANT: While you are doing this, remember: they are normal people, just like you and me.  They have good and bad days, and they might be as terrified of speaking to you, as you are of them.  There’s no need to be nervous.  Be your courteous self!

Believing in yourself – You ARE the professional This is the most important part.  Who knows your community and the work that you are doing, inside and out?  Besides you, nobody.  No one can match your passion when you speak about your work.  No one has as much “skin in the game” as you.  And, when you speak, it feels real.  Real – That’s what officials and their staff appreciate the most.  It’s a rarity in the fast-paced-political world they live in.  Your voice matters, above all the noise, because of its realness.  So make sure your voice is reaching their ears, and reach out to them.  Oh, you don’t believe me?  Well, research by the Partnership for a More Perfect Union clearly shows that “citizens have more power than they realize.”  Just imagine what you can accomplish, as the GEAR UP professional from your community or state?

Believing in your community – You ARE the leader Strength in numbers, you’d think that does the trick most of the times, right?  Actually, it only works if people have somebody they can follow, and you’re it!  As a natural leader in you community, people will follow you and we’ll be there to support you.  Making change requires community leadership to inform public policy.  You have the tools, so share our calls to action with all your stakeholders: students, parents, teachers, school staff and partners, and get them involved.  They’ll make your load lighter, that’s for sure!  And, they are also key in getting your Members of Congress’ attention.

Your ability to inform public policy will affect GEAR UP’s overall success in these challenging times. I’m sure we can count on you to reach out to your Members of Congress and get your whole community engaged in moving GEAR UP forward!  For reminders and updates stay tuned to our blog, Twitter, and Facebook.

Valley High School in Elk Grove, CA, a California GEAR UP school, celebrated last night as 94% of their senior class (the GEAR UP cohort) walked across the stage and received their diplomas. The atmosphere in the room was electric, as the seniors, their families, and school staff enjoyed a near perfect graduation rate.

The California GEAR UP-Valley High School model focuses on a cohort of low-income students who began in Grade 7 at Jackman Middle School in 2005-2006 and who matriculated to Valley High School in 2007-2008. For 2009-10, services for the cohort of 11th graders expanded to include support for AVID classes, College Fairs, College and Career Technical school visits, College Awareness classes and Leadership Skills Initiative curriculum specific to the African-American male students in the cohort. With a continued focus on developing the college-going culture throughout the school community, GEAR UP has been able to reach the entire school, not just the students within the cohort.

To read more on the achievements of Valley High School-California GEAR UP collaboration, click HERE.

Doing What Works is a collaboration 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.

Find out more HERE.

• 256 middle schools across half the state’s counties in which at least 51 percent of the students are eligible for the free- or reduced-lunch program in order to develop a college-going culture
• 270,000 middle school students who have benefited from program services
• Significant increases in the proportion of cohort students in the 11th grade cohort (Valley High School , Elk Grove, CA) scoring Proficient or Advanced on the California Standards Test in English/Language Arts, Algebra 2, Geometry, and Chemistry above the previous class of eleventh graders (16.5%, 100%, 12.5%, and 22.6% respectively)
• Over 59 percent of Education Trust Awardees who have graduated from high school enrolled in college; the statewide average in 2008 was 45.3 percent.

The full report is available on our website HERE

The National Council for Community and Education Partnerships host the 2011 NCCEP/GEAR UP Annual conference entitled Unlocking Potential: Bridge to the Future. This conference will convene GEAR UP and other college access professionals, as well as their partners for informative concurrent sessions, exciting speakers, and valuable networking opportunities.

At the conference, GEAR UP practitioners will have the opportunity to learn from the U.S. Department of Education, NCCEP staff, foundation and corporate partners, and each other. The majority of concurrent sessions are led directly by GEAR UP professionals sharing their strongest programs, most successful partnerships, and best institutional practices. The event also serves as an important gathering for all college access professionals—particularly those who coordinate their efforts with GEAR UP programs; and local, state, and federal policy makers who want to learn more about creating and sustaining K–16 education/community collaboratives designed to improve public education and promote student success.

Since 1999, 5,065 California GEAR UP students have received Education Trust Awards from the program. Education Trust Awards provide $2,000 (plus interest) in resources to defray the costs of college attendance. Award recipients are selected by school personnel at California GEAR UP middle schools. The awards are available to students within one year of high school graduation and upon college enrollment.

For more information, including downloadable forms, frequently asked questions, please visit our website

If you have an Education Trust Award story to share, please email us at: Gear-Up@csac.ca.gov

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan held a round table discussion at California GEAR UP distinguished school Tincher Prep in Long Beach. The purpose of his visit was to learn best practices of the school and to hear how Tincher has been successful in creating distributed leadership and a school community working for the same goals.

Principal Bill Vogel said it best: “You give teachers choice in their professional development, you let them lead the direction of the school, and you let the school have discretion in how to best serve their students.” The teachers chose to participate in California GEAR UP three years ago.

“We need funds to keep programs and people” he said. “We need programs like GEAR UP, AVID, and funding for those programs.”

The secretary listened intently as administrators and teachers talked about the programs that make Tincher a success. Mr. Vogel and the staff repeated listed California GEAR UP as a key program in their development. The East Long Beach K-8 school, where more than 50 percent of the students are designated as disadvantaged, has been lauded for its gains in test scores and was named a “School to Watch” by the California Middle Grades Alliance in 2009.

For the rest of this article go the the blog

One of our many long lasting and successful statewide partnerships has been with UC Davis, EAOP (early academic outreach programs). We’ve worked with Director Timoteo Rico for years, and we had a chance to interview him as part of our ongoing partner spotlight series. Check out the full interview HERE.

Our partners support the California GEAR UP Statewide Dissemination Model expands California GEAR UP Program’s reach and promotes the college-going culture concept to the statewide audience. This dissemination is a key part of the program’s sustainability strategy so that lessons learned, effective practices developed, and resources created are infused into the state’s middle school reform movement.

To learn more about some of our partners, check out our website and blog spotlight series.

We’ve added three new videos to our video site that we think you will enjoy. The first is the message of support sent to us during our statewide Community Conferences from Congressman Chaka Fattah, the author and architect of GEAR UP. Another video entitled “Family Education” showcases much of the support California GEAR UP provides across the state. The “Leadership” video was put together from footage from our many statewide Principal and Leadership Institutes in which our schools come together to collaborate on successful best practices.

Please enjoy all of the videos here