|
|
 |
The
primary mission of LA GEAR UP is to elevate the academic achievement
of low-income students, leading to broader success in school,
college, and careers. This challenging goal requires implementation
of multifaceted
initiatives, as summarized below: |
 |
 Core
goals include elevated learning through improvements in the
quality of instruction in mathematics, science, and English
language arts (ELA), along with enhanced school counseling.
Core strategies focus on intensive and continuing professional
development in each of these areas, combined with deepening
and sustaining reform efforts through the development of professional
learning communities in schools.
Principal investigators for LA GEAR UP professional development
projects are finding insights derived from ACT’s Educational
Planning and Assessment System (EPAS) especially attractive.
EPAS tests given at the eighth- and tenth-grade levels (Explore
and Plan), are closely articulated with the ACT traditionally
given to eleventh and twelfth graders. The Board of Regents
pays for all public schools to participate in EPAS. Data derived
from EPAS may be disaggregated and insights may be focused in
a manner that guides professional development for teachers and
enhances academic curriculum and financial counseling for students.
LA GEAR UP’s professional development initiatives in science,
mathematics, ELA, and counseling are currently being designed
- utilizing EPAS data - to engage affected personnel at each
LA GEAR UP school.
Click Here for more
information> |
 |
 Comprehensive
student and parent support initiatives reinforce classroom instruction,
broaden parent and student horizons, and institutionalize family
commitments to learning. They emphasize that success in college
is an expected and logical result of middle and high school
achievement. Excellence in classroom teaching, a prerequisite
for student achievement, cannot alone overcome the home and
community barriers that block the progression of many low-income
students to college. These parent/student projects focus on
encouraging nurturing home environments, exposing students to
broader cultural opportunities, enriching learning experiences,
and cultivating the desire to learn and excel. The LA GEAR UP
staff has already discussed reform initiatives at a variety
of parent and community meetings. Some summer camp and college
connection activities will engage both students and parents.
The Rewards for Success program, which provides college savings
for selected students, will award merit rating points for parental
involvement. LA GEAR UP is collaborating closely with the Louisiana
Office of Student Financial Assistance to arrange financial
aid workshops for parents. The LA GEAR UP newsletter will be
sent directly into the homes of students and parents. Parents
are among the constituencies targeted in LA GEAR UP's partnership
effort with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory’s
(LIGO) proposal to the National Science Foundation (NSF) for
an educational Outreach Center. |
 |
The
Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance (LOSFA) will
host parent and student financial aid workshops at LA GEAR
UP schools during spring 2003. These workshops will provide
information about TOPS requirements, the core curriculum,
the Louisiana Student Tuition And Revenue Trust program (the
START Savings Program), other types of aid, and how to qualify
for each type of financial assistance. Contact Diane Pedigo,
dpedigo@laregents.org.
Students will have a chance to "earn" additional
college funds via a unique adaptation of the START Savings
Program, called Rewards for Success (RFS). RFS encourages
and rewards behaviors that research shows translate into success
in college: academic achievement, student responsibility,
and parental involvement. Awards will be made annually to
promising students. The specific criteria upon which these
awards will be based are still under development and will
be distributed to students and parents before the current
academic year ends.
Click Here for more information>
|
 |
The
success or failure of LA GEAR UP is directly dependent on sustaining
the reform effort through effective collaboration with key partners.
In recognition of this goal, the LaSIP Council has approved
the integration of LaSIP and LA GEAR UP's staffs into a single
program. The EPAS program, supported by the Board of Regents,
forms the basis for LA GEAR UP's professional development initiatives.
Further, LaSIP and LA GEAR UP have engaged the LDE staff in
fruitful meetings pertaining to integrated school planning,
the Learning-Intensive Networking Communities for Success (LINCS)
program, the Distinguished Educators program, and 21st Century
Learning Center proposals.
Other collaborations are wide-ranging. As noted above, LA GEAR
UP has partnered with LIGO in its proposal to NSF for an Outreach
Center. LA GEAR UP has submitted an AmeriCorps proposal to the
Louisiana Serve Commission which, if successful, will result
in the assignment of two AmeriCorps members to each of the twenty-five
LA GEAR UP schools. LA GEAR UP will coordinate a variety of
initiatives with the GEAR UP Partnership programs at LSU and
SLU. Discussions are underway with the ULL System to explore
possibilities of mentoring by college students for LA GEAR UP
students. The Louisiana Association of Non-Profit Organizations
(LANO) has provided invaluable insights in LA GEAR UP's efforts
to engage community organizations. LaSIP has joined with partners
from LSU, Southern University, and school partners in five parishes
to propose a five-year Math and Science Partnership to NSF.
Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) is assisting in developing
strategies to broaden public awareness and disseminate information.
The Southwest Development Educational Laboratory (SEDL) has
conducted a feasibility study leading to establishment of technology
pilot sites at three schools. Early discussions have been held
with researchers at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center
regarding a proposal to the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
to study issues of obesity and diet among students and parents
at LA GEAR UP schools.
Public and private, school and college, in-state and out-of-state,
LA GEAR UP will continue to seek and embrace additional partners
who share the common vision of transforming under-performing
schools.
A summary of LA GEAR UP's special collaborations with the Louisiana
Office of Student Financial Assistance (LOSFA) are noted in
3 above. |
|
|
