Increasing Student success through community partnerships and school college access teams

1. SREB Go Alliance April 25, 2019 Increasing Student success through community partnerships and school college access teams Kevin Edwards, Program Coordinator Duane Gregg, GEAR UP TN Project Director

2. A shift from being the Lone Ranger to the Power of Collective Impact

4. Cumberland Gap High School College Signing Day!

5. Teamwork!Developing a College-Going Culture through school and community partnerships. Step 1. Obtain and develop the necessary support from school and school system administrators. Step 2. Create and develop school-level college access teams and community-wide steering committees. Step 3. Educate and train them to engage in and support the work in college access and success.

6. Buy-in and Engagement What are our common goals? • How are the goals of your schools, principals, counselors, and teachers aligned with your college access and college and career readiness goals? • Where can collaboration take place in our schools and community? • What are the goals of the local businesses, industries, and postsecondary institutions and how is that aligned to the goals at our high schools? Teamwork is simply just a team collaborating with each other to reach a common goal.

7. All Steering Committees and College Access Teams are trained according to out goals, objectives, and GEAR UP TN Framework

8. Partnerships • Community Partnerships:Every GEAR UP TN Collaborative is required to form a community-wide College Access Steering Committee that focuses on project sustainability, resource development, building new partnerships, and expanding a college-going culture in direct-service schools. These committees are composed of 10-20 individuals, and they meet 2-4 times per year. The individuals come from many different places within the community including K-12, local higher education institutions including technical schools, non-profit organizations, local government offices, businesses and industries, foundations, and student and parent groups. • School Leadership Teams: We have also supported our GEAR UP sites in forming, training, and coordinating a team of teachers, counselors, staff, and administrators at each school (middle and high schools) whose focus is to support the school’s college-going culture and to be active and engaged in the schools’ efforts to develop college and career ready graduates. These individuals meet 3-4 times per year and focus on topics such as FAFSA completion, College Application and Career Exploration Week, College Signing Day, mentoring of students, and teaching college and career readiness “soft” skills.

9. Community Partnerships Focused on Increasing College Access and Readiness • GEAR UP Community Steering Committees • Chamber of Commerce and their Members • Education Foundation • Local Businesses • Non-Profit organizations • Postsecondary Institutions including Vocational/Technical Schools • College Access Organizations • Military Recruiters • Local and State Government Agencies • School Faculty and Administrators • Students and Alumni • Parents • Churches • United Way • Banks • Juvenile Court and/or Drug Programs • Service Organizations (Kiwanis, Lions, Optimists) • 4-H Extension Service • Local Media (Newspaper, Radio, and Television) • Hospitals

10. Outcomes from Community Partnerships and GEAR UP Steering Committees • Over 450 community partners serving 18 different communities across the state each year. • Over 550 members of the communities trained as mentors and serving over 5000 students annually. • 140 + college campus visits throughout the 18 counties each year • 100 + job site visits each year • Over $100,000 in new scholarships offered to students from the community groups because of these relationships • Over 3.5 million dollars donated through in-kind match each year • $250,000 in equipment donated to the schools from local businesses and industries last year • $50,000 donated in cash by local businesses to support travel and meals for campus visits • 400 plus local career speakers provided to the schools annually • Adulting 101 simulation game offered across the state with 20+ community volunteers each time

11. School College Access Leadership Teams Focused on Increasing College Access and Readiness • Teams Developed • FAFSA, Financial Aid, and Financial Literacy • ACT/SAT Test Prep • Writing Teams (Resumes, College and Scholarship Applications, etc.) • College Application Teams • Middle School College Access Teams • Soft Skills Development • Career and Technical Education Teams

12. Outcomes from School College Access Teams in Tennessee • Path to College Events (College Signing Day, College App Week, FAFSA Frenzy, and College Planning Night) – Participation from 716 schools in Tennessee last year • FAFSA filing rates have increased over 20 % in the last 5 years to 85 % of all GEAR UP TN seniors in 2017-2018 • College-Going rates have increased over 10 % across GEAR UP TN schools during the 2012 GEAR UP Grant • 88 % of GEAR UP TN seniors completed the TN Promise Scholarship application in 2017-2018 to receive 2 years of community college or technical college in Tennessee tuition free • 76 % of GU students had a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher at the end of their junior year compared to 44 % of the comparison group • 94 % of GEAR UP TN students expect to go to college and 93 % of their parents expect them to go • 83 % of the faculty and administrators at GEAR UP TN schools participated in GU sponsored PD and college access and success student services

13. Action Items for Developing an Effective Steering Committee • Learn about the need and the objective • Determine your elevator speech • Access internal and external resources • Get help with identifying members • Define the ask • Make initial contact via email, mail or phone • Follow –up – send information and dates • Find people that want to make an impact in the community and always make good use of their time

14. Activity: Assessing your school’s college going culture and climate • College-Going Culture Assessment • *Adapted from CFWV • Instructions: Use this assessment to analyze and start a discussion about the college-going culture in your school. For each statement, write a score (1-3) for your school using the following scale: • We are already doing this: 3 • We could do this easily with a little effort: 2 • This would require a major change and a lot of time: 1 • Rigor • ___ Academics are recognized as the number one priority in your school and academic achievement is considered a universal point of pride. • ___ All students are encouraged to challenge themselves academically and take rigorous course work. All students are counseled on the importance of taking rigorous classes in middle school (and later, in high school) to prepare for post-secondary education. • ___ Student work is highly visible in school and there are opportunities to showcase a wide variety of learning experiences. • ___ Counselors at your school have a close working relationship with their counterparts at area elementary, middle, and high schools. • Reach Higher • ___ All students are expected to pursue some form of postsecondary education and that expectation is conveyed clearly with support from school personnel. • ___ Teachers generally believe that all students can achieve in higher academic level classes when the appropriate strategies and support structures are put into place • ___ To your educators, administrators, and staff, the term “college” means any education and training after high school, including certificate programs, career and technical programs, apprenticeships, two-year degree programs, four-year degree programs, or military training • ___ To your students and parents, the term “college” means any education and training after high school, including certificate programs, career and technical programs, apprenticeships, two-year degree programs, four-year degree programs, or military training

15. Activity: Assessing your Community Partnerships

16. Best Practices • Host steering committee meetings at schools, post–secondary Institutions, local businesses, and non-profits in the area • Define Steering Committee Goals and Objectives prior to each meeting • Set meeting dates as early as possible • Be flexible with your scheduling • 7:00 a.m. breakfast meeting or 12:00 p.m. lunch meeting • You will be inviting busy people to participate on your steering committee. Make sure that the meetings will always be a good use of their time. • Use the meetings to tell them about current goals, objectives, and initiatives; but also use the meetings to seek their input and active help and support.

17. Shared Visions for Success

18. Shared Visions for Success

20. Discussion

21. Kevin Edwards, Program Coordinator, Tennessee Higher Education Commission Kevin.Edwards@tn.gov 615-741-1318 Duane Gregg, GEAR UP TN Project Director, Tennessee Higher Education Commission Duane.Gregg@tn.gov 865-206-7071 Thank you