College Staff Members Attend National Workshop
(Press Release 02-19-07)
Hank Mooney, Office of Public Information

Submitted story & photo

Four members of the Eastern Oklahoma State College GEAR UP for a Brighter Tomorrow team joined over 1,100 from across the nation as they attended the NCCEP/GEAR UP Capacity–Building Workshop 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia, February 11–14. The workshop is designed to help new and experienced GEAR UP professionals effectively meet their project goals and objectives through professional development and strategic planning activities. The Capacity–Building Workshop is coordinated by the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP) and is planned in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education.

The conference began early Sunday morning for Project Director Linda Morgan and Data Analyst Cheryl Roberts. They attended the NCCEP Evaluators Institute––101: The Basics of GEAR UP Evaluation Through a Team–based Approach workshop that included an introduction to the types of program evaluations their GEAR UP partnership should be taking; practical examples of ways of performing your GEAR UP evaluation; a foundational process for developing a team–based approach to evaluation work; an opportunity to interact with and learn from experienced GEAR UP evaluators; and materials and suggested topical resources for further exploration following the Institute.

Sunday afternoon, Professional Development Coordinator Ramona Buckner and Education Coordinator Nicole Cook attended a Documenting the GEAR UP Matching Funds workshop. The director of the Teacher and Student Development Service at the U.S. Department of Education provided a detailed review of the statutory and regulatory matching requirements for GEAR UP programs.

NCCEP President Hector Garza and NCCEP Executive Vice President Ranjit Sidhu addressed attendees throughout the conference. Attendees from across the nation meet to hone their grant implementation practices. In addition to the numerous workshops, opportunities were available for networking with colleagues.

The team attended various workshop tracks including GEAR UP Grant Administration: Strategies for Building Stronger GEAR UP Projects; Engaging Parents and Families for Student Success; and Maximizing GEAR UP’s Impact: Improving Student Outcomes through Research, Planning and Practice. Afternoons were spent attending various seminars including Everything You Wanted to Know About Indian Education But Were Afraid to Ask!; Washington Update; Using Marketing Techniques to Help Increase College Preparation; High School Transformation in Action!; Utilizing Out–of–School Time as a Key Resource in College Access; Unique Challenges and Opportunities in Rural Education Reform: Effective and Promising Practices in the Appalachian Region; and Creating College Access Centers.

The team also attended Fundraising Essentials; A Multipurpose Tool for Program Design, Improvement, Communication, and Evaluation: A Practical Approach to the Use of Logic Models in GEAR UP; Engaging Business Partners: Building Your Strategy On–Line; GEAR UP Evaluation & Research: Questions & Design; The Nuts & Bolts of Advocacy: A How–to Guide to Maximizing Impact, Influence, and Effectiveness; Building Successful Transition to High School Programs; and Data Collection for the GEAR UP Annual Performance Report (APR).

“The meeting was unbelievable,” said Roberts. “I learned so much about grant administration–the do’s and don’ts, shoulds and shouldn’ts. The networking was fantastic.”

Eastern Oklahoma State College received a $6.7 million federal GEAR UP grant and is in its first year of implementation. Eastern has partnered with 19 area schools to provide students with additional educational opportunities. The GEAR UP for a Brighter Tomorrow grant application was one of 27 selected nation–wide to receive funding.

Caption info:
Eastern Oklahoma State GEAR UP for a Brighter Tomorrow team members attended the NCCEP/GEAR UP Capacity–Building Workshop 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia, February 11–14. Attending were Professional Development Coordinator Ramona Buckner, Education Coordinator Nicole Cook, Project Director Linda Morgan, and Data Analyst Cheryl Roberts.