|
|
|
|
August, 2016
by
GEAR UP Maine staff
|
|
|
Here is what we have included this month
(Don't forget to click "view entire message" at the bottom of this email to view all of our updates)
Bulletin Highlights
- GEAR UP Maine staff spotlight - Coleen Souza
- Scribe Article
- SCRIBE Tips & Tricks
- Resource of the Month - Saltmoney.org
- GEAR UP Maine Partner highlight - New Ventures Maine
- Summer Experience Transformational Story
Share your GEAR UP successes and challenges with us to share in Bulletins to come! Email Kayla@syntiro.org
Warmly,
The GEAR UP Maine Staff
|
|
August Must Do's
College Access Team Members (CATs)
- Update CAT membership
- College Access Plan
- Identify one GEAR UP Parent on your CAT to attend the parent leadership summit and share with your Regional facilitator
- Identify one GEAR UP student representative on your CAT to attend the student leadership summit and share with your Regional Facilitator.
- Identify one staff GEAR UP CAT member to attend the student/parent leadership summit and share with your Regional Faciliator
- Prep and Plan for National GEAR UP Week in September
- Establish and plan for financial awareness for students and families (completed prior to February 2017)
- Submit documentation to your Data Steward reflecting summer activity participation
Data Stewards
- Review, sign, and return the Data Stewards’ Responsibilities & Duties Acknowledgment.
- Read and save the document, Making Changes to Students after the 2016-17 Promotion to the Next Grade Level.
- Submit the Student Graduate Import File in a .csv format.
- Save the August updated copy of Common Services/Activities (service type categories) with examples from Maine district plans.
Business Managers
September Must Do's
College Access Team Members
- National GEAR UP Week Activities
- District monies must be expended by September 24th and invoiced in SCRIBE no later than October 24th
- Document activities completed and share with Data Manager
- CAT Lead identify and reach out to parent rep, student rep, and one additional GU eligible student for October 28 - 30 leadership summit. DUE OCTOBER 1, 2016
- Provide services/activities and receipt documentation to Data Stewards & Business Managers
Superintendents
- Contracts signed and submitted by September 16th
|
|
|
Get to Know Your GEAR UP Maine Staff
|
|
 Coleen Souza
Special Projects Assistant
coleen@syntiro.org
1.) The book I could read a hundred times over:
Eat, Pray, Love - it is very inspiring and empowering
2.) I would love to travel back to: My favorite place is Maine - especially the coast - I love the ocean. My next travel adventure will probably be a cruise.
3.) When I'm not working I'm: Spending time with my family.
Coleen is responsible for maintaining the overall efficiency of all office operations and keeps staff on task and on schedule. She brings previous office management experience to Syntiro/GEAR UP, including human resources, payroll, and administrative responsibilities. Coleen is an integral member of GEAR UP. She offers clear directives, vision and superb people skills. Her energy keeps the momentum going on Syntiro/GEAR UP initiatives. Coleen lives in Winthrop with her family. She looks forward to working on her bachelor's degree in Business Management in the near future.
|
|
An Exciting Survey Feature in SCRIBE! Conducting a survey is one of the easiest ways to collect meaningful data from your customers! In your 2016-17 GEAR UP action plan, you’ve developed a number of services and activities for your students, their families, and their teachers. How can you gauge the success of these services and activities? What’s your evidence? One method of documentation is a survey.
And, the good news is those surveys can be created in SCRIBE! Some of the features available:
- Use different question types
- Generate a report on completion rates
- Export results
- Extend the close date of the survey
- Administer online with any mobile device
- Run a Student Survey Results report – for all students, only one grade, etc.
- Analyze the results for student responses vs. student engagement in GEAR UP activities. Analyze by age, gender, etc.
- Customize your survey for different grade levels
- Create a survey this year and retrieve it for next year
You can create surveys for different groups:
- Parents
- Teachers
- Students
- School Personnel
If you want to learn more about surveys in SCRIBE, download one of their PDFs about surveys. There are some fabulous resources. Just go to Help>Online Support, then search for survey
|
|
For GEAR UP purposes, we do not need students’ parents’ names or addresses. To meet our federal report requirements, we DO need a way to calculate a student’s family’s participation. So, what to do?
SCRIBE has set up an automatic parent entry for each student. Yes, really!
For a student, FirstName=Grace LastName=Page, SCRIBE is now set up to show a Parent as FirstName="Grace's Parent" LastName="Page".
Here’s an example from the demo site of how it will look:
(click on the image below to view it larger as a PDF)
Can you add more family members? Absolutely, if the additional data are something you want to track in GEAR UP. You can add guardian, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.
|
|
|
|
Money knowledge for college and beyond.
SALT is a free, nonprofit-backed educational program that helps every student who wants a college degree to get it in a financially responsible way. SALT’s neutral advice, practical information, and interactive lessons help students gain money knowledge for college and beyond, keeping them on the path to success.
|
|
|
newventuresmaine.org
New Ventures Maine helps individuals recognize strengths, overcome barriers, find resources, develop a plan, take action towards their goals: start a business, find a career, return to school, build assets, be active in the community. We're excited to have them on board as a community partner.
|
|
|
|
|
A Transformational Summer Course Story
Written by one of our GEAR UP Maine school staff members.
A month ago I was talking to one of our students, when she told me, "I am 100% sure I will not take a single college course in my life." Then she was told about the summer course offered at Thomas College. She had anxiety about signing up for the course, but she did it!
Sunday night before the course she called me, feeling nervous and I urged her to try it just one day. There were 4 of us giving rides to and from school to Thomas that week, and I was lucky enough to give her a ride home after Day 1.
I asked about the discussion her class had about Diversity, the topic of the course. I asked if they discussed things like the Somali community in Lewiston or about LGBT issues. She responded (gently), "Oh, diversity is much wider and deeper than what you've described. It's about everything-where you've come from-what makes all of us who we are." She told me she had written "Thomas College" all over her notebook.
Her sister said to her, "You're taking a college course but you're not a college student". She told her- "No, I am a college student!" As an adult working with Maine High School students, I fell asleep that night with a smile on my face.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
