"College. It's not a dream, it's a plan." That's the motto of Oregon GEAR UP, and it guides the program's work with middle and high schools around the state.

Oregon GEAR UP – funded by the U.S. Department of Education and administered by the Oregon University System (OUS) – supports schools in their efforts to set high academic expectations, promote early awareness of college opportunities, and engage students in college and career planning. Its goal is to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary programs by working with school districts, colleges and universities and a variety of partner organizations across the state. OUS kicked off the GEAR UP program in 2002. From 2002 to 2008, the program worked with 39 schools divided into 16 clusters (consisting of a high school, one or more feeder middle schools, and a university). In 2008 OUS received an additional GEAR UP grant and began a second program working with 12 new participating clusters in rural Oregon.

In August 2009, Education Partnerships, Inc. (EPI) teamed up with OUS in this current grant to implement a pilot program specifically for principals in these 12 clusters. The goal of this program is to engage GEAR UP schools in systematic, schoolwide, local site planning to create sustainable school cultures that support rigorous academic programs and high achievement for all students.

Tailored to the goals and desired outcomes of Oregon GEAR UP, this partnership is comprised of four key elements as it is being rolled out in four phases.

The key elements are comprised of:

• A personal education mentor, who as an experienced, committed education professional serves as a personal resource, sounding board and connection with the school principal;
• Regional meetings and seminars that provide high quality professional development opportunities throughout the state;
• Professional resources that offer customized, cutting-edge resources to meet each principal's needs, interests and requests, and includes research briefs, professional publications, research on best practices and reports on promising practices; and
• An annual networking event within the annual SUCCESS conference during which project principals will synthesize significant learnings from their professional development and research experiences.

Also guiding the success of this pilot and partnership is ongoing due diligence to ensure Oregon GEAR UP's desired outcomes will be met. These targeted outcomes are:

• A decrease in the achievement gap between minority and white students as well as between economically advantaged and disadvantaged students;
• An increase in enrollment in advanced placement and other challenging courses that academically prepare students for college;
• An increase in leadership skills among principals which will have a multiplier effect across the school and the community;
• Substantial curriculum revision to master essential skills and increase rigor;
• An improved curriculum and delivery of content;
• The development of school climates that support student achievement and success;
• An improvement in safety and security measures for students; and
• An improvement in attendance and a decrease in tardiness rates.

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