GEAR UP Parents Recognized for
Leadership, Commitment
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Hector Garza, president of NCCEP; U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah of Pennsylvania (D-Penn.); Rose Fabiszak, director of CollegeEd; Wanda Taylor, GEAR UP Parent Leadership Award winner from the Chicago GEAR UP Alliance |
It’s no secret that parental involvement is critical to any child’s academic and social success; vast research supports this. But getting busy working parents to make the effort to carve out the time required can be challenging. CollegeEd® and the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships/GEAR UP are working hard to help parents understand the many ways they can be involved in their children’s education. This parental award program was established by the College Board as part of its ongoing commitment to equity and access for all students.
These organizations realize that their efforts can only succeed when parents from communities across the United States demonstrate significant commitment and leadership in collaboration with their local GEAR UP initiatives and school districts. Five outstanding parents were honored at this year’s NCCEP/GEAR UP Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.: Wanda Taylor from the Chicago GEAR UP Alliance; Maria León from the California State University–Los Angeles Project GEAR UP; Debra June Hill from the Nevada State GEAR UP; Raquel Gonzalez from the City University of New York Middle Grades Initiative/GEAR UP program; and Dianna Lee Sampson from the University of Washington GEAR UP project in Toppenish.
“We at the College Board are proud to once again sponsor this award,” said Rose Fabiszak, director of the CollegeEd program at the College Board, congratulating the honorees. “Our mission to connect students to college mirrors that of all the GEAR UP programs throughout the country that, in partnership with parents, work to ensure that all high school students graduate prepared to go to college and, ultimately, to be successful in college and their careers.”
GEAR UP is a school-college partnership supported by federal and local funding that helps prepare low-income and minority students for postsecondary education. Serving 1.5 million students nationwide, local GEAR UP sites provide a variety of services to students’ families, ranging from workshops on parenting, financial aid, college admissions, and state and local standards to building the capacity of parents to be true leaders in their community and advocates for their children and schools.
