University of Washington admissions counselor intern Tory Brundage

University of Washington admissions counselor intern Tory Brundage was awarded the Ned Tibby Award July 31 at the College Board’s 28th Annual Summer Institute on College Admissions and School Relations in San Diego, Calif. This award, first given in 1986 by the Guidance and Admission Council of the Western Regional Assembly of the College Board, recognizes the many contributions of the late Ned Tibby.

The award is given each year to an outstanding member of the Summer Institute class who demonstrates a commitment to the aspirations and values of admissions work, and exhibits high potential for leadership.

“Tory Brundage shows outstanding promise as a leader in higher education,” said Deren Finks, dean of admission emeritus at Harvey Mudd College and dean of faculty for the Summer Institute. “Keen intellect, compassion and personal strength are just a few of the attributes which equip him for great success.”

Shelley Arakawa, College Board chief educational manager and director of the Summer Institute, said, “Tory’s willingness to take a risk and attend a university that is bigger than his hometown in northern Idaho provides hope and inspiration to others who may follow in his footsteps. Funny, thoughtful and passionate, Tory attacked the issues facing all of us in higher education with the energy and insight of a future leader of our profession.”

Ned Tibby was director of the College Board’s Denver Office, associate director of the Western Regional Office, Educational Testing Service-Berkeley associate and a high school counselor, and was known as an estimable professional with an abundant sense of humor and a kind, generous spirit. A mentor to many in the enrollment management field, Tibby had a special interest in identifying and training newly hired admissions personnel.

Brundage will attend the College Board’s Western Regional Forum in Denver Feb. 22-24, 2009, where he will conduct a session as part of the formal conference program.

VP Al Mijares

Welcome back to another academic year. We in
the West have enjoyed a particularly busy
summer. In addition to the AP® Annual
Conference, which was held in July in Seattle,
there have been many meetings, programs and workshops that the WRO has managed. I won’t
say that it has been hectic, but it has certainly
been eventful.

The WRO hosted the 25th Annual Counselor Summer Institute at the University of California in late July. More than 82 educators from around the region participated in the four-day Institute. Participants had the opportunity to explore key strategies to promote a college-going culture and assist students and families with the college admissions process. With generous support from the James Irvine Foundation, more than 30 counselors from priority districts in California were able to attend at no charge. The Summer Institute also featured a tour of local colleges and universities.

The Western Association for College Admission Counseling and the Pacific Northwest Association for College Admission Counseling met in Spokane, Wash., at the end of May. The WRO higher education staff, along with Shelley Arakawa, chief educational manager; Philip Ballinger, director of admissions, University of Washington; and Maggie Mittuch, associate vice president of student financial services, University of Puget Sound, offered a plenary session on demographic changes.

The WRO hosted a workshop in June entitled "Finding, Recruiting and Enrolling Students for a Global Economy." The workshop was designed to help participants understand the impact of changing demographics on enrollment practices, develop strategies to effectively identify their best student prospects and build relationships with similarly situated admissions professionals.

Also in June, as part of the Native American Student Advocacy Initiative, Shelley Arakawa and NYO colleague Brett Felder, associate director, Equity and Access Initiatives, participated in the College Horizons program. These were five-day, pre-college workshops for Native American students at Duke University and Lawrence University, respectively.

Arakawa also represented the WRO at the Recruitment PLUS™ User Group Conference, which was held in June in Portland, Maine. Despite the distance, there were many attendees from the West, including participants from Colorado College, Harvey Mudd College, Loyola Marymount University, Seattle Pacific University, Stanford University, University of La Verne, University of Nevada - Reno, University of the Pacific and University of Washington.

WRO’s John Flemming and Silvia Marquez represented the region at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators Annual Conference and the PowerFAIDS® User Group in Orlando, Fla., in July.

Also in July, I had the pleasure of joining more than 200 AP teachers for the 14th annual Hawaii International AP Institute. The event, held this year at the beautiful Kamehameha Schools Kapälama High School campus, is a collaboration between the K-12 International Office and the Western Regional Office. Sixteen subject sessions were offered this year.

After 27 years in Santa Cruz, the Summer Institute on College Admissions and School Relations found a new home at the University of San Diego. This year's session consisted of 60 participants from 33 different institutions and may very well be "the best class ever!"

On Aug. 21, the College Board conducted CollegeEd® new-teacher training for middle school educators. Clark County School District is implementing CollegeEd for all seventh-grade students, which will mean more than 10,700 middle school students will be participating this year. This initiative is one of many efforts throughout the district to promote a college-going culture starting at the middle school level. 

The Oregon legislature has decided to pay for all 10th-graders in the state’s public high schools to take the PSAT/NMSQT®, giving more students access to online college and career search programs and giving school administrators access to AP Potential™, a software tool that identifies students who are likely to succeed in rigorous AP® courses.

The testing legislation, which covers the next seven years, passed in June, and the College Board has been awarded the contract. The College Board was chosen after demonstrating a commitment to excellence and equity in education and by sharing the state’s goal of helping more students go to college. Several College Board staff members worked with state leaders to find solutions to challenges in the state’s testing plans.

“We met with legislators, Oregon state department of education officials and state school board members and listened to their needs and concerns,” said Kris Zavoli, senior director for state government relations and regional membership for the College Board. “It became clear that we care first and foremost about education and children. … equity and access is our mission. And we were glad to be able to work with the state to improve access for so many students.”

The legislation will give more students access to the PSAT/NMSQT at an earlier age and also help schools identify more students who have the potential to succeed in AP courses. The students also will be able to take advantage of individualized score reports and SAT® study plans.
                                  

GEAR UP Parent Leadership Award winners: Maria León (standing, third from right) from the Cal State Los Angeles Project GEAR UP; Debra June Hill from the Nevada State GEAR UP (standing third from left); and Dianna Lee Sampson from the University of Washington GEAR UP project (not pictured).





Three parents from the Western Region — Maria León from the California State University-Los Angeles Project GEAR UP; Debra June Hill from the Nevada State GEAR UP; and Dianna Lee Sampson from the University of Washington GEAR UP project in Toppenish — were among five parents in the nation honored at this year’s NCCEP/GEAR UP Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. All were recognized for their leadership and significant commitment to helping prepare students in their respective communities for postsecondary education. This parental award program was established by the College Board as part of its ongoing commitment to equity and access for all students.

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.

However, 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. It is for this dedication that NCCEP/GEAR UP honored León, Hill, Sampson and two other outstanding parents — Raquel Gonzalez from the City University of New York Middle Grades Initiative/GEAR UP program and Wanda Taylor from the Chicago GEAR UP Alliance.

Los Angeles-based León has worked with GEAR UP in her community for five years. Her command of federal, state and local education legislation has made her a tremendous asset. Working with parents, teachers and school administrators, León’s outreach starts right in the community, even visiting parents in their homes, where they feel most comfortable. “Maria León is a shining example of why GEAR UP is working and succeeding in East Los Angeles,” said Marcelo Vazquez, director of California State University–Los Angeles Project GEAR UP. “Because of [her], parents who never thought of college as a possibility are now seeing college as a reality.”

“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.

As of the July 1 deadline, the CollegeKeys Compact™ had 475 institutions on the final roll of charter members for this important initiative. This number includes 137 colleges, 311 schools, 18 non-profits and nine agencies. Sixty-nine of the charter institutions are from the Western Region. The number continues to grow and, currently, there are 492 institutions that have signed the Compact.

Click here to see entire list.

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Click here to see events and workshops in the Western region.