SOAR3 GEAR UP

SUCCESS & OPPORTUNITY THROUGH RIGOR, RELEVANCE & RELATIONSHIP.

Each Student by Name, by Passion, by Future Plan, by Need.
b. Gaps/weaknesses in services, infrastructure, or opportunities the project will address.
Gaps
Services, infrastructure or opportunities
AFFORDABILITY: Enhance the ability for students to afford college.
Low-income
Families and Students: Help students and families understand the value of
families with
college; help parents and students learn money management, saving and
little educational budget strategies; engage parents to co-plan with their child for
background need postsecondary opportunities; sign up every eligible 8th grader for the
help to underWashington State College Bound Scholarship. Districts engage Junior
stand value of
Achievement financial literacy curricula in various years. Districts and
postsecondary,
Colleges: Train teachers to teach college-credit bearing courses in high
and how to make school; more students graduate with college credits. Districts offer more dual
it affordable.
credit courses to help student amass college credits in high school.
RIGOR
Students struggle Identify and address math deficiencies starting early in 6th grade; use district
academically
data to build personalized learning plans for all struggling students; support
especially in
students with in-class, afterschool, summer bridge or Saturday tutoring. Early
math and
warning systems help track low performing students.
science.
Teachers: professional development help teachers get STEM, ESL
endorsements or earn a Masters in a STEM field; trained tutors; STEM
learning -- a recommended strategy to engage low performing, undermotivated learners with low math/science scores.
Students need to Any student meeting proficiency scores are automatically enrolled in honor,
encounter more
AP or dual credit courses supported with tutoring; each summer, College
rigor in the class Board AP trainers meet with administrators and teach teachers how to
room to become enhance classroom rigor; AVID programs are supported in several districts;
college ready.
STEM partners develop strong and rigorous learning projects; more students
take PSAT and SAT prep and testing to monitor their college readiness; 95%
of 9th complete mock-FAFSA, personal statement and scholarship
applications, SAT sample questions; 95% of 12th graders reprise these
activities. Teachers: more teachers train for dual credit classes bringing in
more rigor to all their classes.
High remedial
CWU engages in embedded research to test strategies to address remediation,
Project SOAR2 - Success and Opportunities through Affordability, Relevance and RigorPage 1

freshmen
placement rates;
low completion
rates.

Too few
counselors
RELEVANCE
Districts struggle
to meet AYP
with ELL and
Hispanic
populations.
Promote STEM
(high wage)
versus low paid
farm labor work;
let students see
STEM in their
communities.

including placement tests administered in partner districts; placement test

retakes; various 12th grade college math course options; mentoring and
tutoring in Summer Bridge programs after HS graduation. To improve low
college completion rates: Summer College Survival 3-day training the
summer before 12th grade; 7th Year support in area colleges to support district
students in their freshmen year; Summer Chataqua near peer college
students share college knowledge each spring with students.
GEAR UP personnel design college outreach efforts including campus visits
and college/career planning Naviance software to provide robust collegecounseling to cohort students each year of the grant.
Teachers train to support students development of academic language.
Spanish-language tutors, near peers help Spanish-speaking students.
SOAR2 Project affirms students Spanish language, institutes middle school
Spanish language clubs, preps students for STAMP language proficiency
tests; each district establishes an AP Spanish class by Year 4; students
improve Spanish skills, and earn language college credits.
Prepare students for regional STEM jobs through job shadows, site visits,
field trips, real world research with STEM partners; early identification of
students STEM interests and abilities; strengthen math, science scores,
skills; support STEM student competitions to engage learners. High caliber
STEM partners (LIGO, UW School of Medicine, American Association of
Engineering Education) offer challenging projects to bring underrepresented
rural students and students of color, into STEM.

2. Quality of Project Design:

a. Proposed Project goals, objectives, and outcomes are clearly specified and measureable.
The following goal and objectives adopted for this grant are ambitious but achievable
based on a careful analysis of district data, experience of district partners, alignment with
rigorous research and best practices found to be successful with our student populations:

Objective 1: Increase students academic performance, preparation for, enrollment, and

completion of postsecondary program by classroom rigor and academic supports = RIGOR.

Objective 2: Increase students and families knowledge of postsecondary education options;

show them how student efforts can make college affordable =AFFORDABILITY.

Project SOAR2 - Success and Opportunities through Affordability, Relevance and RigorPage 2

Objective 3: Focus on ways to make education relevant to students: advance STEM learning,
highlight high level careers in rural areas, elevate Spanish language skills = RELEVANCE.

Measureable outcomes to meet these objectives come from the Department of Educations
GPRA standards with additional SOAR2 process outcomes. Baselines and benchmarks are set
where existing data is available and reliable, and will develop the others through Year 1.
GOAL: TO PREPARE GEAR UP MOSAIC STUDENTS TO ENROLL
AND PERSIST IN POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION
Objective 1: Increase students academic performance, preparation for, and enrollment in postsecondary
education through classroom rigor and academic supports = RIGOR
Improving students academic performance (baseline TBD by Year 2).
th
o Increase the % of students who pass Pre-algebra by the end of 8 grade by 12%.
th
o Increase the % of students who pass Algebra 1 by end of 9 grade by 15%.
o Increase the % of students who take 2 years of math beyond Algebra 1 by Grade 12 by 15%.
th
o Improve target districts scores on 7 grade state proficiency exam by 7% in math and 10% in
science.
th
o Improve target districts scores on the 10 grade state proficiency exams in math by 5%, and in
Biology by 7%. (No language score given high Hispanic/Spanish?)
Improving students preparation for postsecondary education through rigorous coursework.
o Increase the % of who place into college-level math and English without need for remediation, by
20% by giving them access to rigorous coursework, and support.
o Increase % of students in honors, AP or dual credit by 30% in middle school; 40% in high school.
o Increase the # of districts who provide students access to 1 years-worth of college credit-earning
classes from 2 (Richland, Wenatchee) to 8 districts across the partnership.
o Increase from 5% to 15 % the number of GEAR UP students earning either dual enrollment college
credits or completing AP coursework by 12th grade.
Testing students readiness for College (Baseline: 2013 scores)
o Increase 10th graders taking PSAT from 10% to 30%; increase scores by 8% against 2013.
o Increase 12th graders taking SAT from 35% to 50%; increase scores by 8-30% against 2013.
To increase the % of cohort students graduating from high school by 12% we will:
th
o
Reduce the number of 6 grader failing math or reading by 20%.
o
Reduce the % of middle school students with up to one month of absences by 20%.
To increase the % of students enrolling in postsecondary, we will:
th
o Ensure at least 60% successfully complete a non-remedial math class in 12 grade and an additional
th
15% complete math refresher course = 75% of 12 grade improve math.
o Reduce the % of students who place into pre-college math and English to 25%.
o Ensure 95% of students develop postsecondary plan each year that clearly lay out preparation for
postsecondary options which are shared yearly in student-led parent/teacher conferences.

Project SOAR2 - Success and Opportunities through Affordability, Relevance and RigorPage 3

o
o
o
o

Ensure 85% of students have academic preparation adequate to enroll in a state 4-year
postsecondary institution (college preparatory course series).
95% will participate in at least 4 college campus visits, and 4 STEM visits.
Ensure 95% of GEAR UP students have firm written college plans by HS graduation; 95% of students
complete full college application (including FAFSA).
In Year 7, improve the % of students enrolling in postsecondary by 50% over districts2014 student
actual through Summer Bridge Programs, collaboration with receiving institutions.
2

SOAR Objective 2: Increase students and families knowledge of postsecondary education options;
show how student efforts make college affordable =AFFORDABILITY

Each spring, students co-create college plans, with input from parents, 90% participation.
By Fall, Year 2 50% of parents demonstrate knowledge of costs/benefits of postsecondary and
financing options, improving to 80% by Year 7, measured through student/parent co-created college
plans or other artifacts, surveys, student-led conferences.
95% of graduating seniors complete a personal statement, scholarship application college
application, FAFSA, and a detailed Freshman Year college budget, co-created with parents.
By Year 7, to reach 95% parent participation measured by co-created college plans, attendance at indistrict parent events, campus trips, CWU bi-annual Parent Weekend, FAFSA and Financial Aid
presentations,
2

SOAR Objective 3: Focus on ways to make education relevant to students: advance STEM learning,
highlight high level careers in rural areas, strengthen Spanish skills = RELEVANCE.
STEM
95% of students are exposed to a STEM field trip or in-class activities each year of the grant
75% of students engage in a STEM related club or an afterschool project over seven years
25% become involved in a STEM competition or group project over the grant period
Supporting Spanish Language Speakers
By Year 2, all districts have middle school Spanish language clubs; by Year 5, AP Spanish.
Project-wide 25% of students engage in Spanish language efforts.
% of students taking STAMP language proficiency tests increases by 35% over actual in 2013,
improving the pass rate by 50% (baseline to be determined)

b. A project design reflecting up to date research and the replication of effective practices:
Proposed services reflect current research and knowledge of effective educational
practices or replicate known effective practice:
Improving academic success in science and math: Well-designed tutoring program are
effective in improving students skills in reading, math and science, also improving their

Project SOAR2 - Success and Opportunities through Affordability, Relevance and RigorPage 4

confidence and classroom conduct.7 Requiring students to co-create college plans, involving
their parents is in line with the Harvard Education Letter8 which noted when students manage
their own learning, they become more invested in their own academic success). We developed
the concept of a Summer Chautauqua from a 2014 article in Psychological Science, that
found that when students heard other older college students from similar backgrounds discuss
academic challenges they had faced and overcome, students grades and persistence rates to
levels statistically higher than a comparison group that did not hear the strategies for overcoming
obstacles. 9 This same intervention uses near peers, CWU undergraduate students from the
PEERS program (Preparing Everyone for Education Readiness and Success), an innovation
referenced in Department of Education briefing materials:10 peer advisers offer students unique
opportunities for sharing college information, are easier for students to approach than adult
advisers, and typically develop relationships that are longer lasting than those established with
adults. Supporting Professional Learning Communities: The value of instituting a
Professional Learning Community (PLC) is taken from Robert Marzano, What Works in School
2003, calling PLCs one of the most powerful initiatives to improve schools in the last decade.
Increasing students preparation for postsecondary education: Taking a rigorous college
preparatory curriculum is the key to college access in Preparing for College: Nine Elements of
Effective Outreach (Tierney, Corwin and Colyar, 2005). Mentoring is found to be a key factor to
success in high school when a student has at least one adult who demonstrates concern for the
students advancement (John Hopkins Center for Organization of School, Solutions for Failing
7

(US Department of Education: Evidence That Tutoring Works, 2001).

Harvard Education Letter, Student-Directed Learning Comes of Age, July/August 2011 (SDL),
9
Stephens, N. M., Hamedani, M. G., & Destin, M. (in press). Closing the social-class achievement gap: A
difference-education intervention improves first-generation students academic performance and all students
college transition. Psychological Science. doi: 10.1177/0956797613518349
10
FY 2014, Application for Grants under the Gaining Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs.
Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education.
8

Project SOAR2 - Success and Opportunities through Affordability, Relevance and RigorPage 5

Schools, 2002). College planning activities, GEAR UP mentors, and campus visits were
identified by students in two separate CWU-sponsored studies as the three most important
college outreach components of two previous CWU GEAR UP grant (Cates, Scheafler, 2005,
CWU; recent 2011 Graduate Study, unpublished). We take from a reverse opt-out rigorous
course enrollment strategy from Federal Way School District, a suburban district near Seattle;
students passing state proficiency exams are automatically enrolled in AP classes; parents must
sign to get them out. This has dramatically increased the number of students in rigorous
coursework. Promoting the potential for STEM careers came from a March 2013 Boston
Consultancy Report to the Washington Roundtable 11 that noted that there are now 25,000
currently unfilled job, projected to grow to 45,000 by 2020.
First Generation Challenges: Research12 indicates several traps that first-generation
students face: likelihood to attend a 2-year school, work part or full time while in school, live at
home, have inadequate financial support, be inadequately prepared for rigors of college work, be
placed in remedial coursework, ignore student support resources, flunk out or drop out. A
review of our need statistics and this research inspired the adoption of the three themes of
Affordability, Rigor and Relevance for Project SOAR2. A new report (2011) by Educational
Trust says that financial aid policies disadvantage low-income students, noting that the typical
low-income student, after exhausting all sources of grant aid, must come up with more than
$11,000 a year to attend a four-year public or private college, equating to 72% of a low income
students family income, compared to 27% of the income of a middle-class, and 14% of a highincome student. Project SOAR2 will work to reduce students college costs through student and

Great Jobs Within Our Reach: Solving the Problem of Washington states growing job skills gap. The Boston
Consultancy Group and the Washington Roundtable. March 2013.
12 (Engle, J., 2007, Postsecondary Access and Success for First Generation Students, American Academic, 3(1), 2548)
11

Project SOAR2 - Success and Opportunities through Affordability, Relevance and RigorPage 6

family financial literacy, providing options college credit bearing coursework, signing students
up for College Bound Scholarship and other aid, helping them avoid remedial college course
placement, and promoting college savings plans: Youth who have [a savings] account are three
to seven times more likely to attend college than youth who do not have an account, the higher
rates occurring when the account is in the youths name and earmarked for college.13 Our
partner, Junior Achievement, provides a powerful curriculum for financial literacy.
Supporting Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Many articles
support the value of hands-on and inquiry-based projects in STEM to improve student math and
science skills, engage and motivate English Language Learners, and prepare students for
important future jobs. That rural contexts can be rich environments for learning STEM was
promoted in 2013 research by Leanne Avery.14 The National Science Board15 recommends early
identification and acceleration of students who may have incipient abilities, urging schools to test
early for quantitative/math, verbal and also spatial reasoning. IBMs report, Americas
Competitiveness, Hispanic Participation in Technology Careers notes that Latino parents would
support their students pursuing STEM careers: To be an engineer in any Latin American
country is one of their highest prestige professions you can have, right on par with a doctor.
The report recommended providing students with mentors and to engage with Latin American
schools to give students a broader global perspective; Project SOAR2 is engaged in conversations
with the Panama Peace Corps to connect our students with their in-field STEM volunteers.
Students will participate in various STEM competitions inspired by an Education Week16 story,

Elliot, W. and Beverly, S., The Role of Savings and Wealth in Reducing Wilt Between Expectations and College
Attendance, Journal of Children & Poverty, 2011, 17(2), 165-185
14
Avery, L., Rural Science Education: Valuing Local Knowledge, Theory Into Practice, 2013, 52: 28-35,
15 (Preparing the Next Generation of STEM Innovator, May 2010)
16 November 3 2010, Obama Plays Cheerleader for STEM
13

Project SOAR2 - Success and Opportunities through Affordability, Relevance and RigorPage 7

where President Obama says, In many ways, our future depends on what happens in those [K12 STEM] contests. Its in these pursuits that talents are discovered and passions are lit, and the
future scientists, engineers, inventors, and entrepreneurs are born.
c. Project system changes from which future cohorts of students will benefit.
We will extend our longitudinal study of a prior CWU/NLA GEAR UP cohort, by now
gathering third-party data to append to our survey findings so that we can map the course-taking
patterns and earned credits and grades associated with those students who were successful in
enrolling and persisting in postsecondary programs, helping us find system changes that would
better support success for students in postsecondary. We will engage in Project SOAR2 in
embedded research through the seven years, on issues germane to the partnership. A first
investigation will be a Cycle of Inquiry approach to learn the reasons for our lowest performing
20%; here too our research will help districts identify supports these students need. Over the
seven years of the projects, districts and partners will develop more high quality project- and
inquiry-based learning modules that can be used for upcoming non-GEAR UP cohorts and in
other non-GEAR UP schools. We will establish a professional learning community (PLC) of
content teachers amongst our region of primarily small district schools. Collaboration with
industry, foundation, postsecondary and other secondary high schools will help sharpen schools
focus on using STEM instruction to improve math and science scores, help infuse STEM
learning into the curriculum and devise training to help STEM professionals work with students.
Students will identify and prepare themselves to qualify for more lucrative scholarships.

Project SOAR2 - Success and Opportunities through Affordability, Relevance and RigorPage 8

3. Quality of Project Services

a. Ensuring equal access and treatment to students who are members of groups traditionally
underrepresented based on race, color, national origin, gender, age or disability
An estimated 71% of students in partner school districts are from low-income, Englishlanguage learner, Hispanic and American Indian, and/or migrant families, all groups historically
underrepresented in postsecondary education. Multiple outreach strategies will ensure equal
access and treatment to these participants. One hundred percent (100%) of students and parents
will receive information on available GEAR UP project services including tutoring and college
counseling. All students will participate in campus visits and receive individualized college
planning support. Each students parents will receive information in English or Spanish to help
understand their childs postsecondary options. Students with special needs will be
accommodated. All participants receive equal access and treatment.
b. Increasing the number of students taking rigorous courses and reducing the need for
remedial education at the postsecondary level.
This consortium of eleven rural districts has taken the bold step to agree that with this
cohort, any student passing proficiency on state tests will be automatically placed into AP or
honors coursework; experience in the Federal Way School District found that this simple policy
shift dramatically increased the number of students taking rigorous coursework reducing the
need for postsecondary remediation. Project SOAR2 will work closely with districts to provide
the support needed (teacher training, in-class and auxiliary tutoring) to help students achieve in a
more rigorous classroom. CWU has been working diligently with their new Running Start
Division to help rural school district augment the number of college-in-the-high-school courses
each can offer, training district teachers to teach these programs, another significant way in
Project SOAR2 - Success and Opportunities through Affordability, Relevance and RigorPage 9

which SOAR 2 will bring more rigor to the classroom. To help improve students academic
skills, students are exposed to AVID or AVID-like planning (Cornell notes) and study habits
starting in 6th and 7th grades. Students will receive differentiated instruction, whether for
remediation, acceleration or enrichment, or skill building, with extended time in school,
afterschool, summer school and in bridge programs before start of school in August, as needed.
Curriculum and interventions are based on data and individual student needs, are standardsbased, and intentionally chosen for remediation or acceleration based on data on individual
student needs. Spanish speaking tutors support English language learners. CWU is also engaging
in on-campus discussions to consider placement test protocols (allow students to test in their
home district, as SAT does; allow student to take the placement tests whenever they finish
appropriate math sequence and store the scores as they would SAT or GRE scores until they
actually enroll in postsecondary; allowing students to retake placement tests) that could reduce
students need to enroll in pre-college courses without jeopardizing ability to do college work.
Project SOAR2 staff will develop early warning systems to track potential dropouts
through low grades (Ds, Fs), excessive absence or behavior issues. High interest afterschool
clubs, including STEM but also sports and arts, encourage students to come to school each day
and even to remain afterschool for additional quality engagement. Adaptive online math
curriculum, including ALEKS provides individualized instruction to help students remediate or
accelerate learning.
Teacher professional development is supported with more than $600,000 over seven
years to help teachers complete ESL and STEM endorsements, finish masters degrees to qualify
to teach college-credit coursework in math or science, put teachers through AP training or allow
them teachers to participate in AVID training. Teacher professional learning communities

Project SOAR2 - Success and Opportunities through Affordability, Relevance and RigorPage 10

(PLCs) allow teachers to meet colleagues in their content areas from other districts to share best
practices. Eight percent of the project budget is dedicated to teacher professional development.
The project develops a STEM-infused approach to math and science learning with handson lessons and project- and inquiry-based learning to inspire all learners and provide real world
learning opportunities including access to STEM professionals. The project will engage with
campus departments and graduate students to augment STEM lesson and project plans for
districts that align with Common Core requirements. Kinesthetic learners may be inspired by
engineering-like projects and competitions, to keep them motivated, reduce drop-out rates and
improve their math and science test scores. Project SOAR2 will explore participation with Peace
Corps volunteers in STEM fields (sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, etc.) in Spanish-speaking
countries.
c. The extent to which the service to be provided by the proposed project involve the
collaboration of appropriate partners for maximizing the effectiveness of project service.
This project involves nineteen highly engaged and powerful formal partners including
eleven school districts. All eleven districts principals and/or superintendents have met several
times over the last year to develop and vet this proposal, and have dedicated time, resources and
the engagement of their teaching faculties and instructional coaches to make serious changes in
their districts to help make them college ready, including agreeing to bringing in more AP
courses, training more teachers to provide rigorous instruction, allowing all qualified students to
take AP or honors coursework, and establishing an AP Spanish course to affirm their many
Spanish-speaking Hispanic students. Also on tap are all the myriad resources of the main
Ellensburg campus of Central Washington University which has a long-standing relationship
with these eleven districts as the institution from which most of their teachers completed teacher

Project SOAR2 - Success and Opportunities through Affordability, Relevance and RigorPage 11

training. SOAR2 is located within the CWU structure in the Graduate Studies and Research
Department, which will facilitate embedding research over the projects seven years. In addition,
CWU STEM faculty will provide traveling STEM activities (currently planned are Astonomy:
The Night Sky; a biodiversity camp; robotics competitions) and welcome SOAR 2 students to
specially designed STEM-themed campus tours and on-campus residential summer camps, will
support students in STEM competitions and mentor teachers completing STEM endorsements.
The University of Washingtons School of Medicine will engage students in tours of the UW
Medical complex, sessions on health issues with STEM professionals-of-color, Washington
Business Week Health Career Camp and other activities to encourage underrepresented students
to consider a health services career; Confluence Health is also working with a partner district,
Tonasket, to develop a Certified Medical Assistant program that will be available to all 11
districts; LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory), Hanfords national
research laboratory will bring professional development and programs to select Project SOAR2
districts several times a year to study waves in space, and will engage their working STEM
research faculty with students via SKYPE and FaceTime to collaborate with students on school
STEM projects, allowing students real authentic engagement with working STEM professionals.
Lynn Browns LearnCore Consulting brings the Attributes of a Global Engineer framework
from the American Society for Engineering Education, Boeing and other corporate partners, to
describe a skills path that will, through collaborating with Project SOAR2 now extend from the
university and high school level into the middle school. Through this cutting-edge, first-in-theworld collaboration to middle schools, districts will learn how identify early those students suited
for a career in engineering engaging them in rigorous experiential learning projects that help
surface also communication and collaboration skills needed in the global workplace. The

Project SOAR2 - Success and Opportunities through Affordability, Relevance and RigorPage 12

College Board will partner, furthering its new exploration on how to promote more AP
coursework and rigorous teaching in rural schools, collaborating with NLA to design a workable
model. The NLA Group, educational nonprofit, has recruited these corporate and STEM
partners and will align their work to mesh with K-12 districts using NLAs 25-years experience
working with districts. All partners are highly committed to improving the education of rural
students to ready them for college and careers in burgeoning STEM and other fields.

5. Quality of the Management Plan

a. The adequacy of the plan to achieve proposed project objective on time and within budget,
with clearly defined responsibilities, timelines and milestones for meeting project tasks.
Following in Tables 8-12 are the project tasks, responsibilities, timelines and milestones
for the program and each of the objectives.
Table 8. Project Implementation Year 1, and Ongoing Management Strategies
Project Tasks
Personnel hired & trained

Evaluation
process
established

Timeline
Fall 2014

Fall 2014
Fall 2014

Communications Plan

Fall 2014

Program and
Faculty
Advisory

Fall 2014
then
Quarterly

Milestone
CWU Director hired
Site Directors hired
Tutors recruited + trained

Responsible
Partner
CWU + Partners
NLA
NLA + Schools

Baseline survey data and baseline

data is obtained, benchmarks set
Xcaliber and Naviance software
installed and training conducted
Teacher & Parent Attitude Pre-tests
are administered and tallied

CWU + Schools
CWU + NLA
CWU

Website and Facebook pages

designed
Blogs posted, and access information
circulated
Site Directors trained on
communications

CWU and NLA

Committee Members recruited,

oriented, convened
Meetings occur at least semi-annually

All Partners

Project SOAR2 - Success and Opportunities through Affordability, Relevance and RigorPage 13

Committees
Empanelled

Extended day
programs

Fall 2014

Training
schedules set

Nov 2014 Jan

2015 + ongoing

Teacher
Training

Fall 2014
Spring 2015
ongoing

Fiscal
oversight

Fall 2014
Fall 2014
Quarterly

Supervisory personnel in place

Programs established + sites open
Resources acquired (curricula, etc.)
3-day Site Director training
Quarterly trainings scheduled

NLA + Schools

Teachers needs are surveyed

CWU faculty present options
Coursework is offered

CWU
CWU
CWU

Contracts signed
Training for collecting match
Budget review

CWU
CWU
CWU

NLA + CWU
NLA

Table 9. Objective 1: Increase students academic performance, preparation for, and enrollment in
postsecondary education through classroom rigor and academic supports = RIGOR
Project Tasks
In-school + after-school
tutors hired

Timeline
Feb 2015

Milestones and Partner Roles

NLA + Schools recruit tutors for 1:15 ratio to serve 25%
of cohort for 20 extended service hours weekly

Target services for

struggling students

Dec 2014
then
ongoing

Site directors (SD) with counselors review data to identify

appropriate support for each student, with strategies,
monthly. School, SD. College counselor is assigned for
each student.

Site directors are trained

to use district data
reporting systems

By Mar
2015

District data personnel or data system consultants

provide training to site directors, by March 2015

Enrichment Programs +
Summer Camps

Spring +
summer
each yr.

High quality programs are offered in each district, each

summer. SD, Bridges, NLA
Recruit/serve 100+ students each summer

Math Acceleration

Each year

SD complete course plan for each student each year;

Coordinate support services for math, as indicated

Wtr 2015
Yr 5-6
Fall 2014

Cornerstone faculty recruit district teachers to teach

college credit options
Community colleges promote on-line coursework options

Cornerstone and
Community Colleges provide
College in HS

Table 10. Objective 2: Increase students and families knowledge of postsecondary education
and how student efforts can make college affordable. AFFORDABILITY
Strategies/Interventions
College Planning
All-cohort events
Coordinated with
Enrichment
Summer options

Timeline
Each year

Milestones and Partner Roles

NLA develops planning activities annually; 95% of
students complete entries; NLA lead for organizing
campus trips and STEM activities w/partners: 95%
student attendance.
By Yr 1 60% (Yr 6, 90%) of students can identify college

Project SOAR2 - Success and Opportunities through Affordability, Relevance and RigorPage 14

options, costs, career choices.

College Club

21 Century Certificate

st

Jan 15 +
ongoing
th
11 Grade

NLA trains tutors on college costs, college prep skills.

Tutors train 45 cohort students/ year each district. 80%
of counseled students/ ea year know how much aid they
may get and college types/costs.

Table 11. Objective 3: Make education relevant to students: STEM, Rural Options, Spanishlanguage: RELEVANCE
Strategies/Interventions
Timeline
Milestones and Partner Roles

Jan 15,
NLA develops parent materials w/ district
Students do college planning using
then
input in collaboration with Naviance. Yr 1,
Naviance software and curricula
annually;
25% (Yr 5, 70%) of parents complete
Student-led conferences engage
activities
interactive parent/student activities. Annual
parents with their child to plan
quarterly
parent surveys show 40% of parents
understand college options (+ 10% each year)
Parent Academies held quarterly
STEM site visits
NLA coordinates activities with partner STEM
STEM Clubs and competitions
and with math and science teaching staffs;
Districts engage with STEM
professionals
2
Project SOAR builds Spanish World
Spanish Clubs; STAMP Test; AP
Language presence in districts
Spanish

b. Procedures for ensuring feedback and continuous improvement of the proposed project.
Two separate approaches will be used to ensure feedback, one high-tech and one
traditional. Given that this is a STEM-focused project, we will follow an evolving model now in
use by Washington STEM Foundation. First of all, the project will set up a website where all
critical documents (project outline, APR reports, interim briefing papers, curriculum and
assessment samples, relevant research) can be posted and accessed by all partners, teachers,
students, families and the community. Outlook will be used to make sure all have calendared
meeting dates and times. To keep the project in front of the public, the project will establish both
a Twitter account and a Facebook page to quickly communicate with tech-savvy students,
parents and teachers to promote Project activities. A blog, or several, will keep teachers and
faculty abreast of project efforts, and to share curricula, project ideas, assessment instruments or
videos of projects and events. Students, their parents, the community at large and partners are
invited and involved in contributing to a rich ongoing collaboration to help district students
Project SOAR2 - Success and Opportunities through Affordability, Relevance and RigorPage 15

prepare for college and explore STEM careers. For those parents less comfortable with
technology, GEAR UP will existing district systems including automated phone and text
messages, information in bulletins sent home, on district and building bulletin boards, and in
written materials developed in both Spanish and English for distribution through the mail.
The most intense, personal and compelling communication with parents will happen in
student-led parent teacher conferences. Ten of the eleven districts have moved to this format and
have found incredible success in getting upward of 90% parent participation. Richland will
observe this process to bring it to their building. In conferences held each fall, students explain
both their academic status and their college and career planning plan to their teacher and parent.
From this engagement, project staff and teachers will solicit information on what parents understand about their students plans, what they understand about postsecondary options, and will
solicit their recommendations for changes or additions to the programs provided to their child.
Once a year, a large group meeting is convened, inviting all partners, students and their
parents, district administrators and teachers, to update the broader partnership on program
progress, share the APR federal summary report findings, and invite suggestions and feedback.
Partner Meetings. The Project Director will convene quarterly (Year 1) then biennial
meetings (Years 2-7) with all partners, including key school administrators, district
superintendents or their designees, to oversee successful project implementation. Main project
partners (CWU, NLA, district) will meet monthly to coordinate programming and maintain
ongoing contact through email.
Main Campus Liaison: The Project Director will meet quarterly with the CWU GEAR
UP faculty advisory board that supports the program within the University. On this board sits the
Associate Vice President and Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, Associate Director of

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Research and Sponsored Programs, Dean of the College of Education, Admissions Director,
Financial Aid Director, and ten to twelve faculty from the colleges of Arts and Humanities, the
Sciences, and Education. At these meetings, new project resources and collaboration
opportunities are identified.
Content Teacher Professional Learning Communities (PLC): Starting in February 2015,
teachers by content area will be invited to planning meeting for PLCs; substitutes will be funded
to enable teachers to collaborate monthly with PLC colleagues to improve student learning.
Site Coordination. NLA will convene the thirteen district site directors monthly for halfday meetings to coordinate program components, problem solve program implementation issues,
exchange best practices, and complete tailored professional development and training. Site
directors will meet at least weekly with their district GEAR UP administrative team (principal,
counselor) to coordinate program activities in-district, schedule campus visits and enrichment,
align instructional strategies with teachers, coordinate planning, and identify and resolve
problems. At least monthly, NLAs Executive Director and Project SOAR2 Project Director will
travel to each site to meet with the site director and district administrative team to review
program outcomes and identify opportunities for coordinating program and district initiatives on
a district by district basis, continually seeking program improvements.
c. The extent to which the time commitments of the project director and other key project
personnel are appropriate and adequate to meet the objectives of the proposed project.
Project staffing includes a combination of full and part-time FTEs based on the specific
tasks assigned to each FTE. The Project Director is full time, 1.0 FTE; in Year 7 a college
retention specialist will be hired full time. Each district will have a full time site director (nine in
total). Experience with a comparable GEAR UP grant serving districts with similar

Project SOAR2 - Success and Opportunities through Affordability, Relevance and RigorPage 17

characteristics indicates that the staffing proposed will be adequate to meet the grant goals. This
personnel configuration will set in place the project infrastructure that will sustain program
administration through the end of the project. See Table 13.
Table 13. Project Personnel Time Commitments
Personnel
Project Director

Julie Guggino,
Principal
Investigator
Secretary

% of
Project Activity
Time

CWU: Oversight of all project activities including oversight of annual project
evaluation

5
CWU: University/Project Liaison.

10-25 CWU: Hiring/supervision of CWU personnel, contract negotiations, budget
alignment, interagency agreements; conferences and meetings.
100

CWU: Clerical, preparation of reports, correspondence, memos.

College Retention
100 CWU: Implementation and oversight for tracking, transition programs, and
Specialist
Yr 7 services to Class of 2018 college freshman

NLA Group
varies Manage eleven (11) school sites, resource distribution; cohort events; student
and parent college planning materials and activities; tutor training, research
summaries; grant writing; resource acquisition; work with corporate
partners to coordinate internship, research opportunities, site visits, speaker
bureau; capture and circulate project reports and promotional materials;
manage press in coordination with CWU Development office.

13 Site Directors
Varies Site management, tutor supervision, liaison with school, portfolio by grade,
FTE varies by district
curricula, field trips, and activities.
size.

XCaliber
varies Collect and manage data collection.

CWU STEM Faculty
varies Support STEM collaboration with districts; provide opportunities to tour
campus STEM sites
CWU Faculty
25 Engage in embedded research on issues of interest to the project
Researchers
Tutors
varies Provide academic support at sites with a 1:15 student:tutor ratio.
Partners:

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6. Quality of Project Evaluation

The purpose of the evaluation of Project MOSAIC2 is to analyze data regularly to
monitor progress towards desired outcomes; to facilitate mid-course corrections, if necessary;
Project SOAR2 - Success and Opportunities through Affordability, Relevance and RigorPage 18

and to determine the effectiveness of program components in reaching desired outcomes. The
key questions guiding this evaluation are as follows:
1. To what extent does academic performance and preparation for postsecondary education
improve for Project SOAR2 students?
2. To what extent does enrollment and persistence in postsecondary education increase for
Project SOAR2 students?
3. To what extent do Project SOAR2 students and their families increase their knowledge of
postsecondary education options, preparation, and financing?
4. To what extent does Project SOAR2 2 encourage students engagement with STEM learning
and careers?
5. What factors influence different levels of attainment in questions 1-5?
6. What factors are in place by the end of the project to promote sustainability?
The logic model in Table 14 is the basis for evaluating the project and incorporates project
resources, activities and outcomes. The evaluation plan is detailed in Table 15.

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