Why We Desperately Need To Bring Back Vocational Training In Schools
In a situation where 70% of high school students do not go to college, nearly half of those who do go fail to graduate, and over half of the graduates are unemployed or underemployed, is vocational education really expendable? Or is it the smartest investment we could make in our children, our businesses, and our country’s economic future?
President Obama Announces High School Graduation Rate Has Reached New High
Today, President Obama will be at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in Washington, D.C. to announce that America’s high school graduation rate has reached a record new high of 83.2 percent.
The Seven Year Switch
As Veronique Zimmerman-Brown, Ph.D., drives through the Black Belt, she can tell easily that jobs have been hard to come by and that the region’s poverty rate stands at close to 30 percent. “You can see historical deficiencies in terms of finance and economics,” says Zimmerman-Brown, a UAB School of Education program director and alumna. “A lot of businesses are boarded up, so you know the money isn’t flowing, and the tax revenue isn’t there.”
Financial Literacy Live Stream
The following links will allow you and your students to INTERACT LIVEwith Dr. Stephanie Yates from your classroom to hers. Students will be taught directly by Dr. Yates and can ask/answer questions in real time. All lessons will be taught from 1:30 until 2:30pmunless otherwise specified. Please contact GUA at sbriggs@gearupal.com or Dr. Yates at sryates@uab.edu for more information. If you cannot participate in real time, you can view the lesson on YouTube at your convenience.
Lessons From a 'Hidden Gem' in Alabama
One of Alabama's best schools sits on the outskirts of rural Mount Vernon, population 1,550, a dot on the map without a traffic light.
ESSAs Well Rounded Education
As questions regarding the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) flow in to Education Commission of the States, one frequent inquiry is about the concept of a “wellrounded education,” referenced more than 20 times and included within the majority of Titles in the Act. State education leaders want to know what constitutes a well-rounded education, how can they ensure students across their state have access to it, and how, if at all, the U.S. Department of Education plans to hold their state accountable to it. Download the rest of the article.
Source: Education System of the States
Source: Education System of the States
Regions Bank, University of Alabama-Birmingham Team up to Teach Financial Literacy
“Grades” are how we measure progress, and on the subject of personal finance, students and schools have been coming up short. A recent study reveals that millennials need to worry about their financial grades, since the overwhelming majority have committed at least one major financial blunder: defaulting on a student loan, overspending on a credit card or having an account sent to collections.
Every Student, Every Day: A National Initiative to Address and Eliminate Chronic Absenteeism
The U.S. Department of Education (ED), Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, in collaboration with the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Justice (DOJ), hosted the Every Student, Every Day National Conference: Eliminating Chronic Absenteeism by Implementing and Strengthening Cross-Sector Systems of Support for All Students on June 9th and 10th. This conference was a key deliverable of President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Initiative and is designed to support state and local efforts to address and eliminate chronic absenteeism among our nation’s most vulnerable students, particularly those attending low-performing schools.
Lessons that Pay Dividends for Life
Last summer, UAB student Brandon Pickett worked as a lead counselor in a camp where the kids learned survival skills—the kind involving dollars and cents. During the four-day Money Math Camp, he and other counselors taught 45 middle-schoolers from low-income and minority school districts about money management and the impact of career choices on future lifestyles.
GEAR UP: Banks students lead career fair, inspire others to ‘gear up’ for future
Students at Banks School are “geared up” and “revved” up for their careers and the excitement was contagious Tuesday as they explored the many job possibilities available to them.
Program Covers Community College Tuition
A program in the Black Belt allows students and parents in the GEAR UP Alabama program to attended community college tuition free.
Bentley: State Should Coordinate Broadband Expansion, Address 2-Year College Tuition for Poor
MONTGOMERY — Gov. Robert Bentley’s State of the State address tonight will discuss ways to fix a major problem in Alabama, poverty.
As Plans for Free Community College Spread, Educators Seek to Include Adult Learners
When President Obama outlined steps in September to make his proposal for free community college a reality, his call for change reflected a movement that had already gained momentum. There are now more than 100 local community and state efforts that have vowed to pursue reduced-cost or tuition-free learning, many in conjunction with Mr. Obama’s America’s College Promise program and its associated awareness campaign, known as Heads Up America.
Adding Adults into the Free College Conversation
The free two-year college movement is gaining momentum across the United States, but the focus demographics for these programs has traditionally been recent high school graduates. In Alabama, however, the GEAR UP program has committed to creating access for both young students and their parents. In this interview, Veronique Zimmerman-Brown reflects on some of the reasoning behind that decision and shares some insights into the challenges of establishing the GEAR UP Alabama program and making it a success.
New Year Resolutions from Acting Secretary of Eduation
Every New Year offers the chance for each of us to set new personal goals to make us healthier, happier, or more productive. In 2016, I hope you’ll join me as I recommit myself to ensuring that every child in America—regardless of background or circumstance—has access to an excellent education.
Fall 2015 Newsletter
Dear GUA Colleagues and Friends, Here you will find the GEAR UP Alabama Newsletter. Our first issue is for the Fall of 2015.
Peek Inside a Classroom
José was one of the calmest, quietest, most peaceful boys in the classroom. The kind of boy everybody loves.
Alabama Living Highlights GEAR UP Alabama
Cleve Poole, VP Economic Development and Legal Affairs of Alabama Living writes about GEAR UP Alabama in the November 2015 edition of the online magazine.
Predictors of Postsecondary Success
An American Institutes for Research College and Career Readiness and Success Center's brief summarizes early childhood through early postsecondary education research that identifies student skills, behaviors, and other characteristics that predict future academic and workplace success. This information can support policymakers and practitioners as they begin to develop and validate factors that identify students who are on a path to postsecondary success as early as prekindergarten and throughout their academic career.
States Fall Short on Teaching Financial Literacy
One state has gone above and beyond all others in its efforts to ensure high school students learn financial literacy, according to a new report—and that's Utah.
GEAR UP Alabama Kicks Off in Selma and Dallas County Schools
From the West Alabama Newsroom-- A new program underway in Selma and Dallas County is designed to raise the high school graduation rate and equip students to successfully move on to college -- or enter the workforce.
Middle School Students Granted College Chance with GEAR UP
Phenix City middle schoolers are already gearing up for college with a little help.
Phenix City 6th and 7th Graders Eligible for Scholarships
On Friday, October 31, 2014, Governor Bentley held a special event at the Alabama Capitol to recognize Phenix City Schools and 17 other Alabama school districts as recipients of the GEAR UP grant. The goal of the event was to highlight the grant, recognize the leadership of the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) who worked on the grant and discuss the impact this grant will have on students in Phenix City and other areas.
$49 Million Focus on Education in Alabama's Black Belt
A seven-year, $49 million project is aimed at some of Alabama's poorest counties in an effort to raise the high school graduation rate and get more students in college. Governor Robert Bentley says that "Gear Up Alabama" is critical to changing the mostly rural counties across central Alabama that traditionally have more poverty than the rest of the state.
GEAR UP Grant to Benefit Pike County Schools
The GEAR UP summer enrichment program for Banks School, Pike County High School and Goshen High School wrapped up Thursday with a fun day for students.
Why the Admissions Office May Be Part of the Problem of College Access
Access to college is a hot issue these days, with policy makers and colleges looking for ways to enroll more low-income, first-generation, and minority students. Many people see the admissions office as a key part of the solution. But as a longtime admissions professional, I suspect just the opposite is true: That the admissions office, especially at highly selective institutions, is the agent that keeps these students out of college in the first place, by creating a game that is heavily skewed in favor of students from high-income, well-educated families.
Alabama State Board Meeting - June 2015
Clip taken from the 6/11/2015 State Board of Education Work Session. View the full session.
SHMS to Launch “GEAR UP” College Prep Program
Seventh and eighth grade students at South Highlands Middle School will have extra help preparing for college and career training programs, thanks to a new “Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs” (GEAR UP) initiative. The GEAR UP program focuses on helping students pursue education and training beyond high school, including trade certificate programs, two-year degree programs and four-year degree programs.
GEAR UP Summer Enrichment Program Finishes with Fun Day
The GEAR UP summer enrichment program for Banks School, Pike County High School and Goshen High School wrapped up Thursday with a fun day for students.
Summer Learning: Ambitious Program Gears Up To Push Middle-Schoolers Past High School
A surprisingly good student band is doing its thing on the last day of a weeklong music camp at Alabama’s picturesque University of Montevallo. The camp attracts talented kids from around the Southeast, mostly from families who can afford the tuition. But through a grant program just getting started, students who otherwise couldn’t are joining in.
Expanding the Presidential Scholars Program to Honor Students in Career and Technical Education
Yesterday, President Obama signed an Executive Order expanding the United States Presidential Scholars program to establish a new category of outstanding scholars in career and technical education (CTE).