2009 Parent Leadership Award Winners
Betty Biggs, Fairmont State
University GEAR UP
Helvetia, West Virginia
Betty Biggs has been involved with GEAR UP in her rural town in West
Virginia for nine years. In a K-12 school with only four full-time and
four part-time teachers, Betty's work is critical to the accomplishment
of GEAR UP's goals. Although Betty had previously been employed by GEAR
UP as a site liaison, she continues to be involved as a volunteer with
the program as a member of the school improvement council and supporting
the school and GEAR UP staff in any way she is able. She focuses her
efforts on motivating students to focus on their education and to
understanding how they can be prepared to go on to college. Betty also
emphasizes to the students of Helvetia the importance of giving back to
the community through volunteer and other activities; something that
Betty epitomizes through her many hours of devoted service to local
civic and religious organizations. Ms. Biggs goes out of her way to
ensure that GEAR UP parents understand the importance of a college
education and that they know how to support their children as they
pursue that dream. Helping parents understand the importance of
postsecondary education is a particular challenge in the small rural
community in which Betty lives where most of the GEAR UP students will
be the first in their families to go on to postsecondary education.
Through her hard work, persistence and dedication, she is helping to
create a college-going culture that will benefit West Virginia's
children and families for generations to come.
Sandra Gil, Region One GEAR
UP
Roma, Texas
Sandra Gil has been working with GEAR UP for four yeas but has been
working as a volunteer in the schools for 13. As a fully trained part of
the Abriendo Puertas program, Sandra has been able to capitalize on her
organizational and training skills to engage hundreds of parents and
share with them both her passion for GEAR UP and the information they
need to help their children successfully pursue postsecondary education.
Ms. Gil's dedication to GEAR UP and her tireless efforts to recruit
families to participate in GEAR UP activities have paid off; attendance
at events for GEAR UP families has increased by ten fold. Of note is Ms.
Gil's approach to motivating shy and reserved parents to participate
with GEAR UP activities at both the building and district level.
Sandra's experience with GEAR UP has not only made a difference to the
families of Roma, Texas; Sandra herself plans on enrolling at South
Texas College to study technology and computers. She is clearly
committed to spreading the GEAR UP message and making a difference in
the lives of the children and families of Roma.
Willa Maynard, Claflin
University GEAR UP
Orangeburg, South Carolina
Willa Maynard has been involved with GEAR UP since 1999 as Chair of
the Parent Advisory Council and one of the strongest, most vocal and
active advocates for Claflin University GEAR UP. She is a true community
organizer who ensures that parents have access to the information they
need to support their GEAR UP children. She believes that parents need
to move beyond just being involved in their children's education to
become change agents in their lives. Ms. Maynard does what it takes to
reach parents, including making phone calls and home visits, as well as
reaching out to community organizations and places or worship to gain
access to local families. Through her efforts, attendance at Claflin's
Parent Seminars has increased to 60%. Willa also solicits parents for
ideas on topics of interest that should be covered in the Parent
Seminars. When GEAR UP was eliminated form the federal budget, Ms.
Maynard organized a massive communication campaign to Congress that
included writing letters, sending emails, making phone calls, creating
petitions and making personal visits to the offices of the South
Carolina Congressional delegation. Through her efforts, all the members
of this delegation pledged support of continued funding for GEAR UP.
Willa does not support GEAR UP because of the positive impact it has had
in the lives of her two daughters, but rather because of what it does
for all children.
Maria Carmen Vargas,
University of California Santa Cruz GEAR UP
Greenfield, California
Maria Vargas has only been involved with GEAR UP for just under two
years but has already had an impact on local children and families. Upon
her realization that her attitude and actions as a mother impacted her
children's academic performance, Maria was inspired to educate herself
so that she could be a true role model to her own children as well as to
the other children in her community. Since then, Maria has been very
active in her children's school and community. She organized local
parents to write a grant to develop a parent patrol and went through the
Santa Cruz Educational Partnership Center's three-tier Parent Leadership
training. In just 18 short months, Ms. Vargas has been transformed from
a parent into a parent leader who speaks passionately in front of
audiences that include superintendents, school administrators, teachers
and students about the importance of GEAR UP and of family involvement.
She is now educating parents on college access, facilitating workshops
on parent advocacy and sharing her own story to inspire other parents to
become involved with their own children's education and with GEAR
UP.
George Williams, Washington
State GEAR UP
Federal Way School District, Auburn, Washington
George Williams, Jr. has been working with GEAR UP for four years. As
a retired EMT with the Seattle Fire Department, George brings his
tremendous leadership skills to the GEAR UP program at Thomas Jefferson
High School in the Federal Way school district in Auburn, Washington.
Mr. Williams has been providing foster care for children for 20 years
and has had one child participate in GEAR UP. He meets with GEAR UP
parents monthly to discuss ways to improve academic achievement and
address other challenges students and families may be facing. Mr.
Williams has a way of gaining trust from a wide cross-section of GEAR UP
families, all of which feel comfortable discussing their concerns with
him. They know Mr. Williams will advocate on their behalf with the
school and advise them well on how to address challenges they might be
facing with their children or the school. The direct line of
communication he has established with GEAR UP families has resulted in
increased involvement from those families who were not traditionally
engaged with the school and with their children's education.
The 2009 Parent Leadership Awards are sponsored by
CollegeEd, a College Board program. For more information, please contact
Sara Melnick at sara_melnick@edpartnerships.org.
|
