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March 15, 2005
Dear Colleagues,
After years of working to develop some of the most comprehensive
pre-college programs in the history of public education in America, many
of us were profoundly disappointed to learn that these funds were at
risk just as our first class of student beneficiaries prepares to
graduate from high school and advance to college. With the prospects and
well being of the students we have yet to serve foremost in our minds,
we are writing to invite you to spread the word about the
accomplishments of your GEAR UP work to date with policymakers and
policy influencers that serve your region and make decisions about the
deployment of federal resources to schools and colleges through GEAR UP.
In broadcasting the value of this program, you will join the leaders of
the education community in California as evidenced by the enclosed
letter sent to President Bush and California’s Congressional
delegation by Jack O’Connell, Mark Drummond, Charlie Reed, Robert
Dynes, Jonathan Brown, and Murray Haberman last week. To further the
educational advocacy work that many of you have begun and others are
eager to embark on, we are enclosing the following items to support and
assist your efforts.
- A copy of the letter of support from our educational
leaders
- A summary of the GEAR UP story in
California
- Sample letters and written materials in English and Spanish
- A list of California’s GEAR UP
Grants
In the weeks ahead it is critical that our voice be heard on this matter
locally and in Washington. We, and our many local GEAR UP partners and
beneficiaries are the stakeholders who must speak out regarding all we
have been able to accomplish in the few years that GEAR UP has been in
existence. With no alternative source of funding available to continue
these efforts, the consequences of the program’s demise at this
juncture would be grave indeed. Please make these materials your own and
help students, parents, school, university, community and business
partners be heard on this matter.
Our colleagues at The National Council for Community and Education
Partnerships (NCCEP) in Washington D.C. have also been working hard on
behalf of the national GEAR UP community and invite you to visit their
web site for additional tools and information, including articles on
GEAR UP impact by state and an interactive tool that will connect you to
your Congressional representatives via the web (www.edpartnerships.org).
Together, we are the difference and the future for our children and
communities.
Sincerely,
Penny Edgert, Director
Intersegmental Coordinating Council
University of California Office of the President
Shelley Davis, Director
GEAR UP California
State Grant
Sara Lundquist, Ph.D., Vice President for Student Services
Santa AnaCollege
GEAR UP Santa Ana Partnership Grantee and Host of the 2006 GEAR UP State
Conference
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