The South Dakota GEAR UP program aims to increase the number of Native American and financially eligible students prepared for and graduating from higher education. It works with 24 middle schools and 14 high schools to provide academic support, summer programs, mentoring, campus visits, and assistance with financial aid and scholarships. The program emphasizes rigor, relationships, and relevance to intrinsically motivate students and ensure they are academically prepared and believe they can succeed. It also supports students and families to help guide students through higher education.

1. South Dakota
Gaining Early Awareness and
Readiness for Undergraduate
Programs (GEAR UP)
Stacy Phelps,
Senior Program Manager

2. SD GEAR UP Mission
Increase the number of financial aid eligible
and American Indian students that are
prepared to graduate from higher education

3. SD GEAR UP Goals
• Increase the academic performance and
preparation for post-secondary education of
GEARUP students
• Increase the rate of high school graduation and
participation in post-secondary education for
GEARUP students
• Increase the educational expectations of
GEARUP students, and increase student and
family knowledge of post-secondary education
options, preparation, and financing

4. Summer Honors Program
Legacy
• Begin back in 1992
• 90% of participants are Native American
• 100% graduation rate from high school
• 87% placement rate in higher education
– Additional 9% in military
• 62% of students have graduate from or are
still enrolled in higher education
• 34 Alumni have received full ride scholarships
– 24 Gates Millennium Scholars
– 13 other Full Ride Scholars
(Creighton Scholarships, Coca Cola,
Packard Foundation, WISE Start)

5. Basis of the SD GEAR UP Model
• SD GEARUP increases the number of Native American
students that achieve success in higher education
through a rigorous, pre-college enrichment program
that is acceleration based and comprehensive by
design
• SD GEAR UP utilizing rigor, relationships, and
relevance as foundation
• SD GEAR UP identifies and engages stakeholders in
partnership focused on the success of individual
students
• SD GEAR UP informs and empowers families about
the realities, opportunities, and expectations of higher
education. Families become engaged in their student’s
academic career beginning in their sixth grade year

6. SDGEARUP Summer Honors
• Six week summer residential pre-
college enrichment program.
• Served over 250 students in grades 9-
12 in summer 2012.
• Includes students from all nine
reservations in SD and over 35 schools.

7. SD GEAR UP Implementation
 Project will serve a cohort of 6,600 students in 6th - 12th
grades each year over a 7-year period
 A federal matching grant (For each federal grant dollar spent
must be matched by an in-kind partner dollar.)
 Activities:
• Foundational service to all grade levels
• Middle school to high school transition services to all grade
levels
• Middle school enhancements
• Middle to high school transition services
• High school enhancements
• High school to post-secondary transition services
• Other support services, i.e., professional development and
parent services
• Mini-grants to partner schools

8. SDGEARUP Partner Schools
24 Middle and 14 High schools

9. The New Three Rs
• Rigor-all students need the chance to
succeed at challenging classes, such as
algebra, writing, and chemistry
• Relevancy-courses and projects must
spark student interest and relate clearly to
their lives in today’s rapidly changing world
• Relationships-all students need adult
mentors who know them, look out for them,
and push them to achieve

10. What we have learned
• Students succeed when they are
intrinsically motivated
• Students succeed when they are
academically prepared
• Students succeed when they believe
they can be successful
• Students succeed when they are
appropriately supported

11. Students succeed when they
are intrinsically motivated
• Emphasize importance of goals early
and link goals to students interests
• Establish short and long term goals
• Help students to see themselves as
part of an overall big picture
• Emphasis on delayed rewards, de-
emphasis on immediate rewards
• Career awareness

12. Students succeed when they
are academically prepared
• Each year of school is important
• Expose students to professional careers
early with clear pathways to success
• Plan and practice, practice, practice
successful behaviors
• Develop a Cohort Process of students-
positive peer support
• Rigorous acceleration based curriculum
with high expectations for success

13. Students succeed who believe
they can succeed
• Mentoring and Modeling
• Regular articulation of paths to success
• Financial Aid, College Visits, Expectation
that students will go to college.

14. Students succeed when they are
appropriately supported
• Families need to have a better understanding
of what their students are going through so
they know when to or not to intervene
• Life skills with emphasis on personal finance,
time management, and study habits
• Navigation of educational systems, higher
education and career awareness, and
academic planning
• Expose families to college life, prepare for
separation anxiety, and inform of positive
advocacy and support strategies

15. STUDENT ACTIVITIES
• Middle school academic and summer
program
• High school programs: freshman
transition, mentoring, summer programs
• Higher Education Campus visits
• Financial Aid and Scholarship
application development assistance
• Mentoring/social structure/web based
community

16. FAMILY ACTIVITIES
• Inform families about the quality opportunities in
higher education here in South Dakota
• Provide information to families focused on the value
of higher education
• Inform families about how to prepare and support
their students’ path towards success in higher
education
• Work with families to inform them of all possible
pathways to higher education-tribal colleges to BOR
institutions, etc.
• Develop an understanding of the financial realities
and the financial potentials of higher education
planning

17. SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
• Update school staff about higher education
planning opportunities and assist them in
building awareness in families
• Assist in school planning and leveraging
activities focused on academic student
success
• Supply career planning software and
professional development training
• Focus on changing mindset of school staff and
faculty that Native American students can
succeed in higher education

18. COLLEGE ACTIVITIES
• Inform higher education institutions staff and faculty
of the unique Native student needs
• Inform higher education institutions of strategies to
effectively work with Native students and their
families
• Create a positive matriculation environment between
SD GEAR UP schools and Higher Education
institutions
• Ensure higher education institutions are
demonstrating all of the positive things they have to
offer Native students
• Develop multiple paths focused on Native students
success, i.e. from tribal colleges to BOR institutions.

19. High School Transition
Strategies…Students
• Provide a rigorous academic
environment with mandatory study halls
at night.
• Provide financial literacy courses for
students on managing scholarship
resources.
• Develop mentoring support
opportunities with American Indian
College alumni from SD GEAR UP.

20. High School Transition
Strategies…Students
• Utilize an acceleration-based, extended
residential summer enrichment model.
• Use transitioning high school senior students
as mentors and role models to younger
students in summer programs--emphasizes
leadership responsibility.
• Develop positive peer cohort groups that go
to college together.
• Extended visits to college campus, three day
versus three hour.
• Extended visits include faculty and students
from individual departments on campuses.

21. High School Transition Strategies
for Families and Students
• Provide intensive workshops on:
– College awareness;
– Career exploration;
– Financial aid workshops;
– Academic year calendar development on critical deadlines;
– Scholarship application completion strategies (specifically
targeting Gates Millennium, state and local scholarships);
and
– College entrance applications.
• Host overnight college dorm stays for
families.
• Host family workshops focused on how to
raise a college bound student.

22. Strategies for Higher
Education Partners
• Building pathways to higher education thru
partnerships: tribal colleges, vocational schools, board
of regents of institutions--articulation agreements and
expanded dual enrollment programs.
• Extended visits to college campus, three day versus
three hour.
• Detailed orientation visits with departments on each
college campus.
• Facilitate expanding efforts of SD GEAR UP on more
post secondary campuses.
• Coordinating statewide discussions on Native
American student recruitment, retention, and success
plan.

23. Questions?