Fall 2012 Semester

Palomar College GEAR UP Partnership Program:

Improving the Lives of Local Youth in North County San Diego Through Sustainable

Business Partnerships

Prepared for: Calvin One Deer Gavin

Therese Cisneros-Remington

Prepared by: April Stotler

Christopher Newman

David Harris

Kelly Bussey

Silvia Monterrosa

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, we would like to express our gratitude to Therese Cisneros-

Remington who has been instrumental to the successful completion of this project. Her valuable

time and advice helped focus our efforts and made this project successful. We would also like to

thank Calvin One Deer Gavin for his encouragement and inspiration. We would like to thank

our faculty advisor Professor Alan Omens for giving us leadership and guidance throughout the

duration of this project. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Palomar College

and GEAR UP for providing us with the information and facilities necessary to complete this

project. This project has allowed us the privilege to participate and learn about GEAR UP and

the valuable role it plays within our community. Without the help of the individuals mentioned

above, we would not have been successful in completing this project.

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Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1

INTRODUCTION 2

OBJECTIVES 4

METHODOLOGY & RESULTS 6 ASSESSING PERCEPTIONS OF CURRENT PARTNERS 6 PRIMARY RESEARCH 6 OUTCOMES 8 BEST PRACTICES TO ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN PARTNER NETWORK 10 PRIMARY RESEARCH 10 OUTCOMES 11 DATABASE DEVELOPMENT 17 DESIRED COMPANIES 17 POPULATING THE DATABASE 17 TESTING THE DATABASE 18 OUTCOMES 19

RECOMMENDATIONS 20

CONCLUSION 23

REFERENCES 24

APPENDICES 25

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Palomar College GEAR UP identified a key problem: identifying potential business

partners that are willing to provide in-kind services/donations year after year. In order for

Palomar College GEAR UP to be successful in their program implementation, they need to

identify organizations that are willing and able to make repeat contributions to their program.

The student research team, from California State University San Marcos, was contracted by the

Palomar College GEAR UP Partnership Program administration team to assist them in achieving

their program objectives and goals. After several consultations with the sponsor, the student

team set out to accomplish the following tasks:

1. Identify potential partners, determine likely prospects, build a database of at least

100 potential partners, and determine if theyre willing to have a GEAR UP

presentation.

2. Solicit feedback from current partners to assess current perceptions and areas of

opportunities to strengthen the relationship.

3. Research best practices or strategies for creating and fostering long-term

business education partnerships.

Through great effort the student team was able to identify and create a database of almost

200 potential business partners located in the San Diego metro area. The student team gathered

information with a given set of criteria from the databases ReferenceUSA and the San Diego

Business Journal. The student team was also able to solicit sound information from seven

current active business partners. The responses resulted in positive information for Palomar

College GEAR UP and helpful recommendations for improving program partnerships was

gained as well. Finally, the student team was able to uncover good and effective practices for

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business education partnerships. This was best achieved through secondary research, versus

primary research conducted through direct communication attempts with outside resources.

Based on the primary and secondary research conducted by the student team, several

recommendations should be considered: maintain current online presence, keep an open line of

communication through multiple channels, make sure communications are frequent and from one

point of contact, start an advisory board/committee, network at local business networking events,

and nurture current partnerships by planning more partnership events and including partners in

upcoming GEAR UP events.

INTRODUCTION

GEAR UP is a non-profit program, which stands for Gaining Early Awareness and

Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (Appendix A). GEAR UP was enacted as part of the

1998 Higher Education Act to give more low-income students the skills, encouragement, and

preparation to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. The GEAR UP program offers

state and partnership grants that are competitive, discretionary six-year matching grants issued to

states and partnerships to provide services to middle and high schools. Specifically, GEAR UP

is designed to increase the number of low-income students who are adequately prepared to both

enter and succeed in postsecondary education. GEAR UP, at Palomar College, is a U.S.

Department of Education grant program that allocates resources to provide early college

awareness, improve academic performance, increase high school graduation rates, and improve

the transition for students from middle school to high school in the North County San Diego area

(Appendix B).

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Palomar College GEAR UP is designed to help create a pre-college culture in middle

school students while facilitating the process of preparing high school students for future college

enrollment. The Palomar College GEAR UP program helps at-risk, low-income, and first

generation college students in the San Marcos, Vista, and Escondido school districts in

California. Their mission statement reads, The Palomar College GEAR UP Partnership

Program is devoted to enhancing a college-going culture that will increase the number of

students from San Marcos and Vista Unified School Districts who are prepared for and admitted

to post-secondary institutions. By building a network of support comprised of schools, parents,

business and the community, we are committed to empowering ALL GEAR UP students for

success via these four pillars: Parents Involvement & Education, Advance Academic

Achievement, College Knowledge & Planning, Career Awareness & Planning. Aligning with a

non-profit, such as GEAR UP, allows companies to help the community they operate in, receive

exposure as a charitable business, and also take pleasure in knowing they are helping make a

difference in the lives of many youth in San Diego.

Palomar College GEAR UP has three specific key objectives for the years 2011-2018

grant funding including:

1. Increase student enrollment in rigorous courses that reflect challenging academic

standards and increase student knowledge and demonstration of necessary

academic preparation for college.

2. Increase high school graduation rates and student enrollment and success in

postsecondary education.

3. Increase educational expectations and students knowledge of and access to

financial assistance for postsecondary education.

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Based off these objectives, Palomar College GEAR UP has identified their three goals:

1. Increase academic performance and preparation for postsecondary education.

2. Increase high school graduation and participation in postsecondary education.

3. Increase GEAR UP students and their families knowledge of postsecondary

education options, preparations, and financing.

The student research team at California State University San Marcos, for their Senior

Experience project, has undertaken a market research project on behalf of Palomar College

GEAR UP. To aid this remarkable educational outreach program, the student research team has

conducted primary and secondary research in an effort to determine how to gain business partner

relationships, how to maintain existing partnerships, and how to sustain a successful long-term

relationship with business partners. In addition to the primary and secondary research, the

student team developed a potential partner database. The purpose of this project was to assist

Palomar College GEAR UP in expanding their partner network in an effort to meet their program

objectives and goals. The objectives of this project, the methodology and results of this project,

database development, as well as recommendations for GEAR UP will be listed in the following

sections.

OBJECTIVES

Upon first introduction to the GEAR UP project, the student research team was

contracted to address a problem the Palomar College GEAR UP Partnership Program was

experiencing. As a federally funded GEAR UP grantee, the administrative team from the

Palomar College GEAR UP needed help with identifying and increasing potential business

partners. Out of necessity to meet federal regulations, a GEAR UP partnership grant recipient is

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required to acquire in-kind donations and/or services from outside organizations that can then be

matched by federal funds. These partner contributions serve as a lifeline to the many services

Palomar College GEAR UP provides to local students. Therefore, the problem the student

research team needed to address was how to find and make a connection with likely business

partner prospects for GEAR UP Partnership Program sustainability.

The initial goals of the project involved the following:

1. Identify the target business with demographics in the San Diego region that are

likely participants to provide contributions to educational programs such as

GEAR UP.

2. Determine the most likely prospects-perhaps 100 potential businesses that are

potential program partners.

3. Build a database of all potential business partners and their contact information

including the information of the main contact person for their respective

community outreach program.

4. Determine if the potential partner is willing to have a 20-minute GEAR UP

presentation to learn about and consider partnership.

After several consultations with the GEAR UP administrative team, it was determined

that the Senior Experience team would address these additional elements as project goals:

1. Target companies that are only related to (STEAM): Science, Technology,

Engineering, Arts, and Math (for steps 1 through 4.)

2. Survey current active business partners:

To assess their perceptions of their relationship with GEAR UP and the

effectiveness of the relationship.

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To solicit feedback on ways to strengthen business partner sponsorship

engagement with GEAR UP.

3. Conduct Research for best practices and strategies for creating and maintaining

business partner relationships with grant programs such as GEAR UP:

Through primary research - contacting companies that currently have

community outreach programs, specifically with academic programs.

Through a Literature Review of existing materials demonstrating

successful collaborations between companies (corporations) and

educational institutions or programs.

The Senior Experience team set out to accomplish all the elements noted, so as to assist

our sponsors, the administrative team at Palomar College GEAR UP, in achieving their program

objectives and goals.

METHODOLOGY & RESULTS

ASSESSING PERCEPTIONS OF CURRENT PARTNERS

Primary Research

The objective of this survey was to understand the perceptions of Palomar GEAR UPs

current business partner relationships; in order to help GEAR UP identify ways to improve

outreach to both current as well as new prospects within the community. The research team

wanted to learn how GEAR UP could better maintain their relationships with these current

partners by identifying the strengths, weaknesses, and areas of improvement within the GEAR

UP Program, and the overall dynamics of these partner relationships.

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The primary research for the current partners was obtained through a ten-question survey

form (Appendix C) to be collected by several methods including email, telephone, and Survey

Monkey submissions online. The data the team collected was qualitative in nature as a result of

open-ended questions and was sent to a sample size of 20 current active business partners, and

the project team received only seven submissions in return. This sampling frame was obtained

through GEAR UPs (2011-2018) Business-Partner-Listings, which originally identified 38

business partners. The sample size was then further reduced based off of new updated listing

information provided to the research team by the GEAR UP staff. The final figure of 20

business partners represented a sample of active businesses that have ongoing personal contact

with GEAR UP, or have provided an event for GEAR UP students and/or faculty participation

recently. This final survey sample represented only fifty percent of the total original sample

population. The data the team received was both anonymous through Survey Monkey

submissions and named through email and phone submissions. The research team kept the

respondents submissions confidential in the final report to GEAR UP, in order to ensure

accurate feedback and respondent confidentiality (Appendix D).

The survey team completed the first draft of the survey form on September 24, 2012, and

submitted it for review by GEAR UP personnel. The project team received final approval on

October 1, 2012, and began submitting survey requests to the GEARUP current business partners

on October 3, 2012. Initial survey requests went out via email to all participants introducing the

project team and requesting five minutes of their time to complete the survey. Respondents who

did not submit a survey by the end of that week, Oct. 7, received a follow up phone call on

October 8, 2012. The survey team continued this process until October 11, 2012, when a request

was verbally submitted to GEAR UP staff, asking them to do their own personal follow up with

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the nonresponsive business partners. No further submissions were received after October 18,

2012.

Outcomes

The perception of the GEAR UP program by the current partner respondents was

overwhelmingly positive. The GEAR UP survey participants acknowledged the excellence of

the program and the positive contributions that the program offers to North County San Diego

students.

The current GEAR UP partnership respondents reported they chose to collaborate with

this program because it allows them to help and support the youth. As one participant stated, It

was an opportunity to improve a childs life. Another organization saw this as a win/win for

both the agencies because it allows students to have a broader view of the many career fields

available to choose from after graduating from college.

The respondents of the survey were asked to describe the biggest strengths of the GEAR

UP program. Almost every response cited the dedication and the commitments of each and

every staff member. Survey participants believed that the program has some of the best and hard

working people around who are passionate about what they do and that they do it very well.

Participants were also asked what is the biggest strength of the GEAR UP programs relationship

with their company. The respondents indicated that they like the fact that they are able to

connect directly with students and the teachers, and that GEAR UP is an excellent program they

can participate in.

Participants were also asked what they believed was the biggest weakness of the GEAR

UP program and the biggest weakness of the GEAR UP programs relationship with their

company. Both questions resulted with answers that addressed the same concern; the program

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being short staffed and not having one centralized community relations coordinator, to help

coordinate between different community speakers, instructors for upcoming student lectures and

workshops with the schools coordinators. Some participants found this to be extra work for

them in that they have to talk to different people.

When participants were asked areas of improvement for the GEAR UP programs

relationship with their company, they responded by asking to have one point of contact, an

assigned community coordinator for their company and having more regular communications.

In regards to the program itself, some participants recommended for the program to have more

visibility and to recruit more community partners to the program. Above all, the participants

recommended for GEAR UP to be the first in planning more partnership events and to keep the

communication going with their agencies.

The research team had a good current partner survey topic inquiring about the needs,

behaviors, and affiliations of the GEAR UP program; however, the project faced two minor

limitations. Since the team minimized the representative sample size to only 20 business

partners, they needed to obtain as many responses as possible in order to validate the data.

However, one limitation that was experienced was unresponsive partners not returning emails or

phone calls for several weeks. This was discouraging for the research team considering they

eliminated the majority of business partners with the hope that the active business partners would

be more responsive to the survey. The team also ran into some contacts/individuals within the

current partner businesses who were no longer with the company or did not have enough

knowledge about the program to respond to the survey. This total accounted for twenty percent

of the representative sample size.

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BEST PRACTICES TO ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN PARTNER NETWORK

Primary Research

To determine the best practices for establishing and maintaining an educational business

partner network, the student research team designed a primary research study which was to be

conducted through the means of a qualitative questionnaire using informal phone interviews and

email requests. The goal was for the student team to get in contact with companies that have an

established community outreach/philanthropy program already in place. Examples would

include such companies as Cox Communications, Qualcomm and SeaWorld San Diego

(Appendix E). The Palomar College GEAR UP program, being a relatively new program,

compared to the likes of Qualcomms Global Philanthropy/Outreach, can benefit by learning

from these larger corporations insights with established partnership programs. These insights

can potentially help GEAR UP avoid any mistakes that may jeopardize both small and larger

business partners from joining them.

On September 27th, 2012, a six-item open-ended questionnaire was outlined and

finalized by one of the student team members with the assistance of a Marketing Professor, Ms.

Mary Cassoni from Palomar Community College (Appendix F). Anticipating company

gatekeepers, the six-item questionnaire was designed with preliminary notes or a brief script to

assist each team member in cold calling and locating the proper contact/company representative

who might be in charge of community outreach.

The questionnaire was designed to receive open ended answers that would allow the

company representative to speak freely about aspects of developing their community

partnerships regarding such factors as:

Important characteristics

How they obtain partners or screen them

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An ideal length of time for a partnership

The best practices to maintain that relationship

How to make the relationship last longer

The best way for an organization to explore a potential partnership with their

company

The non-statistical questionnaire was administered through convenience sampling

methods of these larger philanthropic companies. A list of 55 companies was compiled using an

internet Google search to identify philanthropic businesses to contact via telephone or in many

cases emails in order to reach the person or department in charge of any community

outreach/philanthropy programs that are already in place. Once the person in charge of that

aspect of the business was reached, the questions were to be asked by the team members to

determine best practices or the best ways in which Palomar College GEAR UP can approach

potential partners and how to sustain a relationship with those partners.

The cutoff date for the primary research study with outside organizations was originally

scheduled for October 11th, 2012. However, due to lack of responses and delayed responses by

many outside companies, the student team continued to pursue connections with the companies

through October 31st, 2012.

Outcomes

With a list of 55 companies that have a corporate giving program, the student team

determined this list of companies should be sufficiently comprehensive to assist them in gaining

the valuable information the project was seeking. The resistance and the lack of responses

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received by the listed companies were very surprising. The companies that did respond back to

the request were Life Technologies, SeaWorld San Diego, and Northrop Grumman.

There were several limitations that were encountered while conducting the outside

company research for best practices. The first limitation that arose was that many companies

were not receptive of the teams cold-calling efforts. A majority of the time companies that were

contacted by phone hung up, didnt know who to direct the call to, or failed to respond to any

messages that were left through receptionists or voicemail. The second limitation was the

inability to find a direct phone number for the community outreach department, which then led to

the team to direct their efforts through email correspondence. The email efforts proved to be

more fruitful as the team was successful in gaining feedback from three different companies.

However, the research team suspects that they did not receive more responses due to the

possibility of the emails landing into spam folders. The third limitation encountered during this

project was that when company representatives were able to be reached, some were hesitant to

reveal any information about community outreach/philanthropy programs or processes in which

partners are made/established. The final limitation was that company representatives, who were

willing to help with the project, were not able to do so at this time, due to time constraints with

their own schedules. One company asked to be contacted again in January 2013, conflicting

with the time schedule given to the research team.

Although the research team gained limited feedback through their primary research

efforts, the team did gather some helpful information by the few companies that were kind

enough to respond to the inquiries (Appendix G). The first helpful piece of information gathered

states a partnership needs to be a win/win situation for both parties. Life Technologies

mentioned a stronger collaboration would be formed with organizations that do business with

them. The Community Relations Manager for SeaWorld San Diego appreciates a partner

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organization that has their best interest in mind and will promote the good work theyre doing at

their facility.

Elaborating on those thoughtful responses by SeaWorld and Life Technologies a

document found during the literature review, The 2010 Bayer Perspectives on Creating

Successful Business Education Partnerships, mentions that business-education partnerships are

on the rise; however, there are many challenges to overcome. The main challenge is identifying

and meshing the main focus of each sector. Business is more short-term focused with a results-

oriented mindset. Education focuses on the long-term where results are not immediately

recognized. A partnership between the two sectors can be satisfying and enormously beneficial

as there are many rewards to be had between the two parties. Bayer recommends that when the

two join together they must clarify their intentions at the start, maintain good communication,

and learn how to overcome their challenges so that they may recognize the rewards and benefits.

A discussion between the two parties should uncover the expected outcomes of the partnership

and the measurements for success. Within this discussion a dialogue should be framed around

the goals, roles, and responsibilities of each respective organization so as to develop a win-win

situation for each party (Babe, 2010).

During the outside company best practices survey consultation with Prof. Mary Cassoni

at Palomar College, Ms. Cassoni suggested the research team contact Joe Molina at the

Oceanside Small Business Development Center (SBDC). She thought he might be able to assist

the research team with reaching outside corporations for building the potential partners database.

Two of the student research team members visited with Mr. Molina at the SBDC on October 4,

2012, with the hopes of obtaining more company directories for the potential business contacts

listing. During the interview, Mr. Molina was unable to provide more business listings, but over

the course of the discussion, valuable insights were provided by him regarding methods of

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engaging companies for educational outreach programs, as well as what to expect when the team

tries to contact these outside businesses/corporations. This interview turned into a primary

research activity for discovering best practices in recruiting and maintaining a business-

education partnership.

Mr. Molinas first suggestion was that cold calling these large companies, without

building any kind of prior relationships, was going to be difficult, as the research team

discovered over the course of the project. During the interview, Mr. Molina also touched upon

some of the very same corporate-partnership-building principles that were discussed in many of

the articles the research team had discovered for the literature review. First was to have a

champion, a person who is identifiable to the outward community, who can act as a face to

GEAR UPs efforts, such as a congressman or a city mayor, some type of person with official

capacity. This person would be on and perhaps in charge of a GEAR UP Community Board,

consisting of other prominent community members involved with education, corporate and

industry, as well as some of the GEAR UP students and their parents. He suggested these people

be recruited from organizations such as City Chambers of Commerce, and that the GEAR UP

personnel frequent chamber-networking events to recruit these members for an advisory board.

This board should meet periodically, up to five times a year, and develop action teams for

forming GEAR UP goals and events, and to reach out further into the business world to reach

colleagues as needed to run the events/programs annually.

Events involving businesses should be consistent, such as an annual dinner or mixer and

the relationships needed to hold them together have to be ongoing and constantly nurtured. He

said the GEAR UP staff should define these relationships as, A, B and C players. The A & B

players consistently create events and promotions together, they provide feedback and support

for each other, and they often hold events to celebrate their achievements when they have

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reached designated goals. These celebratory events should involve a wider audience, which

helps further reach out into the community. The C players are considered shots in the dark,

but they are always recruited to be involved. Mr. Molina referred to them as the outside people

with minimal involvement who are always appreciated. Mr. Molina also stressed anytime there

is an event to make a press release and not just one, but also several many weeks in advance,

including using social media such as Facebook. Lastly, Mr. Molina stressed that GEAR UP

should promote these companies efforts on the GEAR UP website and in their outgoing

literature, always showing appreciation for these partnerships, highlighting the companies with

their commitments and efforts. He suggested whoever is in the GEAR UP network of volunteers

(corporations) should have their logos with links to their company websites and/or community

pages. Ultimately these companies have a bottom line for a social agenda too, by creating

awareness of their efforts at GEAR UP, they are more likely to stay committed longer if they can

see they are getting some publicity from the partnership agreements.

Congruent to Mr. Molinas suggestions for recruiting and maintaining business

partnerships, the literature review uncovered similar suggestions in a report provided by the

National Alliance of State Science and Mathematics Coalitions (NASSMC), called The SAI

Guide to Building Effective STEM Education Programs, which was also helpful in identifying

the types of potential partners and how to recruit partners.

The guide mentions that small business organizations may be more responsive and

versatile. The inquirer will most likely deal directly with the owners or top management, the

ones that make partnership decisions. Large businesses often have a more structured approach to

partnerships with a person or team dedicated to community outreach efforts. They typically have

established guidelines on how and when they may participate in education initiatives and these

types of organizations typically look for a partner organization with a proven track record.

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Business organizations such as chambers of commerce and trade associations are helpful in

providing expertise and manpower.

Keeping true to form with the recommendations from Mr. Joe Molina at the Oceanside

Small Business Development Center (SBDC), as well as with the project members own

individual experiences, the SAI article does not recommend cold-calling organizations as this has

proven to be ineffective. SAI recommends a four-step plan as follows (Pawlowski, 2010):

1. Identify Prospective Partners: Look for the types of organizations that share

similar interests and may be able to assist in what your organization or program is

trying to accomplish.

2. Research: Take time to investigate the potential organizations to see if they have

the type of resources that would benefit your program and if there is evidence

they support your type of program.

3. Approach: It is best to approach someone in the potential organization through an

introduction rather than a cold call. An advisory group or someone within your

broader network may be able to make a brief introduction. Make sure to target

their interests and highlight the most important aspects of your program and then

request a specific next step such as a follow up phone call.

4. Present: After a meeting is scheduled, it is best to tailor the presentation to best

suit the needs of the potential organization. Highlight the benefits they will

receive by partnering with your organization or program and outline the type of

partnership you would like to have.

With regard to what the original project goals entailed, with the limited size of the survey

sample responses, it became difficult for the team to identify and create a model, which is based

off the primary research, for which the Palomar College GEAR UP Partnership Program can

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establish and maintain business partnerships successfully. The survey information and

knowledge needed to do so was barely made available to the team. Due to this, the team

continued on with their research efforts to find best practice methods and strategies through

exhaustive secondary research of existing literature.

DATABASE DEVELOPMENT

Desired Companies

Palomar College GEAR UP Partnership Program is looking to increase their company

partnerships in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (or

S.T.E.A.M.). S.T.E.A.M. orientated companies can provide the Palomar College GEAR UP

program with the essential tools and knowledge that is needed for the students to become

inspired and thrive for a postsecondary degree that belongs to one of these fields. It became the

teams primary objective to seek out companies within the San Diego region that are S.T.E.A.M.

orientated.

Populating the Database

ReferenceUSA, an online database that provides excellent information on business and

residential information for information and research, became the main tool for the research team

to accomplish this task. Using this database, finding S.T.E.A.M. orientated companies in San

Diego became an easy task. The challenging aspect of this was to weed out the companies that

did not fit the profile of potential partners. This initial profile included S.T.E.A.M. orientated

companies, who reside in the San Diego region, either a satellite-corporate location or

headquartered in San Diego, and have between 50 and 500 employees. Deciphering through all

the potential matches was easy, as shown in Appendix H, because of the search tools that

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allowed the team to narrow down the results to manageable numbers and better potential fits for

Palomar College GEAR UP. A business database provided by Palomar College GEAR UP,

listing San Diego businesses by industry, was also used to collect potential partner fits.

Once the team populated the initial database (Appendix I), the next task was to narrow

down the 300+ results to a manageable number to contact. In order to do this, each member took

a section of the database and researched the company further, either online or via telephone calls

to determine which of the 300+ would potentially be a good partner for the Palomar College

GEAR UP Partnership Program. This was done by checking to see exactly what each company

does for their day-to-day operations, seeing if they currently have a community

outreach/philanthropy program in place, and look for a contact person/email to continue the next

phase of the project. If this information was not available online, the team then would contact

the company via telephone and get in contact with the person who could best represent the

company in terms of community outreach/philanthropy.

Testing the Database

The team was able to narrow down the original 300+ results to 170 potential partners

(Appendix J). Once the final list of potential partners was made, the team then worked on

creating a letter in the form of an email, asking the potential partners to consider partnership with

the Palomar College GEAR UP Partnership Program. After the initial experience with cold-

calling during the determining best practices portion of the project, the team decided to submit

the letter of introduction via email in hopes that it would result in better success. The letter was

then submitted to Therese Cisneros-Remington for her approval. The team also had the email

letter tested by presenting it to some of the California State University of San Marcos professors.

Once the final letter was approved, the team was then able to send the emails through Calvin One

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Deers email account (Appendix K). Out of the 170 potential partners, 169 emails were sent out.

An additional 15 letters were sent via regular mail because the business companies themselves

had requested to have letters mailed directly to them. There were a total of 184 potential partners

that the student team reached out to.

Outcomes

The emails to the potential partners that were sent out with a subject line of Educational

Opportunities for your Business and the letters sent through the mail, were sent out on

November 6th. The deadline for a response time from these 184 potential partners was set for

November 20th and the GEAR UP offices was asked to keep track of all of the responses due to

the possibility of late responses once the project is completed. As of November 19th, 2012,

Therese reported to have received only two responses, both responding by saying that they were

not interested in the GEAR UP program at the time. Due to the low number of responses, the

team requested to have the GEAR UP office resend the emails out one more time with a different

subject line of Palomar College is Seeking Company Partners and with an extended response

time of November 28, 2012. As of today, November 26, 2012 a second count of responses is

pending.

The research team believes that one of the reasons why such a low number of responses

were received is because the email requested for potential partners to attend a 15-minute

presentation and for the businesses to respond back if they wished to receive additional

information. Many of these businesses have already established a process for corporate

sponsorship; for example, one response from a potential partner stated that all sponsorship

requests must be submitted through an online application and that all requests must be made

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before the corporate deadline. This leads the team to believe that every corporation must have its

own unique rules and processes on how they pick and choose which programs to sponsor.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Throughout the project, the research team took note of any recommendations for GEAR

UP to consider. An online presence is essential in todays business world. The Palomar College

GEAR UP program should have an updated website for potential partners to look at when

considering joining. Up-to-date and relevant articles on the website should be present to show

potential partners that the Palomar College GEAR UP program is current and active in relaying

important information to those who are searching. Adding a link to the website that directs

potential sponsors to a sponsorship form is also suggested. The National Society for Black

Engineers has a Summer Engineering Experience for Kids program that lists program sponsors

and has a link to a donation/sponsorship form for the program (Appendix L).

A constant and open channel of communication with business partners is imperative.

GEAR UP should consider as many methods as possible to reach out to their current and future

partners. Methods of communication can be online or offline and pursued through the following

avenues: direct mail flyers and/or newsletters, e-mail and e-newsletters, an up-to-date website,

social media utilizing social and professional networking sites (specifically LinkedIn), forum

boards, video conferencing, phone calls, face-to-face, and advisory committee meetings. The

first half of the list entails a less involved, passive approach. Whereas the second half of the list

will require more time and energy that involves a higher commitment level for one or more

persons within the department. GEAR UP is presently using several of the online methods

suggested; however they are not current. Whichever approach GEAR UP continues to use, or

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considers in the future, it is essential that the individual(s) responsible for the approach stays

committed to the approach. Maria Rocha-Ruiz from UC Santa Cruz Educational Partnership

Center/UCCP recommends that GEAR UP staff remain consistent in their communication

efforts.

One of the more comprehensive guides found on the topic of school-business

partnerships, found during the literature review, is called the, How to Guide for School-

Business Partnerships, published by the Council for Corporate & School Partnerships. The

guide is very detailed on how to engage and develop corporate involvement. The concepts

provided in the guide are integral to improving the education experience for all, including

educators, students, and businesses. The research team highly recommends that the GEAR UP

staff and their partners refer to this guide and others, as a means for support and information

when developing their ongoing programs. In addition, when assessing their needs and details

based on their individual programs circumstances.

A very important reason why the team wanted to conduct a current partner survey was to

find out any areas of improvement or weakness of the GEAR UP program. The team believes

that in order for the program to continue to be successful, the suggested improvements that the

program can make should be considered. An area of improvement that was mentioned in the

survey responses, and that the team recommends the program to take into consideration, is to

assign one person as the centralized Community Relations Coordinator. This would be someone

that the business partners can talk to directly to help organize partnership events and to be the

mediator between the business partners and the school coordinators. This position would help

keep the communication going between both agencies.

Having a corporate partner (CEO) sit on a board of directors or advisory board is another

recommendation made by the team. For education partners, an advisory board or a board of

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directors is recommended per Bayer US (Babe, 2010). Hayward Promise Neighborhood is

Promise Neighborhood implementation grant funded by the U.S. Dept of Education that utilizes

an advisory board. Through the questionnaire, Life Technologies mentioned having a company

member sit on the board for the program, which in turn will assist in sustaining the relationship

between the two entities. If an advisory board is created, then regular meetings will be necessary

to achieve effectiveness.

Another important aspect to consider should be Palomar College GEAR UPs methods of

finding potential partners. In the past, the majority of partners came from personal

recommendations and connections. This method of finding partners is crucial and very

important to the growth of the GEAR UP program, but it cannot be the only way to find them.

Either by using available databases such as ReferenceUSA or the San Diego Business Journals

email list can be very successful ways to find new potential partners all depending on the way

Palomar College GEAR UP sets the parameters on what they are looking for in a partner

(S.T.E.A.M. orientated, etc.). Also, networking within civic associations and the business

community will help ensure the proper connections with potential partners. There are numerous

networking events throughout the San Diego metropolitan area, but the San Diego Business

Journals weekly publication was found to be the most relevant source for current business

events.

It is recommended GEAR UP focus their attention and priority on nurturing their current

business partners in order to grow and develop the partnerships. Danielle Magee from SeaWorld

San Diego mentioned, The best way to maintain a [long-term] relationship is to continue to be a

great partner. Regular meetings with current business partners is the best way to collaborate on

projects or services per Ms. Rocha-Ruiz from UCCP. Hosting annual events to invite all current

business partners together to say thank you and give an update on what GEAR UP has been up to

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the last year can also do this. This also allows each business partner to see what other businesses

have been doing with GEAR UP in their community.

It is understood that this project was severely limited by time constraints. The team

suggests that GEAR UP follow up with the businesses in the database that do not respond to the

letter of introduction and to focus on specific businesses in the database they are particularly

interested in partnering with and targeting those businesses. Tackling these partnerships on a

one-to-one basis will be more effective than mass emailing and during the project, the team

learned that cold calling is the least effective way to introduce oneself and establish current

partnerships. GEAR UP should go to their local Chamber of Commerce and network through

them as face-to-face introductions will be more sustaining than cold calling or emailing.

CONCLUSION

The student research team, given the time constraints of less than eight weeks to develop

the research project, was able to solicit current active partner perceptions and recommendations,

conduct primary and secondary research for finding best practices, and develop a database of

almost 200 potential business partners. With the information collected and recommendations

made, the student research team has laid the groundwork for Palomar College GEAR UP to

obtain new program partners and to maintain and sustain current program partner relationships.

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REFERENCES

Babe, Greg. "Building a Diverse United States STEM Workforce: Perspectives on Creating Successful Business

Education Partnerships." Bayer, 2010. Web. 24 Sept. 2012.

.

"Full-Service Schools Roundtable, Boston MA." Full-Service Schools Roundtable, Boston MA. The Council for

Corporate & School Partnerships, n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012.

.

Hayward Promise Neighborhood. http://www.haywardpromise.org/partners.html

Molina, Joe. Personal Interview. 04 Oct. 2012

Pawlowski, Brett. "The SAI Guide to Building Effective STEM Education Programs." . Lockheed Martin, 2010.

Web. 25 Sept. 2012. .

Rocha-Ruiz, Maria. Email inquiry. 29 Oct. 2012.

Soares, Louis. "The Power of the Education-Industry Partnership | Center for American Progress." Center for

American Progress. Center for American Progress, 4 Oct. 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2012.

.

The Council For Corporate & School Partnerships. A HOW-TO GUIDE FOR SCHOOL-BUSINESS

PARTNERSHIPS. http://dese.mo.gov/se/ep/nasdsehandouts10_07.pdf

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: Company Profile

Palomar College GEAR UP Partnership Program

Company Profile

Bussey, Kelly Harris, David

Monterrosa, Silvia Newman, Christopher

Stotler, April

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Palomar College GEAR UP Partnership Program (Map) 1140 West Mission Road, TCA-1 San Marcos, CA 92069 (Map) Phone: 760-744-1150 Fax: 760-891-3402 http://www.palomar.edu/gearup/ Palomar College is a public, post-secondary educational institution. The GEAR UP Partnership program is a federally funded program that receives discretionary/competitive grant monies administered by the U.S. Department of Education. Industry Code NAIC # 923110 - Administration of Education Programs SIC: 9411 According to the NAIC definition this industry includes government establishments primarily engaged in the coordination, planning, supervision, and administration of funds, policies, intergovernmental activities, data collection, and centralized programs for educational administration. Also included in this industry are government scholarship programs. Other examples include education offices (nonoperating, public administration), state education departments, education statistics centers (government), and university regents or boards (government). http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch Company Description GEAR UP is a non-profit program. GEAR UP stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. GEAR UP is 1 of 46 grants funded in the nation to help at-risk, low-income, and first generation college students in the San Marcos, Vista, and Escondido school district. GEAR UP is a U.S. Department of Education grant program allocating resources to provide early college awareness, improve academic performance, increase high school graduation rates, and improve the transition from middle school to high school. GEAR UP offers state and partnership grants. Both the state and partnership grants are competitive/discretionary six-year matching grants issued to states and partnerships to provide services to high schools and middle schools. Specifically, GEAR UP is designed to increase the number of low-income students who are adequately prepared to both enter and succeed in postsecondary education. Palomar College GEAR UP is designed to help create a pre-college culture in middle school while facilitating the process of preparing high school students for future college enrollment. Their program begins with students in middle school and will move with those students through high school graduation. Palomar College GEAR UP has three specific key objectives for years 2011-2018 grant funding including: (1) Increase student enrollment in rigorous courses that reflect challenging academic standards and increase student knowledge and demonstration of necessary academic preparation for college (2) Increase high school graduation rates and student

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enrollment and success in postsecondary education (3) Increase educational expectations and students knowledge of and access to financial assistance for postsecondary education. Based off these objectives Palomar College GEAR UP has identified three goals correlated to these objectives including: (1) Increase academic performance and preparation for postsecondary education (2) Increase high school graduation and participation in postsecondary education (3) Increase GEAR UP students and their families knowledge of postsecondary education options, preparation, and financing. http://www2.ed.gov/programs/gearup/index.html http://www.palomar.edu/gearup/info/objectives.html http://www.escondidochamber.org/file/GEAR%20UP%20Grant%202011-18%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf Key Numbers The FY 2011 appropriation for all Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) is $302,816,154, approximately 6.3% below the previous years level. Palomar Community College District FY 2011 Partnership Award for year one funding is $2,524,920. In-kind services and contributions are required to match the $2.5M per year allocation provided by the 2011-2018 grant years. The Palomar College GEAR UP program total award for the current grant years is $17.5M. http://www2.ed.gov/programs/gearup/gu-abstracts2011.pdf http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/new-gear-grants-awarded-help-more-275000-middle-schoolers-get-pathway-success-co Key People There are ten (10) staff members associated with the Palomar College GEAR UP Program. The following members are part of the GEAR UP Administration:

Staff Name Staff Title

Calvin One Deer Gavin Director (primary contact)

Cecilia Rocha Supervisor

Patricia Rodriguez Grant Specialist/Staff Assistant

Joe Vasquez Tutor Coordinator

Therese Cisneros-Remington Marketing Advisor (alternate contact)

http://www.palomar.edu/gearup/info/contact.html

Top Competitors

Federally Funded Grant Competitors

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Race to the Top (RTT) is a competitive grant program designed to incite innovation and reform nationwide in schools K-12. It is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 awarding points to schools demonstrating substantial gains in student achievement, improved high school graduation rates, and successful preparation of students for college. http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/index.html TRIO is a federally funded student services program designed to identify and provide programs for disadvantaged students. This outreach program targets low-income individuals, first generation students, and students with disabilities in middle school and helps academically assist them through high school graduation and into post baccalaureate programs. http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/trio/index.html Upward Bound, part of the Federal TRIO programs, is a program that caters to low-income students and students from families with neither parent holding a bachelors degree. Upward Bound provides services to assist students in preparation for college entrance. Their goal is to increase the rate of participants enrolling in and graduating from secondary and postsecondary education. http://www2.ed.gov/programs/trioupbound/index.html

Local Partnership Competitors

There are ten institutions, in FY 2011, receiving GEAR UP Partnership Awards in the State of California. Of the ten listings in California, two are located in the San Diego County area; Palomar College and MiraCosta College. The partnership programs within these two educational institutions share the same vision and goal. However, MiraCosta College can be seen as a direct competitor with Palomar College as they try to secure sources (local agencies/businesses/organizations) to help fund their respective program through fundraising, in-kind donations, etc. http://www.castategearup.org/about-us/local-partnerships Recent News Summaries Article 1-This was a newspaper announcement, from October 2011, regarding the financial support that Palomar College and Miracosta College were awarded to help fund the student services under the GEAR UP program. It mentions briefly the goal of the GEAR UP program; to assist low-income, at-risk junior high school kids in obtaining resources (academic and financial) to successfully manage their school career up until the time they reach their first year of college. See Appendix A for copy of complete article. Article 2-This article was written for explorations now, an electronic educational magazine, through UCSD. The article mentioned that approximately 200 North County middle school students were given the chance to visit the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego to witness firsthand career options and opportunities. They were afforded this educational opportunity, back in April 2012, as direct result of the funding provided by the Palomar GEAR UP program. See Appendix B for copy of complete article. Article 3-This announcement was posted online for Del Dios School. It was a brief article that

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mentioned the college fair in San Diego back in April 2012. . Students, parents, and GEAR UP tutors were in attendance to check out all the opportunities that exist at different colleges and universities. See Appendix C for copy of complete article. Article 4-This article was printed in the North County Times, February 2012. It was a secondary announcement regarding the final grant funding, $17.5 million, that Palomar College will receive for its GEAR UP program. Four local schools will be receiving assistance through the program so as to increase the likelihood that its students will see their way through to a higher education. See Appendix D for copy of complete article.

APPENDIX A

REGION: Palomar, MiraCosta to get millions to prepare kids for college October 05, 2011 7:00 pm By CIGI ROSS cross@nctimes.com

North County's two community colleges will get millions of dollars in federal grant money to help prepare at-risk students for college, school officials announced Wednesday.

Palomar College was awarded $17.5 million, payable over the next eight years, and MiraCosta College was awarded $7.5 million, payable over the next seven years, for the GEAR UP project, which stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs.

Palomar has been administering the program for 20 years, but this is the first time MiraCosta has applied to participate.

At MiraCosta, the grant will provide funding to pay for academic support services for more than 1,000 sixth- and seventh-grade students at Chavez and Jefferson middle schools in Oceanside, following them through high school and into the first year of college.

Richard Robertson, vice president of student services at MiraCosta, said the grant is a big deal for the college and has allowed it to create a strong partnership with the Oceanside Unified School District.

"Seventh- and sixth-graders will be prepared academically to go to college and have every opportunity to go to college, wherever they choose to go," he said.

Palomar College spokeswoman Laura Gropen said the grant there will benefit students in Escondido and San Marcos.

There were 66 GEAR UP grants awarded across the country totaling $177.4 million. The program is expected to help about 275,000 at-risk students nationwide.

This is the largest grant MiraCosta has ever received for any program, said spokeswoman Cheryl Broom.

Robertson said the college and Oceanside Unified chose Chavez and Jefferson to participate in the program because both schools have a high percentage of students who qualify for free lunch.

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At Chavez, 77 percent of students meet the income criteria, while 71 percent of Jefferson students qualify.

The extra money will be a big help to students at the two schools, said Duane Coleman, associate superintendent in charge of educational services for Oceanside Unified.

"This is just such a great opportunity for our kids," he said. "I can't tell you how happy I am that we're going to be able to give our kids more support."

Oceanside Unified partnered with UC San Diego to apply for a similar grant four years ago but didn't get it, Coleman said.

MiraCosta will receive about $1 million this year to pay for services, including tutors, mentors, and counselors, after-school programs and college visits.

Robertson said about $678,000 of that will be used on staff members who will work with the students and consultants, including researchers who will be tasked with tracking the students' progress over the course of the grant.

The money will also be spent on students' travel to colleges and universities, supplies and materials, and other expenses.

Staff provided through the grant will also try to keep students engaged in school by following up with those who have frequent absences or disciplinary issues, analyzing progress reports and test results, providing support for English-language learners and encouraging involvement in extracurricular activities.

Those workers will also assist parents and students with financial planning for college.

The MiraCosta College Foundation has also pledged to raise $100,000 over the next seven years so it can provide scholarships to the students once they're ready for college.

Robertson said officials will begin meeting with parents soon to discuss the GEAR UP project and extra services and programs that will be provided.

(Retrieved September 6, 2012 from

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/oceanside/region-palomar-miracosta-to-get-millions-to-prepare-kids-for/article_3063bbbc-cb37-5db4-ae56-c503cfca8aff.html)

APPENDIX B

Around the Pier: Strangers on a Train Create an Educational Opportunity ON MAY 7, 2012

200 middle school students get a hands-on experience with genomics at Scripps

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To sixth- and seventh-graders everywhere, slimy things whipped up in lab beakers will forever be cool.

But about 200 such middle school students got a little added wonder last month when they came to visit the lab of marine microbiologist and chemist William Gerwick on the campus of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego. The goo they were stretching into spaghetti-length strands was pure DNA material cultivated by the Scripps graduate students who served as their guides.

The occasion was a visit orchestrated by the Palomar College GEAR-UP program. Short for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, GEAR-UP is a federal grant project that gives middle school students exposure to experiences that could influence their career choices.

Theyve never really experienced something like this before, said Lindsay Barth, a GEAR-UP outreach coordinator at Palomar and a leader of the April 11 field trip. Seeing the labs, all the different science experiments opens up their minds to how much a university can offer them.

For Gerwick, who is a professor of oceanography and pharmaceutical sciences at the Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine (CMBB) at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, the benefit was not just for the youngsters. The 57-year-old said his viewpoint has changed as he has aged and the desire to make a difference occupies a larger part of his thoughts these days. He was given the opportunity during a chance train ride to Santa Barbara two years ago. The stranger sitting next to him with whom he struck up a conversation was Cameron Russell, a GEAR-UP tutor at Palomar. The two described what they did for a living and exchanged contact information with no particular end in mind.

Almost two years later, Russell remembered Gerwick when Barth polled her team for field trip ideas.

The tour-takers are from San Marcos, Del Dios, Hidden Valley, and Mission middle schools from the San Marcos and Escondido school districts. The Palomar GEAR-UP program will work with them through high school offering similar opportunities to consider various career choices. The Scripps visit included an introduction by Gerwick to the kinds of research that happens at his lab. Afterward, small groups of the students visited individual labs to learn about how potentially

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valuable compounds are extracted from marine algae, how genomics could improve medical care, and how molecules are isolated.

What was most fun was seeing my postdocs and grad students get inspired by the fact that they can have this inspirational effect, said Gerwick. To see them in this role was really satisfying to me.

Calvin One Deer, director of grant funded student programs at Palomar College, said the visit was among several trips to San Diego State University, the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, and a science fair at Petco Park that GEAR-UP enabled middle school students to make this year.

Barth said she would welcome a chance for return visits to Scripps.

We have these students from 6th grade until their first year of college so were hoping to come back and have them learn something new, she said.

Robert Monroe

(Retrieved September 6, 2012 from

http://explorations.ucsd.edu/around-the-pier/2012/around-the-pier-strangers-on-a-train-create-an-educational-opportunity/)

APPENDIX C

GEAR UP! Students and Parents attend National Association for College Admission Counseling College Fair!

posted Apr 30, 2012 8:21 AM by Amy Murphy [updated Aug 25, 2012 8:37 PM]

On the evening of April 26, 2012, 33 parents, 26 students and our wonderful parent liaison Senora Mendoza joined us on our trip to the San Diego Convention Center for the National Association for College Admission Counseling College Fair. With over 300 colleges in attendance, parents were able to explore the different options available throughout the United States, from University of New Hampshire to University of Southern California and many in between. GEAR UP tutors were available to help generate and continue conversation between the college representatives and our families who attended with us. It was a great experience for us all, and the parents were quite happy to join us as they unaware that events like this even existed and were free and to the open to the public. Thank you for your continued support!

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-- Ryan Young Site Leader Palomar College GEAR UP Partnership Program Del Dios Middle School 1400 W. 9th Ave Escondido, CA 92029 (760) 432-2439 x 170 (Retrieved September 6, 2012 from http://deldios.eusd.org/programs/gear-up/gearupstudentsandparentsattendnationalassociationforcollegeadmissioncounselingcollegefair)

APPENDIX D

ESCONDIDO: GEAR UP holds kickoff ceremony to encourage students to

attend college February 01, 2012 6:00 pm By GARY WARTH gwarth@nctimes.com

Students at Mission Middle School in Escondido got fired up about GEAR UP Wednesday morning in a kickoff ceremony celebrating the federal program's arrival in four local schools.

Palomar College received a $17.5 million federal grant late last year to bring GEAR UP ---- or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs ---- to select schools in Escondido and San Marcos to help students enter and be successful in college.

"I want to go to college!" hundreds of students chanted at Mission Middle School on Wednesday morning as they were led by GEAR UP employee Charles Iyoho, who later performed an original song called "Dreaming."

GEAR UP's mission is to create opportunities for low-income students to attend college, and Palomar College President Robert Deegan told Mission Middle School students that he was an example of how financial difficulties do not have to hold back goals of higher education.

"Many people look at me and go, 'Look at Bob. Mr. Suit,'" Deegan told the students. "'Maybe you grew up in this big house, your family probably had some college fund that helped put you through school.' But let me tell you who I am."

Deegan said he grew up as one of six children in a small house with his family, cousins and grandmother. He slept on a couch in the living room, and his father worked as a custodian in a middle school, he said.

"But throughout, my family always emphasized education, to study hard," he said.

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Deegan told students that success is a combination of education and opportunity, and he said GEAR UP would help them with both, through activities such as tutoring, parent workshops, after-school programs and field trips to colleges.

"We want you to know that you won't be doing this alone," he said. "You're representing the (college) class of 2022. We start today to help you, assist you so you are prepared to go to college."

The grants are for students now in grades six and seven at Del Dios, Hidden Valley and Mission middle schools in the Escondido Union School District and at San Marcos Middle School. For the next eight years, those students will participate in GEAR UP activities as they progress through high school and into college.

Palomar College also has had two six-year grants for GEAR UP programs in Vista and San Marcos, and has received a $700,000 extension to continue the program at Vista, Rancho Buena Vista, San Marcos and Mission Hills high schools.

Wednesday morning's ceremony also included comments from former area students who attended college after going through GEAR UP.

Cal State San Marcos student Jacqueline Rivera, a 2009 graduate of Orange Glen High, said she first participated in GEAR UP when attending Mission Middle School. At that time, the school was named Grant Middle School, and the program was offered through CSUSM.

"I really liked the tutors," she said. "I looked up to them. After school I'd go to the designated room and do my homework, get help, and as soon as I got home I was free."

Israel Narvaez, who is working toward a teaching credential at San Diego State University, said he didn't use the tutoring services, but was helped by GEAR UP in other ways while at San Marcos High.

"They helped me keep track of what I needed to graduate high school and to be the best candidate possible for college," said Narvaez, who now works as the GEAR UP program assistant at Mission Middle School.

Narvaez said GEAR UP also helped him decide which college to attend by taking him on field trips. He said he picked Cal State Fullerton because it was in a more suburban setting than UCLA, which he also visited.

Wendy Bryer, a 2005 graduate of UC San Diego who earned a master's degree from San Diego State last year, said GEAR UP helped her find scholarships.

"They used to call me into the office any time they found a scholarship that matched my criteria," she said.

GEAR UP helped her receive a $50 scholarship from Daughters of the American Revolution and a $2,500 Youth Excellence Scholarship from the PennySaver, she said.

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"That was the big one," she said. "Then I was like, 'GEAR UP is cool.'"

(Retrieved September 6, 2012 from

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/escondido/escondido-gear-up-holds-kickoff-ceremony-to-encourage-students-to/article_dfeb1360-dc8c-57fa-851e-68f5f10f9f1c.html)

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APPENDIX B: Industry Analysis

Palomar College GEAR UP Partnership Program

Griffin Industry Analysis

Bussey, Kelly Harris, David

Monterrosa, Silvia Newman, Christopher

Stotler, April

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Griffin Model Environmental Analysis: Gear Up Palomar College The nature of the Palomar College - Gear Up Foundations business model - entails both the Administration of Educational Programs and Social Advocacy, for promoting, encouraging, and helping young students to go on to post secondary education and college, in both primary-middle and secondary educational schools. The U.S. Department of Commerces Census Bureau NAICS codes for these types of organizations are listed as NAICS: 923110 Administration of Education Programs, and NAICS: 813319 Other Social Advocacy Organizations respectively (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). The following report will use the Griffin Model of Environmental Analysis to analyze these industries and the Palomar Gear Up organizations present business environment. External Environment General: Political/Legal The Gear Up program was created by current Congressman Chaka Fattah, a democrat for Pennsylvania. Gear Up became into a law after President Bill Clinton signed it in 1998. Over the past few years, the Gear Up program has received about $4 billion in federal grant money. President Obama has passed a budget that includes close to $303 million to continue Gear Up nationally (Fattah, house.gov). Congressman Chaka Fattah continues to be strong supporter for the Gear Up program. In an article written by Jerry Large for the Seattle times, Chaka Fattah is quoted by telling a former Gear Up student when you are successful, you open door to others...if you succeed, America succeeds (large, 2002.) Socio Cultural Researchers have identified socio economic status as one of the main reasons as to why students drop out of high school. These high-risk students include students who live with a single parent. Living with a single parent can sometimes create a burden on the student to take on earlier life responsibilities such as obtaining a job to help support the family. Other students have parents with no high school degrees and so the parents have little expectations for their children (Viloria, 2012). Another major factor that Viloria points out in his report is that school engagement and school behavior are part of the reasons why some students have poor school attendance and are less committed to going to school. He writes even for students who have difficult home lives, dropping out has much to do with how schools operate and the educational experiences students have within them. At risk high school students have reported that they have received less support and guidance from their professors and that sometimes the relationships are bad ones (Viloria, 2012). Economic According to a report released by the Federal Reserve (2012) current economic conditions

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remain positive. The economy has become stable and in some areas such as tourism and new vehicles, sales have increased. But in a recent study done by researchers Wise and Rothman, they point out that America is at a serious educational crisis - where in 2010, 6 million youths in grades 7 through 12 were at risk of dropping out of school, and that the numbers are only increasing. Wise and Rothman argue that at this current time of tight budgets: the annual losses in federal and state income taxes from dropouts total about $50 billion. In California cutting the dropout rate in half would save the state $550 million a year (Wise & Rothman, 2010). International Outside of the global economic downturn the International Dimension is probably not a primary concern for the Palomar Gear Up Foundation directly for conducting its operations, but the nature of globalization and its impacts on the educational needs of the United States and its youth cannot be ignored. According to a 2008 PBS documentary on the state of our school systems; the United States, once ranked number one in 1995, is now ranked 15th among developed nations for its College graduation rates. A well known educator Geoffrey Canada - President of the Harlem Childrens Zone exclaimed in the film we need to have an infrastructure that allows our kids to compete globally. According to the PBS website/program, the European Union and China graduate more scientist and engineers every year than the United States. Some other statistics cited in the film and from a recent Huffington Post article included how the U.S. scored 21st in science and 25th in Math, out of the top 30 developed countries (PBS). As well as the U.S. was once ranked in 1st place with college graduates, is now listed as 12th - with only about 41.4% of U.S. citizens completing a post secondary education or college degree, compared to over 43% who do among some of the other developed nations such as with Russia (54%), Canada (48.3%), and Israel (43.6%)(Huffington Post). Technological The Fundraising and Social advocacy industries have a new technology advantage with the advent of social media such as with Facebook, Twitter, and others. According to a report on Nonprofits and Social Media - a Benchmark Study entitled The Convio Online Marketing Nonprofit Benchmark Study - was cited in an article from socialbrite.org. The 2011 report found that over all online-fundraising had grown year over year by 14%, and most online fundraising groups had seen at least a 10% increase in fundraising dollars between 2009 and 2010. According to the article/report advocacy emails returned the highest open, click and response rates while in contrast pure fundraising efforts had the least responses. On average Facebook Nonprofit pages (among some of the larger entities) have 15,053 users who followed them and have liked their profiles (Socialbrite.org: Convio). Task Environment: Customers According to a report for the U.S. Census 40% of children in the country live in low-income families. Children who live in poverty have shown to have greater cognitive and behavioral problems than other children who are not living in poverty. Children that are poor are less likely to finish school and as they become adults many have to deal with years of unemployment. In 2010 just in California alone 2 million children lived below poverty, an increase from 1.85 million in 2009 (U.S. Census, 2011).

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Participating North San Diego County Schools (Gear up Palomar College) San Marcos School District:

Mission Hills, H.S. San Marcos, H.S. San Marcos, M.S

Vista School District: Rancho Buena Vista, H.S.

Vista, H.S.

Escondido School District: Del Dios M.S.

Hidden Valley, M.S. Mission Middle school

Escondido, H.S. Orange Glen, H.S. San Pasqual, H.S.

Suppliers Suppliers for a nonprofit entity such as with the Palomar Gear Up Foundation, which involves working with students & social advocacy, federally funded grant money, and other related fundraising activities, can involve both public and private sectors for procurement purposes. Strategic Allies (see next section) might also be considered key suppliers for the Gear up Foundation as well. Things such as office supplies and business services that are required to run daily operations would be obtained from either in kind donations or bought through a wholesale or retail supplier. The following list is a brief but not inclusive summary of potential suppliers that the Gear up Foundation might require to run their operations (U.S. Communities.org):

Suppliers Private Sector

Banks: Wells Fargo, Bank of America, etc. Office Supplies: Staples, Office Depot, etc. Legal Services Lawyers Records Management - Accountants SDG & E Energy needs Pacific Bell Company Telephone

services Cleaning supplies/services Non profit procurement alliances

Suppliers Public Sector

U.S. Government Federal Gear Up program Palomar College Local Cities & Governments County Governments State Government

Strategic Allies The following is a list of strategic allies or partners that have worked in tandem with the Palomar Gear up Foundation presently and over the years (Gear Up Palomar College):

The San Marcos Unified School District

Vista Unified School District

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The Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos

YMCAs - San Diego & North County Region

California State University San Marcos (CSUSM)

Palomar College

The University of California San Diego (UCSD)

Encuentros Leadership of Northern San Diego County

Kids College specialized instruction AVID - Advancement Via Individual Determination

PIQE - Parent involvement Program

COIN - Career exploration

Vista Chamber of Commerce The San Marcos Chamber of Commerce & the San Marcos Community newsletter

Cox Communications Vista

City of San Marcos

San Diego County - Office of Education North County Latinas Association (NCLA)

The North County Voice - N.C Newspaper

Regulators Nonprofit organizations (NPO) have several regulatory agencies and guidelines they must follow whether federally, state or locally mandated by individual governments. Each state, city and/or county may have their own set of rules and regulations that must be adhered to. One primary NPO regulation that is most likely required by federal, state and local counties/cities would be the need for registration as a Tax Exempt Organization. Just filing for exempt status with the IRS may not be adequate. Separate filings may be required for state and local governments. Another concern to address is the solicitation of funding; Federal state and local government agencies might require some sort of registration in order to conduct these types of operations often called the unified registration statement - which can be used in several states at one time if needed (National Council of Nonprofits.org/Foundation Center.org). Federal agencies such as the U.S State Department (and the State Dept. within local state governments) also regulate the dissemination of grant monies, and will have procedural requirements or rules such as ensuring a drug free workplace etc. (U.S Dept of State). Competitors There are numerous fundraising competitors and advocacy groups who are soliciting and raising money for community or social causes within San Diego County alone, not to mention the state of California and the entire U.S. Some direct competitors who are competing for federally funded educational grants and private donations include The Race to the Top (RTT) grant program, TRIO - a federally funded student services program, and Upward Bound - a program that caters to low-income students/families with no parents holding a bachelors degree. As well as other local Gear Up Partnership competitors. Please refer to the Gear up company profile for information on these competitors (Palomar Gear Up Company Report).

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Internal Environment Please refer to the Gear Up Company Profile Report: Owners - Board of Directors Employees Culture - Physical Bibliography: 21 TV - NEW YORK. (n.d.). Where We Stand . Globalization - Video Report | PBS. WHERE WE STAND: AMERICAS SCHOOLS IN THE 21ST CENTURY. Retrieved September 4, 2012, from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wherewestand/reports/globalization/video-report/7/ Charitable Registration | National Council of Nonprofits. (n.d.). Home | National Council of Nonprofits. Retrieved September 6, 2012, from http://www.councilofnonprofits.org/resources/fundraising/charitable-registration Congressman Chaka Fattah : MEET REP. FATTAH . (n.d.). Congressman Chaka Fattah : Home . Retrieved September 4, 2012, from http://fattah.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=2&sectiontree=&searchkey=Gear+up&locale=-1 Current Economic Conditions. (2012, June 6). Federal Reserve.gov. Retrieved September 3, 2012, from www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/beigebook/files/Beigebook_20120606.pdf Establishing a NonProfit organization. (n.d.). Foundation Center - Knowledge to Build On. Retrieved September 4, 2012, from http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/tutorials/establish/regs.html Fareed. (2011, November 3). How U.S. graduation rates compare with the rest of the world Global Public Square - CNN.com Blogs. Global Public Square - CNN.com Blogs. Retrieved September 4, 2012, from http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/03/how-u-s-graduation-rates-compare-with-the-rest-of-the-world/ Large, J. (2012, August 8). GEAR UP program helps students look up | Jerry Large | The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times | News, sports, weather, events in the Northwest. Retrieved September 6, 2012, from http://seattletimes.com/html/jerrylarge/2018878424_jdl09.html !Lasica, J. (2011, March 23). New report: Nonprofit numbers for social media, advocacy, fundraising. Social media consulting for nonprofits | Socialbrite. Retrieved September 4, 2012, from http://www.socialbrite.org/2011/03/23/new-report-nonprofit-numbers-for-social-media-advocacy-fundraising/ Macartney, S. (n.d.). Child Poverty in the United States 2009 and 2010. Census.gov. Retrieved September 3, 2012, from www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acsbr10-05.pdf Non Profit Resources from U.S. Communities . (n.d.). U.S. Communities Purchasing Alliance. Retrieved September 4, 2012, from www.uscommunities.org/non-profit/ Post. (2011, May 25). Countries With The MOST College Graduates. HuffingtonPost College. Retrieved September 5, 2012, from www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/22/countries-with-the-most-c_n_655393.html#s117378&title=

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Rep. Fattah, GEAR UP architect, will address college-readiness. (2011, Feb 11). PR Newswire, pp. n/a. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csusm.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/851307485?accountid=10363 The Palomar College GEAR UP Partnership Program - GEARUP. (2012, August 31). Palomar Community College District. Retrieved September 3, 2012, from http://www.palomar.edu/gearup/ U.S. Department of State. (n.d.). U.S. Department of State. Retrieved September 4, 2012, from http://fa.statebuy.state.gov/content.asp?content_id=120&menu_id=66 United States Census Bureau. (2012). North American Industry Classification System. Retrieved September 3, 2012, from United States Dept. of Commerce: U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch Viloria, J. (2012). High schools in california that are beating the odds and how they are doing it. Pepperdine University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csusm.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1030445737?accountid=10363. (1030445737) Wise, B., & Rothman, R. (2010). A greater society: The transformation of the federal role in education. New Directions For Youth Development, 2010(127), 123-131. doi:10.1002/yd.368

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APPENDIX C: Current Partner Survey

Palomar College GEAR UP Partnership Program

Current Program Partners Survey

Topic: Analyzing the current effectiveness of Palomar College GEAR UP Programs

relationship with their current partners.

Summary: The objective of the survey is to analyze how the current partners of Palomar

Colleges GEAR UP Program feel about their effectiveness in establishing and maintaining

beneficial partnerships.

Questions:

1 Please describe to me what your perception is of the GEAR UP program?

2 Why did you choose to collaborate with the GEAR UP program?

3 What is the biggest strength of the GEAR UP program?

4 What is the biggest weakness of the GEAR UP program?

5 What are some areas of improvement for the GEAR UP program?

6 What is the biggest strength of the GEAR UP programs relationship with your company?

7 What is the biggest weakness of the GEAR UP programs relationship with your

company?

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8 What are some areas of improvement for the GEAR UP programs relationship with your

company?

9 Overall what recommendations do you have for GEAR UP to improve their program?

10 Are there any referrals you can offer to GEAR UP to find more local partnerships?

Disclaimer: This information is for the purpose of determining Palomar College GEAR UP

Programs effectiveness in maintaining local relationships with their current program partners.

This information will be used only for the purposes of analyzing their efforts and will not be

released to any parties except GEAR UP.

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APPENDIX D: Current Partner Survey Responses

GEAR UP Partnership Program

Current Partner Survey Responses

1 . Please describe what your perception is of the GEAR UP program?

! Great! Seems like a well-organized program.

! We partnered with GEAR UP to help us place life science and technology entrepreneurs in the

classrooms for volunteer speaking engagements.

! It's a fantastic resource for students.

! A program to help high school students transition to college.

! A very positive, supportive and inclusive program, it is well known in the San Diego community

for their positive contributions.

! My perception is that it is an effective education program that needs to grow.

! It is the best Gear Up program ever.

2 . Why did you choose to collaborate wi