Overton County Schools-Livingston Academy is represented at the NCCEP Annual Conference for GEAR UP Leaders from across the nation this week in Washington, DC. Teresa Johnson, OCS GEAR UP Site Director and Vanessa Farris, OCS Site Coordinator are joined by 2 LA teachers: Sara Greenwood and Nate Kennard. The conference program includes over 120 concurrent sessions focused on increasing GEAR UP impact on high school students, their families, K–16 faculty and administrators, student services and college access professionals, program evaluators, family engagement coordinators, business and community partners, and education policy makers. Sessions include panels of experts, researchers, practitioners, how-to presentations, program evaluation presentations, and descriptions of promising GEAR UP practices.
LA Rising Seniors, Bailey Allred and Jackson Baker were selected to attend the GEAR UP National Youth Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. which occurs at the same time as the NCCEP Conference. Juniors from the 15 GEAR UP schools across the state were eligible to enter by writing an essay about characteristics of good leaders. Tennessee selected 4 students (2 female and 2 male) as winners.
While the group will be attending conference sessions for 8-10 hours a day, they will also fit in time to tour a few historic sites. The group requested a Capitol Tour months ago and just learned today that they will have an escorted tour on Thursday, July 21 before they head home.