College of Education

Staff Introductions

Daniel L. Kain
Vice Provost
Northern Arizona University

Dr. Daniel Kain is the Vice Provost for Academic Personnel at Northern Arizona University and Principal Investigator (PI) for Arizona GEAR UP 2012-19; his role as PI spans three grant cycles and a decade. In addition to overall project oversight, Dr. Kain brings expertise in curriculum and research-based instructional strategies to GEAR UP. He served as Principal Investigator on the 2010-12 research study of the Arizona GEAR UP intervention, academic mentoring. Dr. Kain is the former Dean of the College of Education at Northern Arizona University, and a leading academic authority for middle school professional development with a specialty in problem-based learning.

Teena Olszewski
Executive Director

Teena Olszewski, M.Ed., serves as Arizona GEAR UP Executive Director and has provided leadership to the Arizona GEAR UP Office since 2002. She is responsible for ensuring compliance with programmatic, administrative and fiscal requirements of the project; creating and expanding partnerships to meet grant objectives; representing Arizona GEAR UP to constituents; and initiating actions to increase preparation for, access to, and retention in postsecondary education. She brings more than 25 years of executive-level administrative, management and leadership experience in government, education and non-profit environments to the position. Prior to joining Arizona GEAR UP, Teena served for ten years as Chief Administrator of the Attorney General's Office of Victim Services. Teena obtained her bachelor's degree in justice administration from Indiana University and a master's degree in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University.

Stephen R. Hart
Assistant Director
Fiscal Operations

Stephen Hart, Ed.D., is responsible for all financial operations as it relates to Arizona GEAR UP. He received his bachelor's degree in economics at Arizona State University (ASU), a Master's of Public Administration from ASU, and doctorate in Educational Leadership from NAU. He came to Arizona GEAR UP in 2004 from the Arizona Community Foundation, where he was administering the Arizona GEAR UP Scholarship Program. Prior to that, Steve served Colorado College as its Director of Advancement Services, overseeing the department's donor records and major prospects database. Steve is excited to be part of Arizona GEAR UP.

Barbara Soby
Assistant Director
Data Management & Program Effectiveness

Barbara Soby is responsible for all data-related matters -- promoting data-informed continuous improvement, ensuring reporting compliance, and supporting rigorous annual evaluations of the project. Barbara received her M.S. in Child Development from the University of California at Davis and her bachelor's degree in Psychology from Boston State College. For over 30 years, her career and research has focused on support for, and empowerment of, disadvantaged and disenfranchised populations. She has a strong belief in prevention and early intervention for addressing social problems and improving the quality of life at both the individual and community levels.

Jan Wenning
Assistant Director
In-School Partnerships

Jan Wenning provides direction and leadership to ensure effective student services and compliance with grant requirements at schools in fourteen school districts across the state. She directly supervised two Site Support Specialists, and together they provide consultation and guidance for 16 full-time GEAR UP Coordinators at the school sites. Jan received her M.Ed. in special education from the University of Maryland at College Park. Her career has focused on prevention and early intervention for disadvantaged children and their families with an emphasis on collaborative efforts. These efforts have taken place in her work with Head Start programs in Maryland and Arizona, and as Director of the Arizona Governor's Division for Children, where she was responsible for administering federal grants for early care/education and for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Thomas G. Fetsco
Director of Research

Thomas Fetsco is the Director of Research for the Initiative on the Study of College and Career Readiness. He has served as served as program evaluator for both state and partnership GEAR UP grants for nine years. Dr. Fetsco was the lead researcher on a study of the Arizona GEAR UP intervention, academic mentoring in 2010-12 and represents Arizona on the multi-state GEAR UP College and Career Readiness Evaluation Consortium. Dr. Fetsco is a professor of Educational Psychology at Northern Arizona University, and has thirty years of experience in the preparation of educational professionals at both the undergraduate and graduate level.

Improved attendance

GEAR UP Site Directors examine why students miss class and then implement programs - both proactive and reactive - to encourage students to attend their classes. Creating interventions that address the reasons for absenteeism is the key to solving the problem.

Better grades

Through tutoring, mentoring, improved attendance, academic enrichment activities, and the encouragement and inspiration they receive from their Site Directors, GEAR UP students do better in school, and their grades reflect this. Between the first and third years of the Program, the percentage of NAU-GEAR UP students getting grades of B or better in mathematics and language arts increased.

Higher expectations

A fundamental GEAR UP premise is that children will live up to, or down to, the expectations that are held for them by others. GEAR UP sponsors training for site staff, faculty and administration, parents, and mentors on the Power of High Expectations. As a result, GEAR UP students regularly and consistently hear that they will graduate from high school, that they are capable of succeeding in college, and are made aware that they have the support they need to do so. Because parents and students alike are provided information about the cost of college and the availability of financial aid and scholarships, they learn that money does not have to be a barrier to post secondary education.

Higher enrollment in college prerequisite courses

Through one-on-one academic counseling, GEAR UP Site Directors ensure that students are enrolling and succeeding in classes beyond those required for high school graduation, and which are required for college admission.

Increased scores on standardized tests

Through tutoring, mentoring, improved attendance, academic enrichment activities, and the encouragement and inspiration they receive from their Site Directors, GEAR UP students can do better on standardized tests like the AIMS.

Enhanced knowledge of the value and cost of college

GEAR UP-sponsored Financial Aid and College Preparation workshops, one-on-one counseling and numerous written communiqués to parents (in both English and Spanish) give parents and students a more realistic picture of how much college costs and how much financial aid is available. Assistance in finding and applying for scholarships provides concrete financial assistance. Job shadowing and career workshops let students experience first-hand the kinds of careers that will be available to them if they succeed in college.

Increased High School Graduation Rates

With improved attendance and grades, inspired and encouraged by mentors and their Site Directors, and motivated by the expectation of going to college and the possibility of a rewarding career, it is anticipated that the drop out rate among GEAR UP students will be lower than the drop out rate of comparable non-GEAR UP students.

Increased college admission rates

Because of the broad range of interventions and enrichment activities provided to GEAR UP students over five years, in 2012, NAU GEAR UP students graduated from high school at a rate of 83%; 72% verified college-enrollment in the fall.

• Class of 2006:
  
  • 82 percent graduation rate (67 percent for state)
  • 75 percent college-going rate* (31 percent for state)
• Class of 2009
  • 95 percent graduation rate
  • 69 percent college-going rate*
• Class of 2010
  • 94 percent graduation rate
  • 81 percent college-going rate*
• Class of 2011
  • 82 percent graduation rate

*Each student’s actual attendance in college was verified in the fall of the year they graduated.