Data
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Hey, Y’all! The Xcalibur Conference is Heading to Savannah, GA
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Hey, Y’all! As someone who has called Georgia home for a decade now, it’s a true pleasure to invite GEAR UP teams from across the country to join Xcalibur in Savannah next spring for our biennial conference. In May 2026, we hope you’ll step beneath the canopy of Spanish moss-draped […]
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Scoop Up New Skills with GEAR UP Together: Skill Building Workshops
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Summer break might be your chance to slow down, but it’s also the perfect time to brush up on skills to make your school year cooler. Xcalibur’s GEAR UP Together: Skill-Building Workshops are on-demand courses made just for GEAR UP professionals and the education teams who support them—and they’ll have […]
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Excel Like a Boss : Tame the Spreadsheet Beast
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Let’s be honest… Excel can feel like a confusing jungle of grids, buttons, and mysterious formulas. But what if we told you that you could tame the spreadsheet beast…without the stress, the head-scratching, or the 37 open Google tabs with Youtube videos? Say hello to the GEAR UP Together: Skill […]
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Still on the Matter: Skill-Building for GEAR UP Professionals
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The mission of GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is clear: to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. Working to achieve this mission is a diverse team of professionals — GEAR UP coordinators, school counselors, educators, […]
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🎓‘Excel’ with Purpose: Skill-Building for GEAR UP Professionals
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📊 Microsoft Excel is an indispensable tool in today’s data-driven landscape. Microsoft Excel is an indispensable tool in today’s data-driven landscape. Proficiency in Excel enables education professionals to efficiently manage, analyze, and interpret data—skills essential for evidence-based decision-making and effective program implementation. 📈 When used intentionally, Excel becomes more than […]
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From Data to Decisions: How SCRIBE-embedded Dashboards Empower GEAR UP Grants
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💡 Organizations that effectively utilize data dashboards can significantly enhance their decision-making processes, leading to improved performance outcomes (Dufault et al., 2025). Did you know? A study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that dashboards facilitate visualization and tracking of key metrics, thereby enhancing organizational performance. 📢 […]
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FAFSA Launch – Delays, Impact, and How SCRIBE is adapting
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In October, I reviewed the new FAFSA application. In my blog post found here, I outlined all the changes the Department of Education was making in an attempt to improve the FAFSA application form. These changes by the DOE were intentional to make it easier and shorter to complete. Since […]
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Chart Spark – Sparks my creativity interest
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Excitement does not fully explain how I felt when I received an email from Alli Torban about beta-reading her new book “Chart Spark” which just made its official debut on December 5, 2023. It was a Saturday morning, I had just poured myself a cup of coffee, and I received […]
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Too Much on Your Plate?
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One of my most enjoyable Thanksgiving pastimes is meticulously crafting the perfect dinner plate. Interestingly, I’ve realized that balancing my Thanksgiving plate mirrors the delicate act of navigating the complexities of everyday life—both tend to be quite full. It’s a sentiment shared by many; our plates, whether laden with turkey […]
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GEAR UP Together! Excel Skill-Building Workshops
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I have been working in the GEAR UP space for over eight years, and prior to that I worked with educators in schools and school districts to help them use data to inform decisions. Throughout my career there has been one constant…Excel! Excel has been the primary tool that I’ve […]