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President Sidney Ribeau (left) presents BGSU sweatshirts to Waite High School seniors Jessica Ball (center) and Alysia Martin, both prospective BGSU students.

In two years, from 2002-03 to 2004-05, Toledo’s Waite High School climbed three rungs on Ohio’s ladder of school district rankings, rising from the lowest level (academic emergency) to the next-to-highest (effective). Start was the only other Toledo high school at that level last year.

At the same time, Waite’s “feeder” school, East Toledo Junior High, along with Start’s partner, DeVeaux Junior High, earned the highest marks from the state among the city’s junior highs, which were ranked for the first time in 2004-05.

Helping East Toledo reach the “continuous improvement” designation—the middle of five levels on the Ohio Report Card—were significant increases in the number of students passing grade-level classes, up by 36 percent at the seventh-grade level and 34 percent at the eighth-grade level.

The improvement in success indicators at Waite and East Toledo has coincided with their students’ exposure to GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs), a federally funded program aimed at increasing the number of at-risk students attending college. But the program’s directors at BGSU think it’s more than a coincidence.

“We can’t claim GEAR UP was the only factor, but it certainly was a major factor,” said Dr. William Armaline, co-director of the program with Dr. Kathleen Farber. “We’re beginning to see the fruits of junior high and high school labor.”

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BGSU makes opera history with production of ‘The Many Loves of Apollo and Daphne’ Opera lovers will have a rare treat this November when BGSU presents the North American premiere of Francesco Cavalli’s opera, “Gli Amori d’Apollo e di Dafne (The Many Loves of Apollo and Daphne).” [READ MORE]

‘Achievement: Measuring Success’ is theme of BGSU Research Conference Campus researchers will share their work with one another and the public at the fourth annual BGSU Research Conference Thursday and Friday (Nov. 3 and 4). Also during the conference, the winners of the 2005 Olscamp Research Award and the Outstanding Young Scholar Award will be announced. [READ MORE]

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