Innovate for California

(Shawn Dean while working as a college advisor for GEAR UP: Cal Poly Humboldt)

Image Gallery Left: TRIO Family Night catered by Learn To Achieve , Right: Del Nerdy E-Sports Club Logo , Bottom: Learning Blocks Alpha Logic to Predict Student Outcome Data

The origins of Innovate for California form a three-part story: Dan Hugo’s, Mary Norse’s, and Shawn Dean’s. In this blog, we begin with Shawn Dean.

Shawn’s path to the board of Innovate For California started over eight years ago when he was hired as a college advisor for the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) at Cal Poly Humboldt. In that role, he supported over 1,000 students in preparing for life beyond high school.

While serving the Del Norte County Unified School District, Shawn oversaw an array of initiatives:

Push-in/Pull-out presentations
Guardian engagements and home visits
After school programs and tutoring
Comprehensive mentoring
College visits and readiness planning

Yet, he recognized that more was needed—so he teamed up with colleagues to create his first nonprofit solution: Learn To Achieve, a 501(c)(3).

Image Gallery Top Left: Learning Box Alpha , Top Right: Learn To Achieve's Stop Motion Animation Curriculum, Bottom Left: Learning Blocks Alpha Methodology, Bottom Right: 2021 Innovator Meeting

Even with measurable growth among students, Shawn knew qualitative impressions weren't enough. He conducted multiple studies and identified service gaps in GEAR UP's regional delivery.

_"There was no uniform growth [rate of financial aid completion] within the schools that GEAR UP serviced. Del Norte was up 10% from 2019, Eureka High School was up 4%, and Hoopa was down 24%. As an advisor, I know I called every student who didn't complete financial aid at least once—and logged their reasons. I'm not sure if other advisors had that chance."

blog-images-2025/FASFA_Hoopa_EHS_DNHS.webp Overall, Shawn, using predictive analytics, was able to spur Del Norte County to a 4.4% raise in their College/Career Readiness. Unfortunately the GEAR UP: Cal Poly Humboldt was not interested in the data that Shawn had presented, discontinued the position he held, and the grant was ultimately not renewed after its six year cycle. However, his impact was as he hoped, undeniable.

Dashboard Comparison: Del Norte Unified School District’s College/Career Indicator from the California School Dashboard, last year of GEAR UP vs. 2023 results. (Source: CA Dept of Education)

Shawn pressed forward. He earned his Master’s in Data Analytics with a specialization in Teacher Leadership, moved 400 miles south to join Gateway Community Charters, and ultimately founded a new nonprofit.

References

CA Dept of Education. “District Performance Overview: Del Norte County Unified.” CA Dashboard 2023
CA Dept of Education. “District Performance Overview: Del Norte County Unified.” CA Dashboard 2019
Dean, Shawn. Big Data and Education. Colorado State University, 2020. PDF
“Learning Analytics: Definitions, Processes and Potential.” Athabasca University, 2011.