How do you get parents from 14 separate school districts to come together for a common goal? Well, getting an astronaut to show up is a good start…

Thanks to the UTEP Solutions for Optimal Readiness (SOAR) grant team, dedicated flyering, some good old-fashioned cold-calling, and a huge new-school online media push, more than a dozen districts in El Paso were able to get parents to attend a family conference designed to help them learn the scholastic marks their GEAR UP students need to be hitting on the path to college. With bilingual workshops, road-mapping sessions from The Princeton Review, and speeches from students and professionals alike, it’s no wonder that everyone present came away armed to the teeth with college-prep knowledge. The generations got to come together for an inspiring bonding session—and surveys showed a whopping 60% increase in parent college-savvy after the conference concluded.

The best part? You get to learn all about their process in the latest “Texas GEAR UP in Action” video—so you can file away their tips and tricks for the next time you’re planning a big outreach event for your TXGU parents. With news this good, who could help but to spread the word?