million (or 59.3% of total enrollment); for Black students from 1 million to 2.8 .... and four year institutions as well as technical and vocational schools (NCES, ...
Preparing Students for Higher Education: How School Counselors Can Foster College Readiness and Access
Julia Bryan The Pennsylvania State University Anita Young The Johns Hopkins University Dana C. Griffin University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Lynette M. Henry George Mason University
Citation: Bryan, J., Young, A., Griffin, D. C., & Henry, L. (2015). Preparing students for higher education: How school counselors can foster college readiness and access. In J. L. DeVitis & P. Sasso (Eds.). Higher Education and Society. New York: Peter Lang.
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Preparing Students for Higher Education: How School Counselors Can Foster College Readiness and Access
As demographics shift across the U.S., the number of American students enrolled in college has increased significantly. From 1976 to 2013, total college enrollment increased from 11 million to 20.4 million. Due in part to population trends as well as increases in those meeting eligibility requirements, college enrollment for White students increased from 9 million to 11.6 million (or 59.3% of total enrollment); for Black students from 1 million to 2.8 million (or 14.7% of total enrollment); for Hispanic students from 383,000 to 3 million (or 15.8% of total enrollment); for Asian/Pacific Islander students from 197,000 to 1.2 million (or 6.4% of total enrollment); and for American Indian/Alaska Native from 76,000 to 162,000 (or 0.8% of total enrollment). Multiracial students’ enrollment increased from 325,000 to 559,000 from 2010 to 2013, the period when statistics for this group was available (National Center of Education Statistics [NCES], 2014). Despite some narrowing, the racial gap in college enrollment continues to persist. Among 18-24 year olds in 2010, 43.3% of White and 62.2% of Asian high school graduates enrolled in college compared to 38% of Black and 31.9% of Hispanic high school graduates. However, among 18-24 year olds in 2012, for the first time, the percentage of Hispanic high school graduates who enrolled in college surpassed White (49% compared to 47%) high school graduates (Fry & Taylor, 2013). These trends among Hispanics reflect population growth as well as increases in number of students graduating with a high school diploma. While these increases in college enrollment numbers are promising, college outcomes are far less promising for students from minority backgrounds. For example, among young adults aged 25-29 years in
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2013, 40% of White and 58% of Asian college graduates held Bachelor degrees compared to 20% of Blacks and 15% of Hispanic college graduates. In general, Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native students are less likely to enroll full-time and less likely to graduate in six years. They are also more likely to apply to two-year colleges and less selective four-year colleges and more likely to drop out of college (NCES, 2014). The statistics for students from low-income backgrounds indicate even more dire patterns. While the racial gap in college enrollments has narrowed, the income gap still exists with 82% of high school graduates from high-income backgrounds enrolling in college in 2013 compared to 52% from low-income families (NCES, 2013). Further, about 50% of people from high-income backgrounds hold bachelor degrees whereas only 10% of those from low-income backgrounds do (Bailey & Dynarski, 2011). Similar to students from minority backgrounds, students from low-income families are also less likely to apply or enroll in college, enroll full-time, or graduate in six years. They are also more likely to apply to two-year colleges and less selective four-year colleges and drop out of college. Research has long indicated the integral roles that school counselors play in college choice and readiness of all students, especially minority and low-income students (Bryan, Moore-Thomas, Day-Vines, & Holcomb-McCoy, 2011; McDonough, 2005a, 2005b). School counselors can create college opportunity and access for students at all levels (elementary, middle, high) providing academic, social-emotional, and career counseling services to students on a daily basis. They are ideally positioned to increase college attainment opportunities for all students and to help build school-wide college cultures within their buildings (Bryan, HolcombMcCoy, Moore-Thomas, & Day-Vines, 2009). Never before has the opportunity and demand for
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school counselors to lead the college counseling charge been more prevalent (Hines & Lemons, 2011). A number of recent national initiatives highlight the importance of school counselors’ roles in leading the college access charge and initiate viable school counseling programs that increase college access. Educators, policymakers, and associations around the nation have set an ambitious agenda to improve college access that supports the role of K-12 school counselors in enhancing college and career readiness. For example, College Completion Goal 2020 (U.S. Department of Education, 2011) proposes an overarching national educational objective to create higher standards and assessments that prepare students for success in college through targeted recruitment and professional development for all educators with an intentional effort to cultivate college attainment in the lowest achieving schools. This national commitment toward college and career readiness positions school counselors to lead comprehensive school counseling programs that promote school-wide college going cultures. When accomplished, College Completion Goal 2020 will provide an opportunity for America to again lead the world in college graduates. The Reach Higher initiative, established by First Lady Michelle Obama, focuses on helping students develop self-regulated behaviors and learn the steps to completing high school, set goals to attend college, and pursue career opportunities. Key components of the initiative focus on how school counselors can support college attainment through targeted interventions such as facilitating FAFSA workshops for students and parents, challenging inequitable enrollment patterns in rigorous college preparation courses, encouraging students to enroll in rigorous courses, and working with parents and community members to provide academic enrichment and summer learning opportunities (Reach Higher, 2014). During a presentation at
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the 2014 American School Counselor Association (ASCA) national conference, Mrs. Obama stated, “You’re (school counselors) the ones planting the seeds about college as early as elementary school and middle school, making it clear that higher education is the expectation, not the exception. You’re the ones grabbing kids in the hallway to tell them to sign up for that right college prep program, to check out that website for professional training opportunities, to convince them that they belong in that AP class and then to call the teacher to make sure it happens” (ASCA, 2014). Her commitment and the Reach Higher initiative accomplished three immediate goals. First, Secretary Arnie Duncan encouraged district superintendents and school principals to use their budgets to create relevant professional development trainings for school counselors. Second, the White House partnered with the Harvard Graduate School of Education and San Diego State University to host two college counseling summits that focused on maximizing school counselors’ impact and influence on college enrollment. The invitation only summits charged participants (i.e., school counselors, policy makers, counselor educators, association leaders) to take the initial steps to develop collaborative college and career action plans that advance college choice and enrollment for K-12 students. Third, the White House held a ceremony to honor the School Counselor of the Year. All of the aforementioned goals emphasize the significant role of school counselors in the college and career readiness process. In this chapter, we operationalize “college” as postsecondary education, including two and four year institutions as well as technical and vocational schools (NCES, 2014). The term “college readiness” refers to students’ academic preparedness for entry-level college coursework (Hatch, 2013). A student who is college and career ready has at least a baseline GPA of 3.0, takes academic rigorous classes, meets the state benchmarks for reading and math, makes the decision to take college ready tests such as SAT and ACT, engages in extracurricular activities
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and community service that match their interest, abilities and educational and career goals, explores the college and career application process, selects and applies to 4-year college, 2-year college or career & technical institute, applies for financial aid and scholarships, and requests final transcripts and test scores for post-secondary institutions (Brown, 2013; Bridgeland & Bruce, 2012). Students who make college and career decisions have completed most of the tasks listed, inclusive of applying to a postsecondary institution, and thus, are considered college and career ready. However, it must be acknowledged that some students face barriers to being college and career ready. Factors such as social-emotional issues, limited academic access, language barriers, and financial illiteracy also impact college readiness and attainment. Many low-income, first generation college status, and students of color face numerous barriers to college readiness and enrollment (Bryan, et al., 2009, 2011). This has been shown in a qualitative study carried out to examine students’ perceptions regarding the barriers they face in their decisions to participate in higher education (Freeman, 2005). African-American students from inner city, magnet, private and suburban schools across five cities (Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington DC) in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades were interviewed through focus groups. Sixteen group interviews were conducted yielding a total of 70 students of which 31 were male and 39 female. As a result of this study, students’ perceived the barriers to their participation in higher education most frequently as economic and psychological (Freeman, 2005). Economic barriers included students not feeling they had the financial resources to get into or stay in college and not being able to get jobs after college that was equal to their education. Psychological barriers for students included feeling that college was never an option, and loss of hope and that both the process and institution were intimidating. The solutions recommended by students to some of
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these barriers included (a) improving physical conditions of the school, (b) providing resources for students, and, (c) having more interested teachers and actively involved counselors who instill college aspirations early by taking them to visit colleges and to meet cultural role models who had gone to college (Freeman, 2005). Students also face structural barriers such as attending schools where school counselors have high caseloads that limit their ability to meet students’ needs for college admission counseling, where schools provide inadequate numbers of rigorous classes and lack academic enrichment programs for students who need it, and where teachers and other school personnel hold low college expectations for minority and low-income students (Bryan, et al., 2009; McDonough, 1997). For many students from low-income, minority, or first-generation college backgrounds, the school counselor constitutes a major and sometimes, only source of information about college. In a study using the Educational Longitudinal Study 2002 (ELS: 2002), researchers (Bryan, et al., 2009) found that Black, female, and low-income students were more likely to see the school counselor as well as students in high-poverty schools and schools with smaller student-counselor ratios. In another national study of high school students using the ELS: 2002, researchers (Bryan, et al., 2011) examined the effects of students’ contact with the school counselor for college information on their college applications rates. Findings indicated that school counselors were important sources of social capital for students. Students who saw the school counselor were more likely to apply to college especially when they saw the counselor by 10th grade. Also, students in schools with larger numbers of counselors were more likely to apply to two or more colleges whereas students from lower income families who saw the school counselor greatly increased their odds of applying to two or more colleges. Indeed, the findings indicated that school counselors may be indispensable for students from lower income
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backgrounds who frequently depend on school counselors for information and support in the college going process. Despite the importance of school counselors in the college going process, school counselors are often inundated by numerous non-counseling responsibilities and overwhelmed due to high student-counselor ratios (McDonough, 2005a, 2005b). Hence, the onus is on policymakers, school leaders, and school counselors to embraces practice models that will enable schools and school counselors to promote college readiness and access for all students, especially students who face significant barriers in the college going process. Therefore, we offer strategies that school counselors can use to enhance college readiness and college access. These strategies take a school-family-community partnership approach in addressing the academic, economic, psychological, and structural barriers that these students may face. We first describe two models that provide insight into the comprehensive, cohesive, and widespread strategies the school counselors can use to work with all stakeholders with the aim of getting students college and career ready. We follow with strategies that school counselors can specifically use to engage parents in college readiness activities. We end with a personal story from a professional school counselor (the fourth author) who was a designated college counselor in a high school. She shares the strategies she used to encourage and increase college access for underrepresented college students in her school. Strategies and Models for Enhancing College Readiness and Access Given the barriers that many students face, especially those from low-income, minority, and first-generation college backgrounds, getting students college and career ready involves multiple components and strategies, which school counselors can incorporate into a comprehensive counseling program. Patricia McDonough’s components of college culture
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(McClafferty, McDonough, & Nunez, 2002) emphasize the importance of school personnel building a school-wide college culture in increasing students’ college readiness and access. A school’s college going culture plays a significant role in college preparation and enrollment rates. This is especially true in schools where children must rely on the school for college knowledge, information, and planning as is the case for many children whose parents did not graduate from college (Perna, et al., 2008). By college culture, we mean “the environment, attitudes, and behaviors in schools and communities that support and encourage students and their families to obtain the information, tools, and perspective to ensure access to and success in post-secondary education” (http://collegetools.berkeley.edu/resources.php?cat_id=6). McDonough conceptualized college culture as comprising nine components (see Table 1). These components include ongoing communication of college knowledge and information to students and families; clear college expectations for students from school personnel and family; a comprehensive school counseling model; access to college prep testing and curriculum; college partnerships between the school, college representatives, and other college prep organizations; information and resources; faculty involvement; family involvement; and articulation. School counselors can play a critical role in building college going culture by collaborating with school personnel and families to make these elements part of their school’s culture.
Table 1 Nine Critical Principles or Components of College Culture (McDonough) Components of College Culture (McDonough, 2005) 1.
College Talk
Clear, ongoing communication among students, counselors, teachers, administrators, and families about what it takes to
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Newsletters, newspapers, posters, College Club for middle school students, essay contest based on college application questions.
get to college. Explicit, clearly-defined goals, communicated in ways that make them part of the culture of the school.
2.
Clear Expectations
3.
Information and Resources
4.
Comprehensive School Counseling Model
5.
Testing and Curriculum
Information about and access to “gatekeeping” tests (PSAT, SAT, etc.) and courses (A-G, AP, etc.) for all students.
6.
Faculty Involvement
Informed, active participation from school faculty in the creation and maintenance of a college culture.
7.
Family Involvement
Meaningful engagement on the part of family members in the process of building a college culture.
8.
College Partnerships
Active links in a variety of forms between the school and local colleges and universities.
Comprehensive, up-to-date college information and resources, easily accessible by all students, families, and school personnel. View of counseling that makes all student interactions with counseling staff opportunities for college counseling.
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School mission statement, fouryear plans for all students, frequent communication with students about their college options, ongoing opportunities to discuss college preparation and define goals. College-related periodicals, PSAT/SAT/ACT materials, financial aid materials, college catalogs, workshops on test prep and financial planning. All high school counselors attend state college conferences, counselors at all grade levels have ongoing collaboration, counselors distribute college information to all students, faculty, and staff. PSAT given on school day to all 10th graders, with fees waived (Contact College Board), master schedules changed to make more college prep classes available, students learn organizational skills. Classroom decorations and “college corners,” College Talk in class time, mathematics teachers work with PSAT-takers, teachers understand their roles in college prep, teachers visit counseling office. College Fairs for students and their families, evening/weekend parent workshops to learn about college preparation, financial planning, parents supported in their belief that their children are “college material.” Students at all grade levels have visited local college campuses, college dress days, door decoration contests, guest speakers, tutoring programs, pen pal program with college
students. 9 Articulation Ongoing coordination between Students hear a consistent counselors and teachers among message at all grade levels, all schools in a feeder group. middle schools connect with students as young as fifth grade, as early as kindergarten students should see themselves as college material, high school and middle school counselors are pooling resources and making connections. Taken from McClafferty, K. A., McDonough, P. M., & Nunez, A.M. (2002). What is a college culture? Facilitating college preparation through organizational change. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association. Retrieved from http://www.bridgingworlds.org/P-20/McClafferty.pdf Another comprehensive model that school leaders and school counselors may use to enhance college and career readiness is the National Office of School Counselor Advocacy’s (NOSCA) eight components of college and career readiness (NOSCA, n.d.). NOSCA provided this framework for counselors to develop a Comprehensive School Counseling Model designed to promote college and career readiness. NOSCA delineated eight components that school counselors must integrate into K-12 school counseling programs if they intend to promote college and career readiness for all students, especially students of color and low-income students. These components include helping develop students’ college aspirations and early college awareness from kindergarten through high school; engaging students in academic planning and enrichment activities and in rigorous courses; involving students in college exploration activities; providing students and their families with college information, planning, and assessments; working with students and parents to develop their knowledge about college costs, paying for college, and financial aid; ensuring students understand the college application and enrollment process and complete all the necessary steps including during the summer; and
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building partnerships with colleges and community organizations to provide students with support in the college search, application, and enrollment process (See Table 2).
Table 2 Eight Components of College and Career Readiness (The College Board, NOSCA) NOSCA’s Components of College and Career Readiness 1. College Aspirations Build a college-going culture based on early college awareness by nurturing in students the confidence to aspire to college and the resilience to overcome challenges along the way. Maintain high expectations by providing adequate supports, building social capital and conveying the conviction that all students can succeed in college. 2. Academic Planning Advance students’ planning, preparation, participation and performance in a rigorous academic program that connects to their for College and college and career aspirations and goals. Career Readiness 3. Enrichment and Ensure equitable exposure to a wide range of extracurricular and enrichment opportunities that build leadership, nurture talents and Extracurricular interests, and increase engagement with school. Engagement 4. College and Career Provide early and ongoing exposure to experiences and information necessary to make informed decisions when selecting a college or Exploration and career that connects to academic preparation and future aspirations. Selection Processes 5. College and Career Promote preparation, participation and performance in college and career assessments by all students. Assessments 6. College Provide students and families with comprehensive information about college costs, options for paying for college, and the financial Affordability aid and scholarship processes and eligibility requirements, so they Planning are able to plan for and afford a college education. 7. College and Career Ensure that students and families have an early and ongoing understanding of the college and career application and admission Admission Process processes so they can find the postsecondary options that are the best fit with their aspirations and interests. 8. Transition from High Connect students to school and community resources to help the School Graduation to students overcome barriers and ensure the successful transition College Enrollment from high school to college. Retrieved from http://nosca.collegeboard.org/eight-components
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Interestingly, both of these models highlight the importance of parent outreach and partnerships in doing the work of enhancing college readiness and access. School counselors who are committed to leading comprehensive school counseling programs centered on a college going culture understand how to build relationships consensus with stakeholders through partnerships and collaboration; broker community resources; and collaborate with school, family, and community stakeholders to set and accomplish equitable college attainment goals for all students. Such school counselors invest in working with parents and community members to support a broad range of college and career readiness activities. No school counselor can accomplish the myriad tasks important to college and career readiness alone. Partnerships are the source of counseling, education, mentoring, and enrichment programs that meet the academic, personal-social and college-career needs of large caseloads of students. Next, we discuss how school counselors can work with parents in increasing college and career readiness. Strategies for Working with Parents to Increase College and Career Readiness Much research has been dedicated to exploring the role of parent involvement in children’s academic achievement. Parental involvement has been linked with a number of factors that lead to academic success and better educational outcomes, such as increased school attendance, higher on-time graduation rates, increased student grades and achievement test scores (Epstein & Van Voorhis, 2010), and improved social behavior and peer interactions (Henderson & Mapp, 2002). Parent involvement and encouragement is just as important in preparing their children for college and career readiness, as it is in helping them to be academically successful. However, because parent involvement tends to decline in middle and high school environments, parents are often not involved or consulted when it comes to helping prepare their children for college and career transitions after high school. It is of upmost
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importance that schools continue to involve parents during college and career planning for their children. While many high school counselors already spend a lot of their time helping students with college and career readiness, elementary and middle school counselors also conduct lessons around career information for their populations. From elementary school, school counselors begin to talk with students about career and college readiness. However, with all the work counselors do around college and career readiness, parents are often left out of these conversations, only getting invited to various high school events such as college night fairs, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) parent education workshops, which are howto workshops developed to teach parents how to apply for FASFA. While it is good to provide students with the information they need, more information needs to be shared with parents about how to help their children prepare for life after high school, especially parents of color and lowincome parents. This is an important population to address as these parents are often deemed uninvolved in their children’s education, but in actuality, are involved and hold high expectations for their children’s future (Griffin, Hutchins, & Meece, 2011). The problem is that for some parents, particularly parents of color, parents of first generation college status students, and lowincome parents, while they hold high expectations for their children, they may not have the necessary information needed to help their children around college and career planning. To change parents’ sense of efficacy around college and career planning, parents need to be provided with the necessary information around college and career planning. We provide three main strategies that school counselors can use to work with parents. Strategies for working with parents.
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Individual and group meetings. For school counselors, working with parents does not have to mean an increase in their workload, but more of a different way of doing the work they currently provide. Conducting individual meetings with parents is a way to build trusting, meaningful relationships and a way to foster mutual collaboration between families and schools (Bryan, Griffin, & Henry, 2013). For example, based on past experiences with schools and other formal institutions, African-American families may not trust the school to look out for the welfare of their children and Latino families may not feel a part of the school system without having a deep relationship, or connection (Bryan, Griffin, & Henry, 2013). One example of building meaningful relationships could occur in 9th grade. Counselors working with 9th grade students could be required to meet individually with students and their parents to help plan out their four-year high school plan. Even before the 9th grade year officially begins, school counselors could begin to have discussions with students at back to school events, and high school orientation nights. During the first few months of school, counselors could continue to provide classroom guidance lessons to 9th grade students on high school planning-continuing to give them the information on requirements for high school graduation. Following up with meeting with students, school counselors should also plan individual and group meetings with parents to discuss and share the same information. School counselors should also work with groups of parents to provide information around financial aid, academic planning, and stressing the importance of college. Parents could be invited to come in during the school day, but school counselors should also make arrangements for evening or weekend appointments. During this time, it would be helpful for school administrators to allow for flexibility in the schedule to accommodate for parents with evening appointments. For example, if school counselors have many evening appointments scheduled,
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administrators could allow them to start their day at noon so as not to get burned out during this process. The key takeaway from meeting with parents is that it is vital to provide parents with the information around college and career readiness. Further, it falls in line with recommendations on best strategies for creating a college and career readiness culture in schools. While the example listed above was for high school counseling, counselors working in elementary and middle school need to also begin having these conversations with parents. Individual invitations to students and their parents. Personal invitations to involvement have been demonstrated as effective in supporting parental involvement in K-12 schools (Walker, Shenker, & Hoover-Dempsey, 2010). School counselors need to reach out to parents and offer individual invitations to come to school events, or just to come visit and talk about their child. Although school counselors can be overburdened with the sheer number of job responsibilities, they should make an effort to visit with each student individually. This is extremely helpful when working with Latino families. For example, in elementary or middle school settings, school counselors can first build relationships with students and then use that relationship to learn more about their students’ family by asking them how their parents are. Further, when working with Latino families, school counselors should call home to let the parents know that they have met their child, and discuss positive information about their child. If parents do not speak English, send home a translated hand-written letter with the child that is full of positive, glowing things about their child. Although this does not address college and career access directly, it does create the necessary relationship with families that can then be used to provide information about college and career access. Community outreach. School counselors should also consider having these meetings in community venues; in other words, instead of having parents come to the school, they go to the
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parents on their turf. Because of the distrust that some parents have with schools, it may be easier for school counselors to reach parents at different sites in the community. While some school counselors may feel that the schools are their territory, and going into the community may be more of a school social worker role, community involvement can be key in working with families. Community involvement is more than just doing outreach in the community, but working with the community to build stronger relationships between communities and schools. School counselors could partner with community leaders of community-based organization to develop a college and career planning information night for parents. School counselors could also use parents as leaders, by working with parents in the community who already serve as leaders, and then have them relay information to other parents. This approach uses the power of parents to become active agents of education and schools and can be especially helpful when working with Latino parents (Olivos, 2006). For example, elementary and middle school counselors could work with parents to develop opportunities to visit parents’ places of employments to expose students to various careers. Parents work in many sectors and it is helpful for young kids to see the variety of careers that are actually available. Often times, field trips to businesses often include colleges and universities or hospitals, but it is also helpful for young kids to see other types of career opportunities that are available. In summary, involving parents should be considered extremely important when teaching about college and career readiness. Typical parent involvement practices tend to marginalize parents of color and lower income parents (Baquedano-Lopez, Alexander, & Hernandez, 2013), calling for new strategies of working with these parents. As school policies and graduation requirements are ever changing, it is pivotal that parents are included when providing information for college and career readiness. Further, it is pivotal that school counselors begin to
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include parents in any guidance lesson or conversation provided to students around college and career readiness. A School Counselor’s Story: Strategies One Counselor Used to Enhance College Readiness and Access Trained as a school counselor, and having worked as an elementary school counselor for five years, I (fourth author) moved to a high school to serve as the college counselor in a Title I, low socioeconomic (SES) high school. My role was to provide college and career information to students, parents, staff, and the community and to assist students and families in the college choice and search process. The school in which I worked had both International Baccalaureate (IB) and general education students. The IB program is an international program offering highly achieving and gifted students a rigorous, intensive and competitive pre-college program curriculum. General education students are those who enter the high school in various programs such as special diploma, college and or career preparatory or career technical. Students in general education varied from low achieving to high achieving students involved in remedial, regular, honors and advanced placement programs. While both programs, general education and IB, offered students academic rigor and prepared students for postsecondary options, the IB program was specifically geared to prepare students in that program for college. Students in IB are known to have higher levels of academic efficacy, that is they are able to manage their learning behaviors and show behaviors indicative of success (Shaunessy, Suldo, Hardesty, & Shaffer, 2006). They tend to have more positive perceptions about school and academics than general education students and are highly motivated to achieve. The IB students also tend to be from more affluent families and tend to be White or Asian whilst the majority of students in the general education program (about 95%) were from low (SES) backgrounds and were Black or
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Hispanic. Teachers also have higher expectations for students in IB to be successful than they do for students in the general education program (Shaunessy et. al., 2006). Differences exist in the way students are viewed when comparing general education to IB programs and students are aware of these differences. These differences can affect students’ college and career decisionmaking. On examining the postsecondary data from the senior class for this high school, I observed that of the 100% of IB students (124 students) who planned on attending a college or university, 100% had actually made decisions. On the other hand, of the 100% of the general education students (220 students) planning to attend a four-year college or university, only 34% had made decisions. In meeting with students, I noticed that the IB students knew what they wanted to do after high school and not only had already applied to colleges, but had already made college decisions. However, when I met with the general education students, only a few had already applied to a college. In fact, one general education student initially told me he had applied to about four year colleges, but by the end of our session, he said he did not know how to apply to colleges and he did not have any one at home to help him. What concerned me was that many of these general education students had similar grade point averages (GPA) and had maintained similar academic rigor as the IB students. IB students appeared to know what they wanted, but general education students seemed lost. It was at this point that I decided I needed to create a school climate that encourages all students to aspire for college, is more involved in helping students complete the tasks necessary for college, and partner with parents and community members who had the same vision as myself that ALL students can go to college. College going culture. In order to create a school climate that encourages all students to aspire for college, I provided all homeroom teachers with PSAT, SAT, and ACT preparation
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books. I coordinated and maintained a college website where students, parents, and teachers could access resources for college and career options. I had an open door policy to my office (College Lab) that was accessible to all students, parents, and teachers. I designed a board in the hallway to celebrate our “STARS” - how I defined students who had applied and were already accepted for college. This included their name, picture, and the college they planned to attend. Students loved that people would surround the board and talk about who was going to college and where they were going. I sent out blast emails to students, parents, and to the entire school with details on upcoming events, SAT/ACT dates, reminders the night before these tests to have a good night sleep and a good breakfast in the morning, college and financial aid nights and workshops, and scholarship offers and deadlines. These messages were also disseminated through the Parent Link (phone message) system in case parents or students did not have access to a computer. We had college days where teachers wore their College T-Shirts, and each teacher had a picture of the college they attended in their classrooms. I set up a table in the cafeteria with a sign labeled “College Lab on Wheels” to give students the opportunity to receive college and career information during their lunches. I sat at the College Lab table during lunches and would invite students to bring their lunch to discuss college options and provide them with waivers for standardized tests and college applications. As a result of creating a college going culture, I was able to reach more parents and students and also help instill higher expectations on behalf of the teachers. Academic planning for college and career readiness. Because I know that students will make decisions for college when encouraged, supported and feel empowered, I developed new initiatives to help students become aware of the tasks they need to complete to apply for college or other postsecondary options. For example, I required Juniors and Seniors to come to my office
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at the beginning of the school year to go over a checklist (see Table 3) that I called “Twenty Things You Should Know For College.” These tasks included understanding graduation
Table 3 20 Things You Should Know For College 20 Things You Should Know For College 1. Graduation requirements (district website) 2. SAT test dates, registration dates, costs, waivers and resources for preparation www.collegeboard.org; https://satonlinecourse.collegeboard.org 3. ACT test dates, registration dates costs, waivers and resources for preparation www.act.org; www.march2success.com 4. College ready scores- top, average and bottom scores various universities require for admission (district website) 5. College and career choices- how to determine which colleges to apply based on interests or preferences http://youcango.collegeboard.org, college guidebooks- Fiske, College Board, etc.) 6. How to apply to 2-year colleges 7. How to apply to 4-year colleges 8. How to apply to career and technical programs https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-in/applying; www.commonapp.org; 9. Why attend local and national college fairs and when to attend http://www.nacacnet.org/college-fairs/pages/default.aspx 10. How to get your transcript to be sent to colleges, how to write a resume and essay for college (Registrar) 11. How and when to send test scores to colleges (ACT and SAT websites) 12. How to apply for state scholarships and eligibility 13. How and where to attain community service hours and the benefits of community service for college and scholarships 14. How to use the district and school websites to track your progress in academics and college readiness 15. How and when to apply for financial aid- FAFSA www.fafsa.ed.gov 16. How to apply for Scholarships and being aware of scams https://www.scholarshipexperts.com; www.fastweb.com; www.finaid.org 17. When and where to attend financial aid night (district wide) 18. How to sign up and meet with college recruiters in the College Lab. 19. How to access all these related college resources online and receive counselor emails and reminders (school website) 20. When and where to find the college counselor (myself) in office or other areas on the campus for assistance
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requirements, understanding how to register and study for college placement tests, understanding college ready test scores, exploring and selecting colleges that fits their interests, attending college fairs and financial aid workshops, sending transcripts and test scores to colleges, applying for financial aid and scholarships, meeting with college recruiters in the college lab, applying to community colleges, universities and career/technical schools, and accessing college resources online and in the college lab. Throughout the year, I checked in with each student to see if they had followed through with the assigned tasks following our first meeting and to check on their progress. To encourage students to see college as an option and to increase their college information, I also coordinated workshops for students at each grade level (Freshmen, Sophomore, Juniors and Seniors). These workshops focused on how to go to college, college requirements, how to attain community services hours, and financial aid and scholarships. It was important for Freshmen and Sophomore students to know that the process must began as early as 9th grade and that they could even apply for scholarships from that grade level. Some of these workshops were presented during assemblies or during their classes. Similar workshops were also implemented for parents and teachers at all grade levels to encourage their involvement in the college planning and application process. Although I saw students individually and in small groups, large group assemblies afforded me the opportunity to expose students as early as 9th and 10th grade to this information on a more consistent basis. College and career application and admission process. Even although many students may apply to colleges, some still fail to send in the appropriate documentation, such as test scores and transcripts. Checking on students who had requested transcripts is one of the ways
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school counselors can check to determine if students have really applied for college. For example, Pablo (pseudonym), our Valedictorian for our general education program, had met with me on a consistent basis. He had everything in place to apply for college. However, when the other school counselors and I met to discuss students who still needed to apply to colleges, we realized that Pablo had not followed through and applied to any college. He told us he had so we would not be mad at him but we realized he failed to send in his transcripts. I had even walked Pablo through the steps on the computer to apply for colleges but he never finished applying. For Pablo, economic barriers and lack of knowledge prevented him from actually submitting his application. Although as Valedictorian, Pablo was eligible to go to any state university for free, he felt that he could not attend college because his mother could not afford it. He never realized attending college could be a reality for him. In consultation with other counselors in this high school, we worked with the university to help finalize the application process for him and allow him to talk to an admissions representative so they could make it clear for him that he was really accepted on a full scholarship and his mother would not have to pay any money towards his college education. Had we not followed up this student, although he was fully college and career ready, he would have missed out on the opportunity to attend college with a full scholarship. Although this is only one example, it demonstrates what can happen when school counselors create the type of school climate that is conducive to removing the economic and psychological barriers students of color and low-income students face when making college and career decisions. There are a number of students who are actually college and career ready, but fail to see around, what is to them, insurmountable barriers. It is the job of a school counselor to help students see that barriers can be overcome.
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College and career assessments. Students are required in 9th and 10th grade to take college ready tests such as the PSAT. These assessments are helpful in predicting their AP potential (academic rigor). Therefore, I conducted workshops for all teachers during their planning times (allowing small group interaction) to have an understanding of how to read the PSAT scores. This enabled teachers to meet with all their students to discuss the PSAT results. Our school administration was very supportive and even rearranged the school day to give a special period of time for homeroom teachers to go over these results with students. Students in 11th and 12th grade were required to take the SAT and/or ACT to be accepted into colleges. Our college ready scores that year were: SAT College Ready Score- Critical Reading 440 and Math 440 or ACT College Ready Score- Reading 18, Math 19 and English 17. This means these were the scores the district expected from students who were college ready. I gave students test dates and registration information for these assessments. I also gave eligible students fee waivers that allowed them to register for free. However, I realized that even when I gave students all of this information, many of them still did not register or take these assessments. Through analyzing school data to determine which students were college and career ready, I found that many students were not registering for these assessments. Therefore, I decided that I would have teachers bring their classes to the College Lab so that students could register on the computer for the assessments. I conducted small group and individual sessions with students, walking them through the process of registering for the SAT and/or ACT. If students encountered difficulties or obstacles, I encouraged them to call the organizations that administered these tests, while taking on a role of support as they worked to overcome the obstacles. In doing this, I was empowering my students to be able to address any future obstacles on their own. Each student would leave the College Lab with a SAT and/or ACT study booklet and the website information
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where they could study for these tests. The day before each test, a Parent Link and email blast was sent out to students and their families, and the principal made announcements at the end of the school day for students to come prepared for the test the next day, which was administered at the school. Students were provided doughnuts on test day in case they missed breakfast. As a school, we were supportive of our students’ success on these assessments. College affordability planning. Students were given the opportunity to attend Financial Aid workshops held by the school district, in either English and Spanish. However, at the school level, I also collaborated with the local university to conduct a financial aid workshop for both students and parents. After these workshops, I met with Senior students the same way I did for the assessments, bringing them by classrooms into the College Lab to apply for FAFSA. I also provided students with strategies they could use to improve their GPA and ways to be eligible for a greater variety of scholarships. For example, students could qualify for state scholarships if they had 100 hours of community service. While other scholarships existed that required less hours, I required all of my students to have at least 100 hours because in the IB program, this was a mandatory requirement. Therefore, I made it mandatory for my general education students. To create opportunities for my students to do community service, I collaborated with community agencies and community partners. If students were missing volunteer hours, I called them into my office individually and had them contact agencies to get started. Race, ethnicity, income, language background or disability status are not factors that should prevent students from being able to afford college. Many times scholarships are offered based on racial or ethnic categories, but I noticed that many of my students did not apply even although I made the information available to them. I met with the bilingual counselor supervisor on strategies I could implement to encourage ESL students to take advantage of these
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opportunities. We decided it was best that these students have small groups sessions according to their specific racial or ethnic group because they told me they did not feel comfortable expressing their lack of understanding about their options when others from the dominant language groups were around them. My undocumented students were also afraid of getting their family into trouble if they shared too much information. In collaboration with the bilingual supervisor, we contacted colleges on behalf of the students and shared with students their options for college as well as scholarship opportunities. We also had college recruiters meet with the students, affirming their options. After this I would have students bring in some of their peers to help them through the process. Faculty involvement. Once a month, I met with faculty and administration to examine the percentage of students who were college and career ready and discuss what strategies we could put in place to increase our numbers. I collaborated with other school counselors and teachers to ensure that more students were encouraged to take rigorous courses and that taking AP courses was made more available to all students. We also offered after-school tutoring for all students, with academic support being provided for low income and minority students who needed extra help. I also collaborated with Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), a program in our school whose objective was to provide academic and social support, especially to students traditionally underrepresented in higher education in order to prepare them for college and other postsecondary opportunities. As many were first generation college students, the AVID teacher and I worked together in planning college tours and providing scholarships and college advisement. In addition, students identified as at high risk of dropping out of school and low achievement performance were enrolled in tutoring programs and mentoring programs to
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provide them with the academic and personal-social support they needed to prepare them for college and career. Business and community volunteers would come into the school on a weekly basis to meet with students, motivating and supporting their college aspirations and knowledge. Family and community partnerships. One of the core beliefs of my high school was that the school shared the responsibility for learning with the student and their parents or guardians. Some of the ways we accomplished this was through parent volunteers, parent involvement, and community partners. Many parents who had already helped at least one of their students get into college came and volunteered in my office on a weekly basis to help students and other parents. They understood the process and were adept in assisting students with the resources and opportunities they needed to help them in the college process. I involved parents with the parent education workshops, small group sessions, and awards ceremonies. It is very important that we involve parents in their children’s education as well as their college and vocational planning. Parent workshops such as parent college nights and financial aid workshops provided participants with information on the requirements for college and how important it was to attend to important tasks. To make this easier for parents, I distributed easyto-read checklists. Parent workshops of my 9th and 10th grades students focused on general information about college readiness and college choice. Parent workshops for my 11th and 12th grades were more geared towards hands-on completion of college applications and essays, as well as financial aid information. This allowed parents to assist their own children in the process as much as they were capable. The parent workshops afforded families the information, supports, and networks to help them gain access to the resources they needed to help their children. Further, parents were welcomed to contact me or visit the College Lab with
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any concerns or questions, as well as to gain assistance when filling out some of the “intimidating college forms”. I also created a college and career center area where parents felt comfortable visiting to get information and resources. Another form of collaboration that was beneficial to fostering college readiness and access was working with community partners. I was able to work with colleges to send college recruiters and admissions counselors to the school to help students understand their admission process, opportunities for financial aid and scholarships, and also conduct admission interviews with students. This was very valuable for students as some students were admitted during the recruitment sessions. I remember asking one of my seniors, Brianna (pseudonym) why she had not attended any of the college recruitment sessions. Brianna said she was not going to college because she could not afford it plus her teachers told her she would never go to college. I told Brianna to come to the college recruitment session in the College Lab. Her grades were not the best grades in the school and her GPA was average, but that should never be a reason to tell a student they could not go to college. I kept thinking of so many people who did not work hard in high school, but excelled in college because of a paradigm shift. We as educators must not make the decision on whether a student can attend college or not. In the case of Brianna, I had her meet with an admissions counselor and she was admitted to college the very same day. Summary Every child has the potential to go to college and must be given the opportunity. Brianna had teachers who had quenched even the slightest desire she may have had for pursuing college. Students being prepared for college are not impacted only by academic rigor but must have environments that support college going, which will encourage them to make college decisions (Bryan, Griffin & Henry, 2013; Martinez, & Klopett, 2005). Using the strategies outlined in this
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chapter can help school counselors be leaders in creating a college and career ready culture in their schools. As demonstrated by one practicing school counselor, it can be done, and the benefits greatly outweigh the work involved. Think of how many more Briannas and Pablos exist in our schools, never having the educational environment and structure needed to help them get to college. As school counselors, we take an oath to meet the needs of all students. These strategies allow school counselors to do just that.
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Brown, J. (2013). The school counselor’s role in academic planning, 80-91. In NACAC (Ed.), Fundamentals of College Admission Counseling (3rd ed.) (pp. 80-91). Arlington, VA: National Association of College Admission Counseling Bryan, J., Griffin, D., & Henry, L. (2013). School-family-community partnerships for promoting college readiness and access, 42-58. In NACAC (Ed.), Fundamentals of College Admission Counseling (3rd ed.) (pp. 41-58). Arlington, VA: National Association of College Admission Counseling Bryan, J. A., Griffin, D, & Henry, L. (2013). School-family-community partnership strategies for promoting college readiness and access. National Association for College Admission Counseling. (3), 42-58. Bryan, J., Holcomb-McCoy, C., Moore-Thomas, C., & Day-Vines, N. (2009). Who sees the school counselor for college information? A national study. Professional School Counseling, 12, 280-291. Bryan, J., Moore-Thomas, C., Day-Vines, N., & Holcomb-McCoy, C. (2011). School counselors as social capital: The effects of high school college counseling on college application rates. Journal of Counseling and Development, 89, 190-199. Epstein, J. L., & Van Voorhis, F. L. (2010). School counselors’ roles in developing partnerships with families and communities for student success. Professional School Counseling, 14, 1-14. Freeman, K. (2005). African Americans and college choice: The influence of family and school. SUNY Press. Fry, R., & Taylor, P. (2013). Hispanic high school graduates pass whites in rate of college enrollment. Pew Research Hispanic Trends Report.
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McDonough, P. (2005b). Counseling and college counseling in America’s high schools. State of College Admission, 107-121. http://catholic4less.com/files/McDonough_Report.pdf McDonough, P. M. (1997). Choosing colleges: How social class and schools structure opportunity. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. National Association for College Admission Counseling. (2013). Fundamentals of college admission counseling (3rd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Author. National Office of School Counselor Advocacy. (n.d.). Eight components of college rand career readiness. Washington, DC: The College Board. Retrieved from http://nosca.collegeboard.org/eight-components Olivos, E. M. (2006). The power of parents: A critical perspective of bicultural parent involvement in public schools. New York, NY: Peter Lang. Perna, L., Rowan-Kenyon, H., Thomas, S., Bell, A., Anderson, R., & Li, C. (2008). The role of college counseling in shaping college opportunity: Variations across high schools. Review of Higher Education 31, 131-159. Shaunessy, E., Suldo, S. M., Hardesty, R. B., & Shaffer, E. J. (2006). School functioning and psychological well-being of international baccalaureate and general education students: A preliminary examination. Prufrock Journal, 17(2), 76-89. The White House – Reach Higher Initiative (2014). Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/reach-higher. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2014). Digest of Education Statistics, 2013 (NCES 2014-015). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2013). Digest of
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Education Statistics, 2012 (NCES 2014-015), Chapter 3. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d12/ch_3.asp Walker, J. M. T., Shenker, S. S., & Hoover-Dempsey, K. V. (2010). Why do parents become involved in their children’s education? Implications for school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 14, 27-41.
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