28/Sep/2008
Exploring the Options Central Schools Hire College/Career Coaches
By Emily Holden
It’s a question too many high school students find to be daunting: “What are you going to do after graduation?”
Many teachers see it as an education phenomenon: students wake up every morning to attend school for 13 years and then just suddenly quit. The Central Community School System has paired with Career Compass of Louisiana to battle this trend. They will offer their “post-secondary planning services” to Central High School for the first time this year.
College Planning Process
Kacy Edwards, Career Compass executive director, said program counselors will help students with the entire college-planning process from researching options to applying to schools and for financial aid. They help students explore options at public and private universities, community colleges, technical and trade schools.
Career Compass is new to Central but has worked with high schools in East Baton Rouge since 2006. Until recently, Career Compass worked only with high school seniors. But Edwards said they started to realize there were things they wished students had known as ninth graders.
The Central Community School System opted to provide the program for all high school students. Edwards said this will allow advisers to explain why ninth grade classes matter, to begin the conversation about dual enrollment earlier and to create the "college-going" culture among students.
Making College a Reality
"Some kids, they hear it and hear the counselors say it, but they don't make the connection between that being a reality for them," Edwards said.
When Edwards taught in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, she saw many of her former students wind up in low-income jobs after high school. Edwards said she was disappointed to find students working at Target five years after graduation.
So Edwards and her partner Julie Scott began a program to help students prepare for post-secondary education. Edwards said many students do not pursue higher education only because they do not have a plan.
"We're taking out the element of Target and Chick-fil-a being the whole option," Edwards said.
Seniors meet with Career Compass counselors at least twice a year (but usually much more often) to discuss their options. The first meeting is conducted with small groups and all additional meetings are one-on-one. Edwards said the program is particularly beneficial to students because advisers have contacts with all 30 post-secondary schools in the Baton Rouge area.
Coaching Trends
"College and career coaching is a national trend," Edwards said. She said more and more states are realizing the necessity of locating college and career coaches on school campuses to recruit students. Educational entities are noticing as well. The Louisiana Community and Technical College System partially funds Career Compass services for Central High School seniors.
LCTCS first approached Superintendent Michael Faulk to discuss the possibility of Central participating in a Career Compass pilot program for seniors. But Faulk was so impressed with the program he asked the board to consider it for all CHS students.
Faulk said the school board decided to contract with Career Compass rather than hire another counselor because it is less expensive. Career Compass services will cost the Central Community School System $25,000, while hiring another counselor could cost more than $60,000. He said advisers will meet with ninth, tenth and eleventh graders in the fall and spring semesters through the English classes. Freshmen will review four-year curriculum and discuss prerequisites for obtaining Taylor Opportuniy Program for Students scholarships. Sophomores will recap the information and discuss how to interpret ACT scores. They will also discuss differences between opportunities at area schools. Juniors will learn to read transcripts and explore potential education choices.
Counselor Shortage
Faulk said the program will help offset a shortage of counselors at the high school. He said the counselor to student ratio should be 1 to 250, although it is currently 1 to 350. Faulk said this setup does not allow counselors the opportunity to meet with all students and parents individually.
Edwards said Career Compass is not just for students. "We try to establish contact with the parents to come talk to us," Edwards said. She said parents sometimes set up meetings to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Edwards said she has helped parents through the summer to work out financial situations. She has even helped some parents apply to post-secondary schools.
"A lot of times, parents just leave it up to the students and they're not aware of all that the students have to go through," Faulk said. He said he hopes Career Compass will get parents more involved in the process.
"We're pretty available to everybody," Edwards said. "Parents call us, kids call us, kids text us."
By Emily Holden
It’s a question too many high school students find to be daunting: “What are you going to do after graduation?”
Many teachers see it as an education phenomenon: students wake up every morning to attend school for 13 years and then just suddenly quit. The Central Community School System has paired with Career Compass of Louisiana to battle this trend. They will offer their “post-secondary planning services” to Central High School for the first time this year.
College Planning Process
Kacy Edwards, Career Compass executive director, said program counselors will help students with the entire college-planning process from researching options to applying to schools and for financial aid. They help students explore options at public and private universities, community colleges, technical and trade schools.
Career Compass is new to Central but has worked with high schools in East Baton Rouge since 2006. Until recently, Career Compass worked only with high school seniors. But Edwards said they started to realize there were things they wished students had known as ninth graders.
The Central Community School System opted to provide the program for all high school students. Edwards said this will allow advisers to explain why ninth grade classes matter, to begin the conversation about dual enrollment earlier and to create the "college-going" culture among students.
Making College a Reality
"Some kids, they hear it and hear the counselors say it, but they don't make the connection between that being a reality for them," Edwards said.
When Edwards taught in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, she saw many of her former students wind up in low-income jobs after high school. Edwards said she was disappointed to find students working at Target five years after graduation.
So Edwards and her partner Julie Scott began a program to help students prepare for post-secondary education. Edwards said many students do not pursue higher education only because they do not have a plan.
"We're taking out the element of Target and Chick-fil-a being the whole option," Edwards said.
Seniors meet with Career Compass counselors at least twice a year (but usually much more often) to discuss their options. The first meeting is conducted with small groups and all additional meetings are one-on-one. Edwards said the program is particularly beneficial to students because advisers have contacts with all 30 post-secondary schools in the Baton Rouge area.
Coaching Trends
"College and career coaching is a national trend," Edwards said. She said more and more states are realizing the necessity of locating college and career coaches on school campuses to recruit students. Educational entities are noticing as well. The Louisiana Community and Technical College System partially funds Career Compass services for Central High School seniors.
LCTCS first approached Superintendent Michael Faulk to discuss the possibility of Central participating in a Career Compass pilot program for seniors. But Faulk was so impressed with the program he asked the board to consider it for all CHS students.
Faulk said the school board decided to contract with Career Compass rather than hire another counselor because it is less expensive. Career Compass services will cost the Central Community School System $25,000, while hiring another counselor could cost more than $60,000. He said advisers will meet with ninth, tenth and eleventh graders in the fall and spring semesters through the English classes. Freshmen will review four-year curriculum and discuss prerequisites for obtaining Taylor Opportuniy Program for Students scholarships. Sophomores will recap the information and discuss how to interpret ACT scores. They will also discuss differences between opportunities at area schools. Juniors will learn to read transcripts and explore potential education choices.
Counselor Shortage
Faulk said the program will help offset a shortage of counselors at the high school. He said the counselor to student ratio should be 1 to 250, although it is currently 1 to 350. Faulk said this setup does not allow counselors the opportunity to meet with all students and parents individually.
Edwards said Career Compass is not just for students. "We try to establish contact with the parents to come talk to us," Edwards said. She said parents sometimes set up meetings to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Edwards said she has helped parents through the summer to work out financial situations. She has even helped some parents apply to post-secondary schools.
"A lot of times, parents just leave it up to the students and they're not aware of all that the students have to go through," Faulk said. He said he hopes Career Compass will get parents more involved in the process.
"We're pretty available to everybody," Edwards said. "Parents call us, kids call us, kids text us."
