Preparing School Counselors to Increase College Going Rates ACES October 17, 2009 Transformative Actions: Expanding Social Respect and Relational Consciousness

Presenters Bob Bardwell School Counselor & Director of Guidance, Monson High School, MA Adjunct Professor, Springfield College, Suffolk University, Westfield State College & University of Massachusetts Amherst Tim Poynton, Assistant Professor Suffolk University, Boston MA

Why the need to increase college-going rates?  Higher education opens doors to future success  Our society is dependent upon highly skilled and educated workers  Current Washington political climate is expecting it  Our country is falling behind in the global marketplace/economy

How school counselors can help improve college going rates 1. Change the college-going culture within the school & community 2. Provide leadership 3. Organize professional development for counseling and teaching staff 4. Ensure appropriate curriculum is available 5. Provide an integrated, high quality college prep opportunities 6. Use data 7. Solicit outside resources 8. Start early 9. Remove financial aid barriers 10. Take pre-service coursework

Change the college-going culture within the school & community  Is it part of your mission?  Does the administration and school board want to improve college- going rates?  What do the parents want?  Does the community care?  Are school counselors the only ones who care?

Provide leadership  Get administrative approval  Provide data & research to build capacity  Start a task force  Provide educational opportunities for key stakeholders

Organize professional development for counseling and teaching staff  Make college-going PD a priority  Solicit support from identified resources  Bring in speakers  Go to conferences  Take classes  Shake up the counseling department

Ensure appropriate curriculum is available  Align courses vertically K-12  Advocate for rigorous courses  Require students take rigorous courses  Grade level seminar classes  Create or expand accelerated instruction options Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate Dual enrollment Articulation agreements  Create early warning systems for at-risk students

Provide integrated, high-quality college prep opportunities  Create a network of adults who care about student success After school/summer programs Advisories  Create post-secondary exit plan for all students  Developmental guidance curricula  Grade 9 academies  Small learning communities  Standardized testing Accuplacer, Work Keys, Etc.

Using Data to Improve College-Going Rates  Placement data Where do students apply and where are they accepted?  Course selection data What courses do students take?  Testing data SAT/ACT, etc. State NCLB data Higher education – Accuplacer, placement testing

Solicit outside resources for support  Local colleges & universities  Scholarship or educational access agencies  Federal Government programs Gear Up/Upward Bound/ ETS  Non-profit agencies – Boys/Girls Clubs, Employment agencies, 4-H  Economic development agencies  NACAC or state/regional affiliates

Start early  Is college mentioned in elementary or middle school? Is it part of their mission?  Are developmental guidance lessons available at those levels?  Are programs (i.e. career days, college tours, college fairs, etc.) provided for younger students?  Are parent education programs offered at these levels?

Remove financial aid barriers  Educate students and parents about financing options Workshops Speakers Classroom guidance lessons

Why Is Graduate College Admission Counseling Coursework Needed?  43% of school counselors spend more than 20% of their time on post secondary education admissions & selections 49% on course selection 33% on attendance, discipline and personal problems NCES “High School Guidance Counseling,” 2003

Why Is Graduate College Admission Counseling Coursework Needed? (continued)  Our graduates are no longer meeting the needs of the schools Not getting interviews Not getting jobs New counselors are not assigned to juniors & seniors needing college admission counseling services College counseling services have been outsourced  Times have changed; very complex process

Why Is College Admission Counseling Coursework Needed? (continued)  96% of school counselors felt that assisting students in the college search, application and selection process was very relevant;  Yet only 66% of respondents had received some sort of training during the past year  24% said they received graduate coursework in college admission, higher education and/or enrollment management NACAC, 2004

Why Is College Admission Counseling Coursework Needed? (continued)  Students from low socioeconomic status relied on high school counselors as the single most consulted source of information about college Cabrera & LaNasa, 2000

Why Is College Admission Counseling Coursework Needed? (continued)  It is COUNSELING!!!!  There is theory behind it  It is related to ASCA Standards – counselors help students in development of personal/ social/career planning goals  The process leads to counseling of other often embedded concerns  Developmental research linking H.S. – college transitions

Overview of findings  There are very few colleges (less than 30) that offer college admission counseling coursework for graduate credit leading toward a degree  Counselor educators are key to changing the current system  State licensing boards do not include college counseling or do not consistently enforce the requirement  Students with access to college counseling have more options for success later in life

What is gained  Students are more marketable in guidance field with specific training  Able to be more effective  Better serves the needs of the school and community  Better serves the student’s needs  Help improve college-going rates

Student’s perspective (continued) “While I draw constantly from the knowledge I gained in all of my coursework, nothing stands out for me more, or is utilized more, than the class I took dealing with college counseling... I was able to hit the ground running the minute I walked in the door of my practicum and that was because of my strong knowledge base. I am more marketable because of that class... I feel that this class is an absolute necessity in any graduate school counselor curriculum.” Springfield College student, July 2003

For More Information…..  Bob Bardwell  Tim Poynton