Set College Expectations

Not everyone goes to college. This we know. And not everyone wants to go to college, and that’s fine. A global learning school has the expectation that everyone will be ready for college for one simple reason: at graduation, every student should have a world of opportunities and possibilities ahead of herself or himself.

Set a college-going expectation from the very beginning, even before a student arrives on the first day of school. Students may have perceptions that they aren’t smart enough, or their families don’t have money, or that they’re not academically inclined. It’s important to dispel these notions right away—what they don’t know about themselves or how the system works can hurt their future prospects.

Tips:

• Make it a graduation requirement to go through the process of applying for colleges.
• Demystify the process by posting college application on school walls.
• Host a morning coffee or evening reception to talk about the college pathway with parents.
• Host a college recruitment fair (universities will find area alumni to participate) and open it up your school community and other youth in the neighborhood.
• Task a committee to share entrance requirements to popular universities so students won’t be surprised in their senior year that they haven’t met requirements.
• 
  Do an annual fundraising drive to help mitigate costs of college applications and college entrance exam fees, particularly for those families in need.

[Book study to come:

College Knowledge by David Connelly

https://www.epiconline.org/          College Ready resources from Connelly

Crossing the Stage: Redesigning the Senior Year by Nancy Sizer

Shaping School Culture Fieldbook by Terrance Deal ]