School-Counselors-Bridging-the-Gap-Between-College

SCHOOL COUNSELORS BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN COLLEGES, CAREERS, UNDERSERVED STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES Counselors: Let’s Make an Early Impact! Nicholas Highe, Doctoral Student, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC Jennifer Fisher, Masters Student, Counselor Education, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC UNDERSERVED STUDENTS Underserved students are defined as students who not receive equitable resources as other students in the academic pipeline Typically, these groups of students include low-income, underrepresented racial/ethnic minorities, and first generation students as well as many others http://www.apass.uiuc.edu/APASS/definitions.htm REALITY OF K-12  Underserved student potential outcomes  Desire to attend college  Enrollment rates  Graduation rates UNDERSERVED FAMILY CHALLENGES TO COLLEGE AND BEYOND  Parental education level  Nutrition  Poor sleeping habits  Lack of AC/Heat due to financial strains  Pressures of adult responsibilities  Lack of life experiences (i.e.: the zoo, beach, museums)  Lack of technology (i.e.: educational computers games)  Family strain UNDERSERVED FAMILY CHALLENGES TO COLLEGE AND BEYOND  Academic preparation  Support from schools  Information about the college admissions process HOW DO WE FIX IT?  Task persistence  Create and promote a school-wide college-going culture  Close the admissions and financial aid information gap  Increase parental involvement  Increase access to rigorous coursework  Utilize community resources  Begin career prep early ESTABLISHING A COLLEGE-GOING CULTURE  Display student college acceptances in a well-visited area  Have teachers display their alma mater  College Colors Day  Reward students for college admission CAREER PREP RESOURCES  Georgia Career Information Center  College Foundation of North Carolina  Career One Stop  America's Career Info Net  Reality Check  “To the extent that ethnic minority youth perceive that racial inequality poses limits on their social and economic mobility, they are less likely to believe that working hard in school will have long-term payoff” Source: (Taylor and Graham, 2007) GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY  Business, Law, Government, Medicine, Public Policy UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL  - Business, Law, Medicine, Education, Social Work, Global Public Health NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY  Engineers-Agricultural and Nuclear/Biological, Education, Management School UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA  Business Administration, Education, Engineering/Applied Science, Law, Medicine JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY  Public Health, Education, Engineers, Medicine, Nursing, Music and Dance DUKE UNIVERSITY  Business, Law, Medicine, Public Policy, Nursing, Divinity School, Environment CORNELL UNIVERSITY  Hotel administration, industrial and labor relations, veterinary medicine, nanotechnology, supercomputing EMORY UNIVERSITY  Public Health, Business, Law, Medicine, Nursing, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY  Engineering, Business, Law, Medicine WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY  Business, Law Management, Accounting, Medicine THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND  Education, Engineering, Business EDUCATION TODAY  “Today, the main source of modern success is education, and the children of those who never entered college can dream of going to college as a first step toward improving their life chances” Source: (Cho et al., pg 105, 2008) REFERENCES  Roderick, M., Nagaoka, J., & Coca, V 2009 College readiness for all: The challenge for urban high schools The Future of Children, 19(1), pg 185-210  Adam, M (2005) Low-income, first generation students left behind The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, 15(24), pg 17-19  Cappella, E and Weinstein, R 2001 Turning Around Reading Achievement: Predictors of High School Students’ Academic Resilience Journal of Educational Psychology, 93 (4), pg 758-771  Andersson, H and Bergman, L 2011 The Role of Task Persistence in Young Adolescence for Successful Educational and Occupational Attainment in Middle Adulthood Developmental Psychology, 47 (4) pg 950–960  Malecki, C.K and Demaray, M K 2006 Social Support as a Buffer in the Relationship between Socioeconomic Status and Academic Performance School Psychology Quarterly, 21 (4), pg 375-395  Cho, S., Barry, L., Hudley, C., Kelly, M., and Lee, S., 2008 Roles of Gender, Race, and SES in the College Choice Process Among First-Generation and Nonfirst-Generation Students Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, (2), pg 95–107  Graham, S., and Taylor, A.Z., 2007 An Examination of the Relationship Between Achievement Values and Perceptions of Barriers Among Low-SES African American and Latino Students Journal of Educational Psychology, 99 (1), pg 52-64