In the Zone This Month: November 2008
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Principals Help Students Set Sights on College
by Laura Kraus, Associate Director of Economic Access Initiative, The Ohio State University
In our access work at Ohio State, we’ve seen it time and time again: principals and teachers, working in concert with parents, can help to truly set the expectation that their students will go to college and they can arm their students with the information to get there. We like to call them “Access Advocates”—those special administrators who have a gift for encouraging a culture of aspiration in their schools. Here are some relatively easy ways that elementary, middle, and high school principals can become Access Advocates:
- Talk to Teachers, Students and Parents about College Planning. Research shows us that children know that they want to go to college, but are unsure of the steps to get there. The Know How 2 Go campaign, sponsored by the Ad Council, boils those steps down to some easy to digest messages for students from 4th-10th grade and there are also print materials that are perfect for display and use in your schools. Following this article are reproducible handouts from the Economic Access Initiative at Ohio State University that you can share with teachers, students and parents. Also, for more information, check out KnowHow2Go.org.
- Know the Critical Grades: Fourth Grade and Eighth Grade. We’re encouraging college “talk” as early as fourth grade. Why? Well, we know that parents and students begin thinking about middle school curriculum around fourth grade or a bit later and that curriculum—particularly in the math and sciences—is crucial to setting students up to take the right courses in high school and then in college. Speaking of the right courses, those are designated in high school as the “college prep curriculum.” As Access Advocates, elementary and middle school principals can find out what information about curriculum the school district is sharing with their high schoolers.
Another crucial grade? Eighth. Some research has suggested that in eighth grade, students start seeing the reality involved in going to college and may choose to opt out, thinking they have neither the money nor the grades. Principals can play a crucial role in letting students know that federal aid is available and that they still have all of high school to work on their academics by encouraging teachers to promote college access, as well as speaking to students and parents directly about making plans for college.
- Communicate with Families about Financial Literacy. More and more, we”re seeing the relationship between financial literacy and college attendance. Good fiscal habits like saving and planning ahead are important to promote in whatever way possible. For middle schoolers, the concept of interest and loans can be explored using college as an example of a sought-after financial goal. Families can benefit from information on the Ohio 529 program—College Advantage. The staff of College Advantage attends events at schools and loves to talk to families about the benefits of saving early for college. http://www.collegeadvantage.com/
Tell parents and students where to look for scholarships:
- First and foremost, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which yields a whopping 97 percent of tuition help. (Each February, financial experts throughout the nation offer free help filling out the form at College Goal Sunday, which Tally Hart, OSU’s Economic Access Initiative Director, helped launch in 1989. Check out www.collegegoalsundayusa.org for locations.)
- Students can look for scholarships offered at their places of work; parents’ offices; churches, synagogues, or mosques; and clubs.
- Principals can let families know that high school guidance counselors will help. “If your guidance counselor says, ‘Look into this scholarship,’” Hart said, “do it.”
- Students and families can use their web savvy to their advantage. Sites such as www.fastweb.com hook students up with individual donors looking to help fund educations. When looking for a site, Hart said, pick one that’s free, that promises never to sell your personal information, and that will contact students directly when a scholarship for which they are eligible becomes available.
For Further Reading
The following handouts for students are available to you through Ohio State’s Economic Access Initiative in the Office of Academic Affairs. The mission of Economic Access is to make college a reality for all qualified students. For more information and resources on getting prepared for college, visit the EAI website.
