Educational Leadership

belts and are applying to enter four-year schools as juniors.

Still, they face challenges getting accepted and finding funding. One strategy we adopted from another early college high school is helping students take steps to meet early deadlines along the college admissions path within high school classes. Students now file their applications earlier in fall; thus, they receive acceptances earlier so we have more time to give them guidance about financial aid.

During advisory classes,
our junior English class, and
our senior independent study
class, teachers guide students
in applying to postsecondary
schools. We’ve implemented
checkpoints and our own
deadlines for the essential steps
in the application process,
so that students meet our
deadlines before the college
deadlines. This obliterates a deterrent
to the application process—getting
started—and ensures that students and
parents won’t be starting applications in
the last few hours before a December 1
deadline.
This year, by September 1, our
juniors and seniors had all
n Drafted two admissions essays.
n Logged on to the state’s com-
mon college application website, cre-
ated an account, and completed basic
information.
n Drafted a résumé to use for admis-
sions or scholarship applications and
to show adults who would be writing
recommendations.
n Received training in how to request
recommendations from teachers.
Students and teachers felt a sense
of relief and accomplishment through

photo courtesy of lauren jeffcoat

teacher remains the same from their freshman to sophomore years.

Teachers, administrators, and other mentors work with students to help them find career paths and colleges that meet their interests, abilities, and financial situations. We help students seek employment training and internships with local organizations and community professionals, such as the NASA food development laboratory and a leading emergency-room physician. This work is possible because we’ve spent so much time getting to know students and building relationships with them.

Because we prioritize conversations about realistic options for college, seniors often come to us for help, and they know what questions to ask. Brad, a young man who aspires to be a doctor, recently came into my office and asked, “Dr. Morrow, Should I go to the big-name college that’s accepted me or the lesser-known one that offered me more financial help?”

Discussing Transcripts
and the SAT
We now show each student his or
her transcript in the second semester
of each high school year. In advisory
classes, each student discusses with his
or her advisor the grades received in
individual classes, grade point average,
and class rank. The first time we did
this was truly enlightening. Students
were appalled, in some instances, at
their grades. They wanted to discuss
how to improve their class rank and
achievement. They saw how their
academic record would appear to col-
leges at the end of their high school
career. The sense of urgency this real-
ization created was impressive, and
we realized this was a meaningful step
toward preparing students to leave us
and enter any postsecondary program of
their choosing.