Hello Families of Grades 5th-12th Students:
I pray all is well, and your families had
a great day. Please forgive me for my lack of attention to this blog for
the past few months; but I hope this post will serve as a blessing to families
of students in grades 5-12 as you seek to prepare your children for life beyond
high school.
The purpose for this post is to share
valuable tips for families as you begin the process of preparing life beyond
high school for your children. When thinking about the cost of a college
education today, the earlier you begin planning, the greater chance you have to
reduce the cost of a college education. Keep in mind, students with
better academic grade point averages (GPAs) and aptitude test scores (SAT &
ACT) have better chances of getting scholarships to help defray to cost of a
college education. As you begin this planning journey with your children,
please consider the following information:
Steps to Initiate in Elementary School
1. Begin exploring your children's likes
and dislikes. Begin exploring the interests, tasks, and hobbies of your
children. For instance, have you ever wondered why your child is able to
disassemble and reassemble or repair electronic devices without the benefit of
training in this area. This situation might be a sign that you have a
future computer or electrical engineer on your hands!
2. Create a log of your children's
accomplishments beginning in elementary school. The development of such a
log will prove to be a valuable tool when creating your child's resume during
middle school.
3. Once you are aware of your child's
interests, frequently schedule college and university tours. This process will continue to water your
previously sown seeds of wisdom (statements made to your children pertaining to
attaining a post-secondary education from infancy to the present). Begin
making plans to visit and tour colleges and universities within the cities of
your family's vacation destinations. Do not limit visits to 4-year
colleges and universities. Make tours of community colleges as a part of
visitation routine.
4. Establish a college savings
account for your child. Based on the rising costs of a college education,
every dime you can save is a bonus. Explore creating a 529 college
savings plan. "A 529
plan is a tax-advantaged investment vehicle in the United
States designed to encourage
saving for the future higher education expenses of a designated
beneficiary" (Wikipedia, 2014).
5. Ensure your child develops a
solid academic foundation in elementary school. Students who struggle
academically in elementary school could potentially struggle academically in
middle school. Work to address any and all academic issues during your
child's enrollment in elementary school.
Steps to Initiate in Middle School
6. Create an account with your
state's college preparation site like the College Foundation of North Carolina
(CFNC, 2014). A tool such as this one can be used to complete a career
inventory survey such as Career Key. In addition, a tool of this nature
provides families with value information pertaining to college financial
planning, college application preparation, etc.
7. Use valuable student interest
data from items 1 and 6 to help prepare your child's middle school
schedule. Such information is a key step as your child's seventh and eighth-grade
school year schedules tend to focus on the courses taken in sixth grade.
8. Ensure your child develops a solid
academic foundation in middle school. Students who fail to master state
middle school standards prior to entering high school tend to struggle
academically. Students who struggle academically in middle school could
potentially struggle academically in high school and have the potential to
drop-out of high school. Work to address any and all academic issues during
your child's enrollment in middle school.
9. Continue to visit and tour
colleges and universities within the cities of your family's vacation
destinations. Do not limit visits to 4-year colleges and
universities. Make tours of community colleges as a part of visitation
routine.
10. Begin to establish a resume for your
child. Use the data from the log you created and maintained since
elementary school to enhance your child's resume. Schedule volunteer
opportunities within your local communities for your child and add this data to
your child's resume. The college
selections for student candidates has been come quite selective over the past 5
to 10 years. Make sure your child has the
credentials to help elevate his or her college application to the top of the
selection process.
11. Consult your child's school guidance
counselor, your local high school, or both to see what steps are needed to
register your seventh or eighth-grade student for the PSAT test. Try to
schedule an opportunities for your child to take this assessment at least once
before his or her ninth grade school year.
12. Have your child to begin
practicing completing college/universities and scholarship applications.
The earlier your child begins this process, the easier this process becomes in
high school. As you begin this process,
contact your child's high school English teachers to see if he or she would not
mind reviewing scholarship, college, or both applications. From personal experience, teachers are more
inclined to provide assistance (many times at no cost) to kids who they
perceive are "go getters" and are eagerly trying to prepare themselves
for life beyond high school.
I hope this information helps and review the following links for additional
resources.
Be Blessed,
Jacob Barr
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