Spring is officially here and it’s time to break out your jerseys, sport that new cap and cheer on your students as we welcome college acceptance season. This is always a stressful time for students as they wait for that special letter to arrive or start looking towards application options for next fall. Celebrating with students as they take that next step beyond high school should be as big and loud of a celebration as opening day at Wrigley Field was last week.

Before we can celebrate that next step with students, we have to show them that world beyond high school. There are many paths to take, with each path having its own branches growing to a lifetime of experiences. We may not be able to guide students down all paths and branches, but we can give them some starting points for their journey from the comfort of the classroom!

Over the next month, The TalentED Project, TGR EDU: Explore, Pathway to Financial Success in Schools and Discovery Education want to introduce you to resources, tools and pathways to help you bring these opportunities into your classroom.

The TalentED Project

The college search and application process can be especially daunting for students who are the first in their family to attend college, but these students need to know there are great colleges that want them on campus. The TalentED Project builds relationships between educators working with high school students and college admissions recruiters to strengthen the recruitment pipeline of underrepresented students at colleges where they are most likely to succeed. Via the detailed college search tool, students and educators can determine which colleges are good social, academic and financial fits for them. Additionally, TalentED provides resources to help students master story-telling techniques that will allow their personal application statements to shine.

Pathway to Financial Success in Schools: Financing Your Future

Selecting a path after high school involves having a selection.  We want to provide as many experiences as possible so student’s get a good idea of what career opportunities are out there and what type of education does that career require. Below are some resources that can not only help students and families research careers but also highlights individuals performing a wide range of jobs.

Unit 3: Financing Your Future, offers tools to map out the journey for your students and deftly maneuver through higher education financing options.

Family Activity

• Choosing Your Path After High School – Encourage students and their families to develop an education and career plan through exploring potential career paths and the education and/or training that are necessary.

Classroom Activity

• Financing Further Education – Explore various education financing options available to your students, such as scholarships, grants, loans, work student, apprenticeships, and military service.
• Understanding Education Financing Options – Explore and compare financial aid offers to differentiate between loans and grants/scholarships and understand specific provisions for different education financing options.

TGR EDU: Explore – COLLEGE BLUEPRINT

Navigating the college process can be incredibly overwhelming, especially if students are first-generation college goers.  They may not know what things they should consider when looking for a college (College Culture), what steps they should be taking and when (Application Process), and how will they pay for their education (Financial Aid).

Classroom Integrations: The COLLEGE BLUEPRINT Self-Paced Module is designed to help students build that knowledge, preparation, and confidence. There are multiple ways to use this resource in your class. We’ve paired these ways with different, practical strategies that you can use with this resource and many others.

Self-guided learning

• Use the Inquiry Chart strategy

Working in pairs or in groups

• Use the 25 Things I Didn’t Know strategy

Whole Group Instruction

• Use the Placemat strategy

Up Next in this Series: Financing the Future and College Affordability