Chapter 6

In previous chapters, the author discussed strategies for making students college ready. In this chapter, they talk about a strategy for implementing those strategies. First, you need to develop a profile for the school's college readiness capacity. Some schools already have a large number of students who are college bound; others will only have a few students go to college. Schools may be limited by number of seats in an AP course or other such factors. These need to be assessed. Next, schools need to establish a small number of goals, such as number of students applying to college. This can be easily tracked. Other measures might be more difficult, but should be undertaken. Next, enlist support of school as well as district administrators. Get them on board with your goals, if possible. Create a task force and come up with a multi year plan for implementing college prep strategies. These should be tied to the four dimensions of college and career readiness. The plan should suggest small changes as well as systemic ones. At this point, schools should establish relationships with outside partners, most importantly local colleges and universities. Teachers must simultaneously be preparing themselves through professional development. They must master their subject matter and how to think about it. Professional learning communities can aid in this process. For students to take advantage of this, they must be in a school that has a culture of high achievement. Teachers who believe their students can achieve have high achieving students. Be sure to track progress made by the school on all these levels. The best way is not to count the number of students who apply to or gain entrance to college but to see how many end up in remedial classes; how many place out of courses; and what courses students choose to take their first year in college. The ones they avoid are the ones they are not prepared for.