High School Counselor Week

Did we really learn anything about schools in the pandemic?
The Washington Post – April 6, 2022
Many articles highlight similar ‘lessons’ — on inequity, technology, in-school learning, funding mechanisms and other issues — that seemingly hadn’t been thought of before. But for anybody paying the slightest bit of attention there is nothing on the list that we didn’t already know before covid-19 — and for a long, long time.

Simplicity Matters For Free College
Forbes – April 4, 2022
The simple message of free college without strings attached motivates students to go to college in ways that more complicated programs that promise free college if a variety of conditions are met do not. The simplicity of the message from a well-designed and generous free college program is essential. Students place a premium on certainty, it seems.

College Admissions and the French Horn
Post – April 6, 2022
Counselors’ Corner with Patrick O’Connor, Ph.D.

Wait-lists Do’s and Don’ts
Post – April 6, 2022
College Advice & Timely Tips with Lee Bierer

National Student Clearinghouse and College Guidance Network Form Strategic Alliance to Support College Counseling and Career Guidance
Yahoo! Life – April 4, 2022
Recognizing that the college and career counseling community continues to be stretched as they take on added tasks at their schools with fewer resources, and that much online information is inaccurate and/or not helpful, CGN has developed the first platform of its kind to provide a comprehensive, trusted resource of expert information to students and their families.

School counselors in S.D. playing larger role amid student mental health crisis
South Dakota News Watch – April 5, 2022
As fallout from the pandemic creates what the U.S. Surgeon General calls a ‘youth mental health crisis,’ school counselors find themselves providing not just academic and vocational guidance, but emotional support to students and families. Forging that many personal connections is difficult, so schools are exploring ways to supplement traditional counseling with professional partnerships to make sure teens get the attention they need.

With students in turmoil, US teachers train in mental health, but there are too few school counselors
The Colorado Sun – April 5, 2022
The pandemic amplified already rising rates of childhood depression and anxiety. School teachers are learning to provide mental health first aid to thwart tragedy.

Social-Emotional Learning Works. But It Cannot Replace Mental Illness Care.
EdSurge – April 5, 2022
A look at the full suite of SEL skills, and a deeper dive into the diagnostic hallmarks of mental illness disorders reinforces understanding that these two are in no way flip sides of a single coin. Mental health and mental illness occupy distinct categories, reflecting fundamentally different analyses and toolkits.

Parents’ Expectations Driving College Kids to Dangerous Perfectionism: Study
MedicineNet – April 4, 2022
Kids today feel more pressured by their parents’ high expectations, and that may be feeding a rise in perfectionism, a new study suggests. Some people claim the title ‘perfectionist’ with pride, but in psychology the term means something very different.

College Admissions Experts Explain the Merits of Not Getting In
TIME Magazine – April 5, 2022
The stats prompted me to turn to experts in college admissions to ask their advice when things don’t quite work out. What words do they have for those, like me once upon a time, crestfallen at rejection? And what does this all mean for the future of work?

How to Navigate College as a Neurodivergent Student
U.S. News & World Report – April 5, 2022
Neurodivergent students can access academic, independent living, social and mental health resources at some schools. Some universities are providing professional development for faculty on neurodiversity and putting programs in place specifically for neurodivergent learners. About 80 colleges and universities around the country are currently offering this kind of tailored support.

Is the Degree Worth It? ROI Tool Can Provide a Clue
Wealth Management.com – April 4, 2022
Anyone can obtain their own estimated earnings, as well as an estimated lifetime ROI for nearly 30,000 bachelor’s degree programs at colleges and universities via a tool created by the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, a nonpartisan think tank.

Student Loans: How To Remove Unemployment Benefits from Your Income When Applying for College Financial Aid
Yahoo! Finance – April 4, 2022
If you are applying for college financial aid, you need to make sure to remove unemployment benefits from your income to guarantee the highest aid available. This could be tricky because of confusion surrounding tax returns and the financial aid application process.

Tips to obtain college scholarships, reduce student-loan debt
KOMO News (WA) – April 6, 2022
The average student graduates with about $30,000 in debt…Scholarships can make that expense more bearable. The No. 1 tip is to simply apply…

Opinion: Don’t put student trauma up for sale
The Eagle (American University) – April 5, 2022
Students often have to retell their traumatic experiences to receive scholarships to pay for a college education—sometimes in excruciating detail.

4 Research-Based Strategies To Make Skilled Trade Careers More Attractive To Gen-Z
Forbes – April 5, 2022
As a ‘silver tsunami’ of Baby Boomer talent retires, employers in skilled trades like construction, advanced manufacturing, electricity, healthcare, aerospace, ironworking and many others are becoming even more desperate to replace them. So why aren’t more Gen-Zers interested in these in-demand fields?

A college degree is no longer always the best pathway to the middle class. That might be a good thing
Fortune – April 5, 2022
There are, in fact, many pathways to the middle class, and not all of them run through four-year degree programs.

Teens and the Trades: Companies are opening up opportunities for career success
West Newsmagazine (MO) – April 4, 2022
Some companies that employ skilled and semi-skilled trades workers aren’t waiting around for them to show up. They’re not even waiting until they graduate high school.