High School Counselor Week

Another record high: Counting school shootings in 2023
K-12 Dive – December 20, 2024
Varying — and in some cases lacking — definitions and data make the issue hard to track, as experts continue to pursue solutions for both prevention and recovery.

Black, Latino Students See 4-Year Completion Drops — But Community College Gains
The 74 – January 2, 2024
While overall completion rates for students nationwide stalled at all colleges, Black and Latino students’ saw success at community colleges, which were prepared for pandemic challenges with tools in place like online classes for working students. ‘[Community colleges] were better situated to handle the disruption from in-person to online courses…and that, in fact, led to greater retention rates,’ said Josh Wyner, founder and executive director of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. Wyner said the imbalance for Black and Latino students came from either the need to work when parents lost their jobs or the need to take care of siblings because their parents didn’t have jobs during the pandemic where they could work from home.

MIT, Yale, and other elite colleges are finally reaching out to rural students
NPR – December 22, 2023
Rural students graduate from high school at a higher rate (90%)) than their counterparts in cities (82%) and suburbs (89%), according to the U.S. Department of Education. But only 55% go directly to college. Only about 20 % of people over age 25 in rural America have bachelor’s degrees or higher, compared with 40% nationally. Worsening the problem, at least a dozen private, nonprofit colleges in rural areas or that serve rural students have closed or announced their closings in the last three years. Public universities in rural parts of Kansas, Arkansas and West Virginia are cutting dozens of majors. About 13 million people now live in higher education ‘deserts,’ mostly in the Midwest and Great Plains…

The Cost Of College Continues To Decline
Forbes – November 21, 2024
The actual cost of going to college is much cheaper than it was just ten years ago. That’s the headline finding of the newest report from The College Board. Though it likely won’t get any major headline attention, because too many people take it as a matter of faith that college is too expensive and continues to get more and more expensive. ‘After adjusting for inflation, the average net tuition and fee price paid by first-time full-time in-state students enrolled in public four-year institutions peaked in 2012-13 at $4,230 (in 2023 dollars) and declined to an estimated $2,730 in 2023-24.’ Even private, non-profit schools, saw declines of 16%. The key to those realities is the word ‘net.’ That’s what people actually pay to go to these schools – the advertised tuition price, minus federal grants, aid and any scholarships or other discounts. Scholarships and grants have been going up even more than sticker prices (the advertised tuition and fees that schools say they charge), lowering the net price significantly.

Finally, the FAFSA is Ready
Post – January 3, 2024
College Advice & Timely Tips with Lee Bierer

How do you discipline an in-school overdose? In some districts, you don’t
NPR – December 15, 2023
Instead of the traditional, zero tolerance approach to student overdoses, LAUSD is piloting a focus on rehabilitation. But that effort comes with some stigma, and so we aren’t naming the principal or his school over district officials’ concerns that it become known as a ‘drug school.’ The project is a response to a growing number of student opioid overdoses on LAUSD campuses. And the problem goes far beyond LA: In 2021, fentanyl was involved in the vast majority of all teen overdose deaths – 84% – according to the CDC. Students caught with illegal drugs at school often face all kinds of consequences – including expulsion, suspension and possibly a criminal charge. But amid the rise in teen overdoses, school systems across the country – from LA to Portland, Ore., to Prince George’s County, Md. – are beginning to change their approach. LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho says schools ‘have a moral and professional obligation’ to provide students with support, not just punishments. ‘We ought to address the root causes of the problem rather than focusing on the possible consequence,’ he added.

6 Steps for Supporting First-Gen Students in Applying to College
Edutopia – January 2, 2024
Since the Supreme Court decision to end race-based admissions policies in 2023, many colleges and universities have a renewed interest in recruiting first-generation (first-gen) students, as a way to attract students from diverse backgrounds. This article provides a blueprint high schools can use to create a program to ensure that students aren’t overwhelmed by the college application process, with six key elements to keep in mind to ensure that your first-gen students get appropriate support as they start the college search.

Education stories we’re watching in 2024
Chalkbeat – January 2, 2024
This spring, the students who spent most of their freshman year of high school on Zoom will walk across the graduation stage. This fall, schools will face the expiration of billions in pandemic aid that allowed them to reenvision what schools could do for students. This is a critical year as the nation grapples with the long-term effects of the pandemic amid a technological revolution, a still-unfolding refugee crisis, and a presidential election that could intensify political tensions. These are some of the education stories we’ll be watching in 2024:

Why families applying for financial aid may initially have trouble with the new FAFSA
CNN – January 2, 2024
A long-awaited update to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, better known as the FAFSA, was released on December 30. But some families are having trouble accessing the online form, which has so far only been available for short periods of time. During what the Department of Education is calling a ‘soft launch,’ the agency is monitoring site performance, conducting planned pauses for maintenance and making updates.

How Colleges Seek to Increase Diversity Without Relying on Race in Admissions
The 74 – December 31, 2024
The author of ‘On the Basis of Race: How Higher Education Navigates Affirmative Action Policies’ discusses the future of diversity in higher ed.

How Extracurricular Activities Impact College Admissions
Northern Virginia Magazine – December 29, 2024
What do colleges really want to see when it comes to extracurriculars? Ultimately, these activities are a way for colleges to gain a holistic understanding of each applicant. We asked several experts for their input on the role of extracurriculars in the admissions process, and here are their responses.

Is AI Affecting College Admissions?
U.S. News & World Report – December 29, 2024
Fifty percent of higher education admissions offices are using AI, according to a September 2023 survey. That number is expected to rise to more than 80% in 2024, according to the survey, which polled nearly 400 education professionals in both K-12 and higher education. In most admissions offices where it’s being used, AI is an efficiency tool to automate certain aspects of the admissions process and help lighten the load for admissions officers, particularly those at schools that receive a high volume of applications. The idea of AI being used in college admissions may conjure anxiety among prospective college applicants and their families, and roughly 2/3 of admissions professionals have concerns about the ethical ramifications. But experts say its use may not be as ominous as it sounds on the surface, and it doesn’t mean the human element will be completely replaced.

The New FAFSA Is Here. Or Is It?
Inside Higher Ed – January 3, 2024
After a frustrating year of delays, the new federal aid application launched Dec. 30. But maintenance pauses, glitches and other obstacles have led to a rocky start. The weekend’s starting-line stumble has exacerbated fears of a chaotic and frustrating spring for students, financial aid professionals and college access groups.

Hanging in the FAFSA waiting room? What to do to prepare as you wait for your turn.
USA Today – December 31, 2024
Since no other deadlines for submission or decisions have been moved back, despite the FAFSA’s late release, Schools won’t even receive any information they need to determine aid until the end of January. So the entire process has been compressed, making it more important than ever to stay calm, focused, organized and get everything right the first time or risk leaving money on the table. Here are some of what to expect and tips to help maximize your time and chances to get every penny you can for school:

CSS Profile: What You Need to Know About Filling Out the College Financial Aid Form
Money – December 28, 2024
While anyone who wants to be eligible for federal student loans and Pell Grants has to fill out the FAFSA, only students attending certain colleges need to worry about the CSS Profile. As such, it’s a less commonly discussed part of the college application journey. A product of the College Board, the CSS Profile is the application required to access grants and scholarships from about 250 colleges. Each year, the profile gives access to more than $10 billion in financial aid to thousands of students. But the CSS Profile goes much further than the FAFSA, taking a deeper, more detailed look at your family’s finances, and considering a greater percentage of those assets as part of what you can afford to pay for college expenses.

DOL rule would promote apprenticeships, tighten program labor standards
K-12 Dive – December 22, 2024
Apprenticeships have received much attention of late as a way to funnel badly needed talent into key industries. The U.S. Department of Labor proposed a rule Dec. 14 that seeks to modernize the registered apprenticeship program. It intends to strengthen labor standards and worker protections as well as better promote apprenticeship pathways, among other things. The rule also includes a program called the ‘registered career and technical education apprenticeship’ that is designed to make it ‘more seamless’ for full-time high school and community college students to enroll in the apprenticeship system.

Why states are placing more value in career and technical learning
K-12 Dive – December 20, 2024
For students who don’t see college as their best pathway, career and technical education opportunities can offer training that allows them access to competitive, potentially higher-paying positions right after high school. The Virginia Board of Education, for example, recently adopted new state CTE requirements that give more flexibility to districts by allowing them to defer to state standards over national ones.