High School Counselor Week

‘I canceled my plan of attending my dream school:’ 2021 grads hit harder by pandemic than those before them
Chicago Sun Times – November 8, 2021
Nationally, 62% of 2021 graduates stayed the course of what they originally planned to do after high school, compared to 74% of 2020 graduates, according to a survey conducted by the EdWeek Research Center.

Opinion: Educating the majority of US students means thinking beyond the Ivy Leagues
The Hill – November 9, 2021
The entertainment industry’s obsession with the rarest of schools is highly problematic and it is not new…The national news media often share this fixation, too, time and again fostering a gross national misunderstanding of higher education itself, let alone where most students and families turn to for bachelor’s degrees.

Tidying Up for the Holidays
Post – November 11, 2021
Counselors’ Corner with Patrick O’Connor Ph.D.

Tips for the College Interview – Interview Don’ts
Tribune News Service – November 10, 2021
College Admissions Strategies with Lee Bierer 

Applying early decision and early action, part II
Post – October 19, 2021
College Solution with Lynn O’Shaughnessy 

Atlanta 11 year old creates bullying reporting app
11 Alive (GA) – November 9, 2021
Aesha Bhatt spent her time during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown learning how to code and develop apps. She recently designed and launched one that allows students to anonymously report bullying to school counselors. The Anti-Abusing App is already available in the Google Play store and coming soon to Apple. Bhatt says she’s working with local school districts to offer it up for free.

The ‘absolutely essential’ role of Black counselors on campus
EdSource – November 8, 2021
Amid calls for schools to diversify their teaching staffs, some are saying those efforts should extend beyond the classroom — to the counseling office.

For immigrant students, bilingual mental health care is essential. Can schools meet the need?
GBH News (MA) – November 9, 2021
School counselors, social workers and psychologists said having kids back in school buildings after remote learning is a step forward for addressing their mental health needs, especially those from immigrant families. But a shortage of multilingual school counselors and stigma around mental health makes it difficult to care for every student.

Covid not the only factor behind college enrollment drop, says Purdue’s Mitch Daniels
Fox 11 Los Angeles (CA) – November 2, 2021
Mitch Daniels, former Indiana governor and Purdue University president, joins ‘Squawk Box’ to explain what’s behind the historic drop in higher education enrollment.

Our son died by suicide. This is why we want mental health resources in schools.
Good Morning America – November 10, 2021
Chad Harrell was 17 and preparing for his senior year of high school when he took his own life. His parents said they were ‘completely blindsided’ by their son’s suicide…

Who completes the FAFSA for my college-bound child — me or my ex?
Fox Business – November 9, 2021
Dad claims son as dependent on tax return, so does non-custodial mom need to provide info, too

College apps and COVID: Here’s how to explain how the pandemic affected your high school experience
WAVY News (VA) – November 9, 2021
Every year, the college admissions process involves taking tests, writing essays, compiling transcripts and collecting recommendation letters. This year, it may also involve explaining how the pandemic affected the applicant’s grades, health or family.

The Gates Foundation Introduces Its New College Comparison Tool
Forbes – November 5, 2021
The new tool, released to the public on November 4, is the Equitable Value Explorer. It’s a slick, user-friendly website that students can study to evaluate more than 4,000 colleges and universities on factors such as racial composition of the student body, net cumulative price of attendance, completion rates, the percentage of students receiving Pell Grants, and median earnings ten years after enrollment.

Fueled by Grants, States Bet Innovative Career Training Programs Will Lure Disengaged Youth Back to School After COVID — Starting in Middle School
The 74 – November 9, 2021
With tectonic shifts in the U.S. labor market, a K-12 establishment desperate to re-engage disaffected students and a proven record of pre-pandemic success stories, career and technical education is having a moment.

14,000 High School Teachers And Counselors Receive Complimentary Educational Resources
WFMZ-TV (PA) – November 4, 2021
Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts announced nearly 14,000 high school teachers and career counselors in districts across the country now have unlimited access to complementary culinary learning materials and career counseling resources and tools designed to support students interested in food or hospitality-related careers after high school.

Outsourcing Students’ Tech Skills Training
Inside Higher Ed – November 10, 2021
Podium Education partners with institutions to give undergraduates hands-on technological experience in digital marketing, coding and data analytics. This and other boot camps are part of a larger trend of colleges outsourcing some of their technology skills–based learning…

How to Get FAFSA Completion Help Amid COVID-19
U.S. News & World Report – November 7, 2021
High schools and colleges continue to offer virtual financial aid support to students in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Higher ed groups call for quick changes to FAFSA verification
Higher Ed Dive – November 8, 2021
The federal government should use data it possesses and share it among agencies to alleviate burdens on administrators and on financial aid applicants selected for an audit process known as verification, according to a report published Monday.