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New online guide aims to improve college access
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Posted on Nov 03 2004
The Pathways to College Network has created a systematic, research-based online resource to help schools and college outreach programs increase the number of students preparing for postsecondary education.
College Readiness for All: A Practitioners Toolbox helps educators learn what works from research and examples, assess their present situations and plan change, access resources for implementing their plans, and monitor progress toward achieving the goal of college-ready high school graduates.
The toolbox is available without charge on the PCN website at www.pathwaystocollege.net.
In U.S. schools, members of most racial minorities and students from low-income families are much less likely than white or Asian students and those from high-income families to take college preparatory courses.
PCN has identified five key ways to improve this situation: set high expectations, use data to measure progress, provide academic rigor and support, offer social support, and align curricula and expectations across grades from kindergarten to college. The toolbox provides resources for each of these components and step-by-step instructions to help schools increase their students’ performance and preparedness for college. The toolbox offers separate paths for principals, counselors, and college outreach practitioners. Each section provides a user’s guide, presentations, checklists, inventories, and assessment tools to create awareness, assess the current situation, develop a plan for improvement, implement the plan, and evaluate success.
PCN is a national alliance of organizations committed to using research-based knowledge to improve college access and success for underserved populations.
Hawaii-based Pacific Resources for Education and Learning, the lead partner in PCN’s college readiness initiative, is an independent, nonprofit corporation that serves the education community in Hawaii, the U.S.-affiliated Pacific islands, the continental United States, and countries throughout the world.
For further information, visit PRELs website at www.prel.org or contact Julian Heinz by phone at (808) 441-1382 or by email at heinzj@prel.org.
