What does College Signing Day look like in Iowa? Well, first let’s start by sharing they’ve chosen to refer to this day as Decision Day, and they will celebrate with a whole week's worth of events (May 3-7). In my sit-down with Jamie Covell, community engagement
consultant at Iowa College Aid, she emphasized, “we focus on the decision-making process and the action the student takes.”
Iowa College Aid makes sure students know that there are multiple pathways after high school, including:
Workforce.
Military.
Certificates, and associate and bachelor’s degrees.
Apprenticeships.
To get students more engaged and educated on options after high school, there will be a lineup of guest speakers who will share about their postsecondary pathways. This approach gives students possibilities and context, two aspects which I’d argue are
critical to being able to actualize personal and career goals.
Iowa College Aid serves as a main resource for schools, community-based organizations, and partners to plan their events. It’s through Iowa College Aid's resources and editable templates that practitioners can:
Create a Decision Day slideshow. This template has instructions on how to make this slideshow into not only a looping video, but also a PDF, individual
still images, and more. There’s even space to upload student photos along with information about their decision. Jamie mentions Some or all of this template can also serve as great promotion materials to play during a schoolday break or run on
your social media or website.
Distribute I DECIDED! locker signs. This is also an editable template. Students can fill in their name and information about where they are going and
then post the sign on their school locker.
Create and distribute yard signs for students. As we know, being safe is always a priority, so yard signs are a great way to recognize your students in
a socially distant manner. It’s like having a mini-billboard, how cool is that! Take it up a notch by holding a community parade.
Get tips on ways to be active and engaged on social media. With these tips, you don’t have to be a social media wiz on Instagram LIVE, Snapchat,
and Twitter.
Showcase Iowa colleges and universities. Many of our students may not know all of the schools available to them in their state. Creating a map/collage of colleges
and universities within your state is a great way to expand students’ knowledge base of the variety of schools.
Another fun idea to consider turning the college/university map referenced into a banner that students can sign, think yearbook here.
We know that planning for College Signing Day can be a big lift. We hope by sharing NCAN members’ plans that you source and recycle some practical plans or ideas.
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