College & Career Readiness Calendar for High Schools
Postsecondary advising is a year-round process. This 15-month calendar will help K-12 districts, schools, and the partners who work with them plan ahead and find the best resources to support their college and career readiness work for high school
juniors and seniors. The calendar covers the academic year as well as the summers before and after it.
The table below provides a series of college and career readiness activities sortable by time of year and category. The table also notes whether practitioners should be planning to take a particular action in the given month or actually engaging in that activity.
This calendar focuses predominately, but not exclusively, on work done at the high school level with an acknowledgment that systemic change to a district’s postsecondary approach requires buy-in from the elementary and middle school levels as well.
Schedule regular (suggest biweekly or monthly) series of team meetings throughout the year for planning and implementation of college and career readiness (CCR) activities
Relationships between district/school and highest volume attended colleges and universities and/or local colleges and universities with the best outcomes for underrepresented students
Action
Establish or strengthen partnership via regular communication, data sharing agreements and/or memoranda of understanding, invitation to serve on district college/career planning team
Relationships between district/school and external community partners or community-based organizations
Action
Establish or strengthen partnership via regular communication, data sharing agreements, invitation to serve on district college/career planning team; monitor services provided to district and students by community partners
Maintain and monitor for a high-integrity/high-quality data level; secure buy-in for data input, security, and analysis that results in good, disaggregated data to drive decisions for college/career readiness
Establish, revisit, and/or update at CCR team meetings using baseline/current data that is disaggregated by race/ethnicity, gender, and other student characteristics
Identify/access federal and state data sources for selected measures
SAIG Enrollment Application for
State Grant Agencies
(e.g., Signing an agreement to receive student-level FAFSA completion data from Federal Student Aid through a state education agency. Processes for getting student-level data from state
education agencies will vary across states.)
Staff responsibilities and needed resources allocation
Action
Assign staff responsible for activity implementation, data sharing, and communication. Allocate financial resources to individual activities (e.g., professional development content, student-facing materials, data sources, tracking systems, and reporting).
Given the highly variable nature of districts’ and schools’ financial and staffing situations, resources are difficult to identify. Users of this resource should work to find the staffing and budgetary solutions that best meet their own needs. It is important
that the allocation match the district’s fiscal calendar and school board approval timeline; the school board may not vote on budget approval over the summer, in which case this activity’s timing would need to be adjusted.
For specific questions or concerns, contact ncan@ncan.org.
Summer Planning
Data
Student-level data management system to track key postsecondary milestones/outcomes
Action
Adopt, enhance, or update student management tracking system; provide staff training for data input and reporting; create relevant user accounts and assess user permissions
Review available NSC data; refine and come to consensus around fit and match advising practices for school counselors and community partners (if applicable)
Annual calendar of professional development events
Planning
Determine needed professional development topics to be provided internally; identify external professional development opportunities for key staff (e.g. counselor workshops or conferences)
Other examples of sources of training include: Counselor workshops provided by state admissions or financial aid associations ACT or College Board regional counselor workshops or webinars provided on annual basis Local and/or regional trainings or professional
development workshops on topics related to college and career readiness provided by community-based organizations, career and workforce development organizations, community foundations, and colleges and universities
Standardized testing options available (SAT, ACT, PSAT)
Planning
Review standardized testing options available for students (e.g., free statewide testing, district-funded ACT/SAT/PSAT testing). Determine option for access to fee waivers from testing sources, internal resources or external partner resources / Review test site options (local district sites, area sites) / Determine test preparation opportunities available externally and if any will be provided by the district.
Best practices for working with external partners and volunteers
Action
Identify and implement best practices for working with external partners providing services to students. Offer training to FAFSA completion volunteers.
Postsecondary and career aspirations survey for grades 9-11
Action
Inform faculty/students of administration schedule and plan for sharing results. This might be administered in October or November. Wherever possible, try to integrate with any existing survey administration schedule and/or tools to reduce survey fatigue
throughout the year.
Inform faculty/students of administration schedule and plan for sharing results. This might also be administered in October. Wherever possible, try to integrate with any existing survey administration schedule and/or tools to reduce survey fatigue throughout
the year.
College information sessions for underclassmen and their families to cover topics like: College Research and Search Fit & Match Resources Financial Aid, College-Going Timelines Standardized Testing
Action
Offer workshops according to schedule determined by CCR team; series should begin in October
Presentations here will vary widely across and within districts. Stakeholders should develop and implement workshops that are responsive to the needs and context of their students and community.
Access, review, and share FAFSA completion data with CCR team, school leaders, and other invested stakeholders; determine outreach strategies for non-filers
Review and analyze NSC data and understand trends (disaggregated by student demographics, postsecondary institution types, and specific postsecondary institutions). Update any student demographics errors prior to spring file submission.
“Financial aid offer (“award letter”) comparisons”
Action
Implement strategy for assisting students with financial aid offer review and comparisons; target group is early decision applicants (may be required in December as well)
Review and analyze NSC data and understand trends. The new key KPI is % most recent graduating class started in the first spring, which helps calculate first-year enrollment %. Review data for term to term persistence of students.
