School Counselors Overwhelmed
California has the worst ratio in the nation
California students tell why there is such a high drop out rate and rare college admission. It does not involve rocket science. Just ask the kids. They know.
Kids First
A private after-school program called Kids First has spent the last year doing research on why kids drop out or do not go on to college. Douglas McGray of the LA Times writes that the answer is easy. Kids have no one to help guide them through the system.
Lost in the Maze
Getting through high school in a large public school system is very confusing. Students often get frustrated because there is no one to guide them. California has the worse counselor to student ratio in the nation. It is 1 to 500. School counseling associations suggest 1 to 250 or less to be effective. So, it is no surprise that having double the recommended load makes counselors inaccessible.
Students say they give up and drop out because of the following:
- No information about scholarships and grants.
- Missed PSAT and ACT deadlines.
- No one talks to them until they are seniors and many opportunities have passed.
- Wrong classes were taken and now it is too late to correct the mistakes.
- No one explains how lower income families can find college affordable.
- It may take a year to see the counselor.
Counselor Job Description
Counselors are very busy helping students solve problems and complete graduation requirements. When it comes to college information, there just isn't enough time. Therefore, students don't know how to proceed. If they don't have plans to go to college, why graduate?
When something is said, it is usually in the senior year when so many requirements are missing. Students learn too late what they should have been doing. Seniors get discouraged when they find out that they should have taken four years of English, three years of science, Algebra II, Geometry and Physics. They throw in the towel because it is too late to make up for lost time.
Good News and Bad News
Kids First has pushed for more counselors in the schools. The good news is California is hiring thousands of new school counselors. The bad news is they will be solely working with at-risk students in danger of dropping out. Students will still have no one to guide them in the college process. This is why so many California college grants remain untouched each year. Students hear that there is funding to help them with college but they don't know how to get the information or if they would qualify.
Peer Tutors
Students have begun to help students and this is better than no guidance at all. However, the tremendous need is still there for students to begin getting help while still freshmen in high school. Someone needs to say:
- Don't let your grades slip.
- The freshman year does count.
- Visit colleges in your junior year.
- Take ACT or SAT in junior year.
- Get involved in some extracurricular activities.
- A drug charge could cause you to forfeit student loans.
- Apply early in the senior year.
- Learn pertinent data about colleges by going to internet sites like College Guidance Services that give free information.
Kids First has proposed a class to be taken as freshmen in high school that would teach students how to monitor their own classes, take college requirements and get into college. That is a sorry replacement for a college counselor but better than no guidance at all.
Read previous articles on Educational Issues.
Copyright article 2006 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.
