College and Career Counselors are making a difference in the futures of local high school students. A cooperative program between Collin College and schools throughout its service area provides students with additional guidance as they prepare for college and beyond.
Starting in fall 2017, Collin College offered the services of 16 College and Career Counselors to the district’s service area high schools. The program is the result of research and communication with local school districts about how to best serve high school students preparing for college or a post-secondary career, according to Raul Martinez, associate vice president for P-12 partnerships at Collin.
“Most high school counselors are working with 500 to 800 students each,” Martinez said. “Providing trained college and career counselors to work directly with high school students was a way we knew we could help. It frees up high school counselors to focus on other areas.”
Depending on the high school’s needs, college and career planning can begin as early as ninth grade. Students are taught the timelines, processes and skills needed to navigate dual credit and/or post-secondary education. The counselors discuss the student’s interests and administer career assessments and strengths and weaknesses assessments to help the student determine a potential career path. From there, the College and Career Counselor helps map out the college classes that will best prepare the student for that career path.
Depending on the student’s needs, the counselor may also have a role in identifying available learning resources. In some cases, the counselor may review a student’s admission essay. In others, the counselor may walk through a targeted college’s admission requirements to be sure the student is on track to attend his or her dream school.
“They help the student do research and determine how to get from point A to point B,” Martinez said. “They give students options and help them with college and career planning.”
The College and Career Counselors work alongside the guidance counselors currently in place at each school. From career assessments and academic planning to financial aid advice and admissions strategies, College and Career Counselors like Traci Howard Moore offer focused post-secondary counseling and career planning services to students.
“I see my work as a partnership with the high school counselors,” Howard Moore said. “Because my work is more specialized, I get to spend a little more time with students, delving into career exploration, college application strategies, problem solving and helping them explore their full range of options.”
Howard Moore said she works with between 25-40 students per week. That relieves some of the workload placed on the high school’s guidance counselors who do similar work in addition to registering students and helping students who have academic, disciplinary or personal issues.
Howard Moore said that although her role is to focus on college preparation and helping students plan for post-secondary life, a good working relationship with the high school’s guidance counselors allows both roles to identify student needs and coordinate assistance.
The benefits of having College and Career Counselors on campus do not stop with one-on-one counseling, though. The counselors also provide workshops on topics including financial aid, testing strategies, admissions essay writing and others. The hope is to provide students and parents alike with the tools to make a transition into college easier.
The help does not stop when the high school summer break begins either. College and Career Counselors return to one of Collin College’s main campuses during that time, so they are available to their assigned high school’s students year-round as they transition to college. The benefit is twofold because the counselors can provide additional resources and support to all students during peak registration periods. Just contact the campus nearest you to make an appointment during summer break.