End of April

I'm not sure if it is just me, but I cannot believe it is the end of April! This whole school year feels like it has gone by so fast, but in particular the last few months have felt insanely fast.

For those students who were still stressing out about what school to choose before tomorrow's May 1st deadline (and there were lots of you), I hope that you are feeling some sense of peace now that you have made your decision. The Washington Post ran a story, Stressed by choosing a college? Read these tips. Perhaps it is a story that might help you.

One of the issues that has come up recently - both with students trying to make their college decision as well as with students who were trying to identify what schools they want to look at for the future - is the topic of drinking on campus and how much of a "party school" atmosphere various schools may include. This blog post does a great job addressing this topic.

I hope you are having a nice weekend. I am in Kentucky this weekend for my niece's first communion and today was gorgeous! Granted, tomorrow it is supposed to rain, but at least we saw the sun shining for one day. I hope it was nice in Ohio too.

Letter of Intent

Congratulations to Sarah Bechtel who signed her national letter of intent to play basketball at Ohio Christian University. Sarah had her "signing" ceremony after school Tuesday representing an accomplishment that had been years in the making. Sarah was surrounded by her family, coaches, teammates, and friends who attended to show their support and to celebrate this great accomplishment with her. Congratulations Sarah! We are proud of you!

May 1st = Decision Day!

May 1st is the national deadline for all students to notify their colleges of where they will or will not be attending. If you have already made your decision, hopefully you have sent in your deposit and confirmation of attendance. Don't forget that you must also notify the schools where you will not be attending so they can potentially make those slots available for other students.

Unfortunately, for some of you, making the final decision has been a struggle and you still do not have a college identified. Remember, there is no right or wrong choice – it is all about what school is the best fit for you and your individual wants and needs in a college. Try to take a deep breath and relax as we head into the final few days. Trust yourself and know that you will be successful in the future – no matter where you end up!

As you think about your different schools and compare and contrast them, it is essential that you determine what you really want in a school and what is most important to you in a college. If you are still struggling with your choice, then chances are pretty good that the schools that you have narrowed your decision down to are probably relatively similar.

Take the time to go back and look at the same factors you considered when picking which schools you wanted to apply to and try to get really picky about the different factors that played into your choice. Perhaps creating a chart can help you clarify how important each factor is to you and how each school compares in that category. For example, think about the location of the school. How important is that issue to you in picking a college? The schools are likely within your comfort zone of a location from home, but when looking at two colleges consider how far or close they are from your family. What does it mean to you if the school is 10 minutes away, 4 hours away, or a flight away? How important is it to you to be able to come home for an evening, a weekend, or a holiday? You can also look at the size of the school. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of the different sizes of schools. For example, the larger school might provide additional choices and the smaller school may provide better teacher/ student ratios. What is more important to you? And if both are important to you then you will need to consider what you will do to adapt to make sure that the school will meet your needs. Consider the social life and activities on and around the campus. Is it what you picture for your college years? Most importantly, you need to figure out what categories and issues are critical to you and compare the school on those aspects.

Think back to your visits on campus. What do you remember about the people and your interactions with the students on campus? Were the students friendlier at one school over the other? What about the professors that you talked to? Were they engaging and whose classes are you most interested in attending? How was school safety? What strategies are in place to help keep students safe? Which campus support staff (admissions, financial aid, etc.) is friendlier and more helpful? (While this is not necessarily a key factor it can give you an image of the school and a glimpse at their values as an academic institution.)

Ask yourself if the school will meet your academic needs, if you will have the social life you desire, and if your family can make the investment. As you are progressing through your decision making process, remember not to be shy about asking questions and getting them answered because you are entitled to feel confident in your decision. This is your choice. You are not a victim in this process – you are the primary active participant! Remember that if you want to stop in and talk about your college decision I am always here for you, but know that I can’t make this decision for you – just like your family and friends can’t make this choice for you. The good news – the stress is almost over and you will be relieved to be able to finally answer the question that everyone asks endlessly of “Where are you going to college?”

School Notes

Tomorrow we are on an 8-minute homeroom bell schedule. (below)

1st period - 7:45 - 8:34
2nd period - 8:39 - 9:28
Homeroom - 9:33 - 9:41
3rd period - 9:46 - 10:35
4th period - 10:40 - 11:29
5th period - 11:34 - 12:23
6th period - 12:28 - 1:17
7th period - 1:22 - 2:11
8th period - 2:16 - 3:05

During the homeroom time freshmen, sophomores and juniors will vote for the 2011 - 2012 Student Body Class President and Class Vice President. 3 of "my" students are among those running for election. Good luck to (alphabetically): Hunter Atha, Grace Barker, and Josh Cook! I'm proud of you for the courage it took for you to run for these class officer positions! Seniors will have a class meeting during the homeroom time.

Seniors, as one other reminder, tomorrow afternoon is also Senior Tea. This is a time when Worthington elementary schools invite their former students back to visit with the teachers and staff. Students and staff both look forward to this event so be sure to bring your parent permission slip signed so that you can be excused to attend.

English 191: Writing About Literature

Yesterday I wrote about the new Credit Flexibility program. Once the state adopted this flexibility for students to be able to earn credit outside of the traditional seat time classes in the high school setting other groups and organizations, including colleges, began discussing opportunities they can make available for high school students. Otterbein University has developed a course for this summer called English 191: Writing About Literature and subtitled Identities of Obedience and Resistance. The course will provide students with intensive experiences of reading literature and writing academic papers like those you will go on to write in college.

This course is open to current juniors who have completed AP Language and Composition or who seek and are granted permission from the professor. The course will meet on Otterbein's campus in the morning from June 13th through July 1st. Tuition for the course is $400 with books costing an estimated additional $75 to 100. Students who successfully complete the course will also earn 5 quarter hours of credit.

The majority of this credit flexibility application has been completed in advance for you and I have copies available in my office if you are interested.

Credit Flexibility

I want to start off with a disclaimer… this post is going to give you a broad overview of Credit Flexibility, but it will, in no way, provide all of the information or details about the Worthington Schools Credit Flexibility program. The entire plan is 27 pages long and can be found here. The development of this plan has taken over a year and there are a lot of different aspects so if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to let me know. If I don’t know the answer I will certainly work to find out for you.

As you know, you must earn credits in order to graduate from high school. Typically, you sit through a semester of classwork taught by a teacher and earn ½ a credit when you pass the class. This traditional format can be called “seat time” credit. The simplest way that I can explain credit flexibility is that it is any other way a student earns high school credit other than the traditional seat time credit option. So, for example, a student can develop an independent study project for credit, a student can demonstrate proficiency of a course material by completing an end of course test, project, or combination of test and project, or a student can elect to complete a course through some other program such as online or through a correspondence course.

Educational Options is the first category for credit flexibility. This would be any student designed project or program to earn credit in some area of interest. The most common way that I see this option being used is with independent study programs. One of the neat aspects of this category is that it does not have to be for a course that is already in existence. So, if a student has a passion for underwater basket-weaving and can demonstrate how he/ she will study and develop this area of learning and how it will meet various learning targets then it could be possible for the student to earn high school credit for this area of study.

Demonstration of Proficiency is the second category for credit flexibility. This is basically a way for students to declare that they already have proficiency or understanding of the course content and objectives and that they will demonstrate that proficiency. Each department was required to go through all of the courses offered and determine if it could be assessed through a one time test, through a test plus some type of performance or if it must be through performance alone. For example, a math course likely falls in the test only category. So, a student who wants to demonstrate that they are proficient in Algebra 2, for example, would complete a credit flex application indicating that he/ she would be demonstrating proficiency in Algebra 2. The tests will then be administered on designated dates during the weeks of August 8th, January 2nd, or June 4th and the student would complete the test on the date he/ she had selected. Whatever grade he/ she earned would be reflected on the student’s transcript. A course that is test plus performance might be a Chemistry class where the student would complete the test for the course, but also have to demonstrate that he/ she had knowledge of how to complete some lab elements fundamental to the course curriculum. A performance only option might be a theater course where the student would perform in various plays and programs and earn his/ her credit in that manner.

The final credit flexibility category is “other.” This is basically all of the other aspects of earning credit that do not fall into one of the first two major categories. Courses that are designed, developed and accredited, but provided by a source outside of the traditional Worthington Schools option would be in the other category. This includes courses that are completed through the GOAL’s program, Post-Secondary Enrollment Options, online courses, and correspondence courses.

If you are interested in completing a course through Credit Flexibility, you must complete an application to have it approved before starting your work. The application is available on the district website.

There are a lot of students for whom credit flexibility will be a great option. Please be cautious though because each attempt you take to complete a course through credit flexibility will be reflected on your transcript. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to stop by and I will do my best to answer them for you.

Thinking about Careers

Choosing what you would like to do for the rest of your life can be pretty overwhelming for most students. The idea that, as a high school student, you are expected to decide what career you will enjoy doing every day can seem scary. One of my students recently described his view of the future as endless 40 hour work weeks and while there is certainly some truth to his statement, the goal is that you will find a career that you love. When you enjoy your job and find it fulfilling and rewarding then every day will give you something meaningful.

As you begin considering what your passions are there is certainly no harm in also keeping in mind where the jobs are and which fields are expected to grow in demand for the future.

The New York Times recently ran a list about careers - Top 10 List: Where the Careers Are

And this article talks about the fact that many colleges are allowing students to customize majors that fit perfectly with their future interests.

It is fun to dream about your future and I hope you will ultimately find a job that is as meaningful to you as my job as a high school counselor is to me!