1. Preparing for College NOW Building a Foundation for Educational Success
Ice Breaker Questions:
What part of helping your child succeed at school do you find most difficult to provide? Easiest to provide?
What are some examples of how you help your child prepare for school or practice good study habits?
What problems have you experienced in getting your child to study, read and engage in other educational activities at home?
Prepared by:
Rachel Andrews, Counselor, Parras Middle School
Kelly Goo, Counselor, RUHS
Eugenie Lewis, Counselor, Birney & Beryl Elementary
Karen Spiwak, Counselor, Jefferson
Tiffany Straight, Counselor, RUHS

2. College Readiness: Steps to Encourage Student Achievement
Step 1: Encourage positive work habits that stress the importance of education.
Step 2: Become involved in school and encourage basic skills.
Step 3: Acknowledge success and respect effort (Concept of Mindset by Carol Dweck).
Step 4: Provide an effective place to study and provide help as needed.
Step 5. Recognize that opportunities to learn are never ending.
Distribute resource 1.1: Steps to Encourage Student Achievement

3. Steps to Encourage Student Achievement
Encourage positive work habits that stress the importance of education.
Become involved in school and encourage basic skills.
Acknowledge success and respect effort.

4. Steps to Encourage Student Achievement
Provide an effective place to study, and provide help as needed.
Encourage extracurricular activities both in and out of school.
Recognize that opportunities to learn are never ending.

5. Creating a College-Going Culture at Home
Challenge your child to set college as a goal.
Support your child’s interests and strengths.
Encourage increasing independence and good work habits.
Move from external to internal motivation.
Help your child understand college concepts.
Plan a “roadmap” to achieve a college preparatory curriculum. Visit colleges.
Set common expectations in multiple households.
Tiff/Kel

6. Setting the Stage for College
Going to college provides many academic, professional, and personal options.
Taking college courses improves reading, speaking, writing, and problem-solving skills.
Attending college increases earning power.
Planning now and working hard are essential and effort now will help ensure success.
Setting the Stage for College
Going to college provides many academic, professional, and personal options.

7. What is Self-Advocacy?
Advocacy is defined as an individual’s ability to effectively communicate, convey, negotiate or assert interests, desires, needs and rights.
Self-advocacy means making those around you aware of your needs.
Encourage increasing independence and self-motivation as your child grows.
Teach your child to take initiative and develop good work habits.
A positive attitude generates promising outlook.
Rachel

8. Encourage Enrichment, Extracurricular, School Involvement
Support your child’s interests and strengths while compensating for weaknesses.
Expose your child to different enrichment opportunities and life experiences.
Help them to find deeper meaning through volunteer work, service learning and mentoring.
Help your child build a profile and support network to reach college goals.
Genie

9. Building Self-Esteem and a Positive Self Image
Encourage
Motivate
Appreciate
Listen
Help
Guide
Participate
Love
Parents should have ongoing, direct involvement in the education of their children.
In far too many instances however, they leave that responsibility up to the schools.

10. Building Self-Esteem and Positive Self-Image
Your student’s success in school is partially related to his or her sense of self-esteem. Suggestions:
Encourage: expect your student to be able, competent, and responsible.
Motivate: reward effort and improvement with enthusiasm.
Appreciate: acknowledge small steps. Focus on successes rather than failures.
Listen: Pay attention to your child. Use meals and other “together” times to find out what’s happening at school.
Help. Set aside time to assist with school work and to practice new and developing skills. Select a study place and set a study time with your child.
Guide. Practice consistent discipline and a be a positive role model.
Participate and enjoy doing things together (both educational and recreational).
LOVE!
Reference Resource 1.3

11. Growth vs. Fixed Mindset
Growth Mind-set
Intelligence can be developed
Leads to a desire to learn and therefore a tendency to..
embrace challenges
persist in the face of setbacks
see effort as a the path to master
learn from criticism
find lessons and inspiration in the success of others
As a result, they reach ever-higher levels of achievement. All this gives them a greater sense of free will.
Fixed Mind-Set
Intelligence is static
Leads to a tendency to look smart and therefore a tendency to..
avoid challenges
Give up easily
see effort as fruitless or worse
Ignore useful negative feedback
Feel threatened by the success of others
As a result, they may plateau early and achieve less than their full potential.
Source: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

12. Study Skills Organization Study Habits Test Taking/anxiety
Know your child’s learning style
How you can best support them…
What kind of learner is your student?
Distribute Resource 1.2

13. Role of Parent Monitoring student
CST, report cards, graded tests, assignments
Rachel

14. Academic Elementary: Basic facts, mechanics, rote memorization Middle:
High:
Pathways
Prerequisites
Shift from memorization to analytical/critical thinking
Notes

15. Define GPA, credits, a-g, SAT/ACT
CST scores – how is related to high school
Tiffany/Kel

16. There is a College for Everyone
“All students, regardless of grades and test scores, have colleges from which to choose. Students merely need to seize the opportunity and realize that choices do exist….all students will find colleges where they will be successful. While it is true that admissions to college has become much more competitive in recent years, it is also true that the collegiate opportunities in the United States are tremendous.”
- Steven R. Antonoff
Author of College MATCH: A Blueprint for Choosing the Best School for You
Tiff/Kel

17. THE HEALTHY MIND PLATTER
Helping Your Child Achieve a Well-Balanced Life:
THE HEALTHY MIND PLATTER