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A.
The school counseling program we have designed addresses the needs of students who
wish to prepare for high school and postsecondary success and engage in college and career
related education. This program is meant to align with Ogdens mission to provide a world-class
education to students who will become leaders of change within the global community in the
21st Century. Ogden is committed to providing a distinctive, high-quality education that
cultivates intellectual inquiry and global engagement. To this end, a college and career program
would focus on developing traditional academic aptitudes, such as reading, mathematics, and
critical thinking, and character and behavior skills such as good communication, perseverance,
adaptability, and discipline.
As part of Ogdens mission to serve all students, the counseling program advocates on
behalf of students and their families by providing equitable access, knowledge, and resources
within the school and through partnerships with the school community. With a student
population of 51% from lower socioeconomic status (SES) households, it is important that the
school demonstrates a commitment to treating all students fairly, while proactively addressing
resource gaps that lead to gaps in achievement. The counseling program will target the
achievement gap by creating a future-focused learning environment that promotes scholarship,
citizenship and the importance of contributing to society. According to the Chicago Public
Schools (2016), students who participate in career education programs have higher graduation
rates, higher college enrollment rates, and gain college credits through college and employer
partnerships, all while engaging in real-world professionals. With a focus on skills related to
postsecondary preparedness and resilience, the school counseling program will also seek to
improve Ogdens 27% ready-for-college statistic.
In the counseling program, students will learn test taking skills to improve test scores, but
they will also learn about goal-setting and making the right decisions to accomplish those goals.

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They will also engage in activities meant to encourage their thinking about the future and what
they hope to accomplish as individuals and as members of society. As part of the counseling
program, teachers will be asked to reaffirm college-and-career culture by incorporating related
content into day-to-day classroom activities. Teachers will also help foster and develop a school
culture that treats all of its students and their families equitably and provides each student with
the same access to resources.
The counseling program will also make a concerted effort to involve and engage all
families in the school community. Due to factors ranging from economic struggles to a lack of
confidence in their own education to concerns regarding cultural differences, lower SES families
may feel uncertain about how to become involved in their childs education or how they can help
their child to succeed academically (Grothaus & Cole, 2010, p. 7). As families feel more
welcomed into the school, they may be more likely become involved in their childs education
(Grothaus & Cole, 2010), which contributes to the students sense of belonging to the school
community and improves the chances of academic success. Parent/guardian involvement in their
childs education is at the center of a strong school counseling program and serves the whole
school community.
For the school administration, parent/guardian involvement through volunteer work
such as crossing guards or office helpers may offer staff budgetary relief and make more funds
available for academic resources (text books, computers) or capital improvements, and more
resources for students. In addition, the counseling programs impact on academic achievement
could result in an increase in school-wide standardized test scores, which could, in turn, attract
additional government funding and support.
B. 1)
Ogden International high school currently does not have any career or technical education
classes in their curriculum. That, combined with the 51% of students being considered low

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income, raises some concerns in terms of college or career readiness. Only 27% of students are
said to be college ready, receiving a 21 or higher on the ACT. This poses a great concern.
Research has shown that students from low-income families do not receive the same support and
messages about college. The perception is that most students develop an interest in a career and
understand that college is the first step to obtain a career. However, for low-income students, it is
not always as easy and simple as this. Most low-income students and their families have less
awareness of financial aid and college options. Planning for college is related to the awareness of
financial aid and college affordability. If low-income students and their families do not have the
awareness of their options, they are not likely to have plans for college (De La Rosa, 2006).
The activities that we have created are designed to bring awareness about college and
careers in general to all students, mainly the ones in the low-income category. It is important to
bring about awareness during 7th grade so that students and families have the next four years to
prepare. Implementing more college and career readiness programs have been shown to improve
preparation for standardized testing as well as enrollment in college-track courses (Cates, 2011).
Since the students are not applying to college for at least four more years, we decided to keep our
presentations general and more exploratory in nature. We wanted to reach all audiences and help
students explore the careers that they may like, so that they can begin to research how to get
there.
The parent/guardian presentation outlined how families can be involved in their childs
academic success. With over half of students from low-income and almost three-fourths
minority, it was important that we found a way to involve and engage parents in the school
community. We recognize that discussions about college and career planning often start at the
home. With that being said, we wanted to provide families with the resources to help craft these
conversations.

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We also wanted to pay attention to the low number of students who are scoring high on
the ACT. We created a lesson plan about test-taking skills that would engage the students, and
help them learn how to prepare for the ACT Aspire. The activities are designed to provide ways
that all students can study and prepare more effectively.
B. 2)
Demographically, Ogden International High School is largely diverse. Our activities were
designed to be culturally responsive by being reflective of the backgrounds and experiences of
the Ogden school population. While our activities were designed in a way in which they will be
beneficial to every student, staff, and community population affiliated with Ogden that they
concern, our activities may impact some populations more than others. The activities we
designed will largely address the 51% low-income rate and the alarming 73% of students who
have been identified as not being college ready, because it is important to understand that
some populations are more vulnerable to inequities in access to careers and college (Milsom
and Curry, 2014, p. 41).
Our test-taking skills and goal-setting lesson plan was designed in an effort to nurture
students test taking skills and increase students test taking self-efficacy. Although, most of these
students will not being taking the ACT until high school, it is important to both develop and
foster test-taking strategies. This is especially important considering other forms of standardized
testing and assessment that students will experience throughout the remainder of their academic
careers that also impact their ability to be college and career ready. Our lesson plan on career and
self-exploration, aims to not only help students identify their own strengths and interests, but also
the strengths and interests of their peers. As members of such a racially, ethnically, and culturally
diverse school community, it is important for students to be able to recognize and acknowledge
their similarities and differences and understand the input that contributed to them. Low parental

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school involvement seems to be a pressing concern for low-income students affecting academic
achievement (Hill & Taylor, 2004). Consequently, our parent/guardian presentation aims to
increase parental involvement in students academic success. Hill and Tyson (2009) outline how
important it is to bridge the gap between family and school finding a link between student
achievement, academic behaviors, aspirations and parental involvement. They also note that
(parental) involvement that reflected academic socialization had the strongest positive
association with achievement (Hill and Tyson, 2009, p. 740).
B. 3)
Our groups activities were produced in hopes of reaching multiple audiences in order to
expand knowledge on the importance of college and career awareness at a middle school age.
Both lesson plans were implemented for the seventh grade students to a) enhance their test taking
abilities, and b) connect the students interests/skills with potential college and career options.
As mentioned previously, the lesson plan aimed at promoting growth in our students test taking
skills will ideally have an outcome of significant growth in their ACT and related tests, showing
a higher rank in College Readiness for the next academic school year. The lesson plan aimed at
promoting college and career awareness based on our students current interests will have an
ideal outcome of advanced knowledge into their future college or career options and
opportunities. This lesson plan is aimed at sparking interest and awareness in our students in
regards to their futures.
The parent presentation is a workshop created to introduce to parents the resources that
their children, our students, have available to them. These resources include the school
counselors, them (the parents), community organizations and resources, online resources,
academic resources, and coping strategies. This presentation is aimed at nurturing parent

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involvement in their students academic success and introducing the resources that they
themselves have available in times of need.
Lastly, the in-service presentation is a workshop for teachers and faculty to better
understand the importance of introducing the college and career dialogue and curriculum to our
middle school students. The in-service presentation introduces important college readiness
research and how it applies to Ogden International High School, what the school counselors will
be doing this year to enhance college readiness in our students, what the teachers can and should
be doing to promote college readiness, and it presents preliminary information on the upcoming
2017 College and Career Fair being held in April for our students to explore their options for the
future. Our entire delivery program (two lesson plans, parent presentation, and in-service
presentation) is set in place to assist our students in their beginning stages of college and career
exploration. It is our goal through exploration and awareness-building that our students will be
more familiar with their future options, be more inclined to take challenging course work, and
will have the skills and resources necessary to succeed academically and in standardized test
taking; thus, providing them the knowledge and skills necessary to be considered ready for
college.

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References
Cates, J. T., & Schaefle, S. E. (2011). The Relationship between a College Preparation Program
and At-Risk Students' College Readiness. Journal of Latinos & Education, 10(4), 320334.
Chicago Public Schools (2016). Choose your future. Retrieved from
http://https://chooseyourfuture.cps.edu.
Curry, Jennifer & Milsom, Amy. (2014). Career Counseling in P-12 Schools. NY: Springer
Publishing Company.
De La Rosa, M. L. (2006). Is opportunity knocking? Low-income students perceptions of
college and financial aid. American Behavioral Scientist, 49 (12), 1670-1686.
Grothaus, T., & Cole, R. (2010). Meeting the challenges together: School counselors
collaborating with students and families with low income. Journal of School Counseling,
8, 27.
Hill, Nancy E., & Taylor, Lorraine C. (2004). Parental Involvement and Childrens Academic
Achievement. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13, 4
Hill, Nancy E., & Tyson, Diana F. (2009). Parental involvement in middle school: A metaanalytic assessment of the strategies that promote achievement. Developmental
Psychology, 45, 3.