High school guidance counseling in Springfield School District 186 ain’t what it used to be. Just ask Donna Povse, “post-secondary coach” at Springfield High.
“In each of the three public schools,” she explains, “there is a retired person like myself who works approximately two and a half days a week, and primarily our goal is to make sure that every senior has an exit plan.”
This is not nearly as hands-on as older systems, in which a full-time “guidance dean” was employed to help students focus their efforts through all four years of high school. New technologies now do their part to fill some of the flesh-and-blood gaps. “On our website, we have links to a lot of different sites where kids can go visit and explore,” says Povse. “Some of them have surveys that the student fills out to direct them towards appropriate schools based on the answers that they give. Sometimes I personally even check the websites of places like Lincolnshire up in the Chicago area for additional resources, because they have an army of college counselors. I tell my students, ‘Look at our scholarship database but also look at SHG’s. Look anywhere!’”
Steve Rambach, who holds the post-secondary coach position at Lanphier, advocates a no-nonsense approach. “There are three important criteria that colleges in particular judge from,” he intones, with something approaching the gravity of a mantra. “One is the grade point average. Second factor is your class rank, along with the rigor of courses that you are taking; students should realize that if you’re taking the easiest classes, your class rank will be lower than if you were taking more advanced classes. And the third piece is your ACT tests. Juniors, specifically, need to begin to practice math and other basic skills, and they can do that with a book or online or even take classes. The ACT test, which will be in April, is something that should be taken very seriously.”
While it would be easy to assume that the primary goal of any post-secondary coach would be to help each student find his or her way to college, this is not always realistic or desirable. “I work with kids going into vocational, I work with kids going into the military, and pray for those who are going to employment,” quips Rambach. “On the other hand, some people need to go into the job market. There’s not one box that fits everybody. Some kids need maturity and if they go ahead and get a job serving fast food they might then come to the conclusion that, ‘Hey, maybe I don’t want to spend the rest of my life doing this.’ Another important thing to realize is that you no longer can just walk into the military. The armed forces will give you a test that measures math and English skills, so even if you’re not going the college route, you need to know that stuff.”
One local student who is taking a decidedly scholastic approach to the military is SHS senior Kyle Pettis. He first ascertained his goal of attending a military service academy after a session at a Washington, D.C., summer camp last year. “I found out about these summer camps that are kind of like an immersion into national security and intelligence. Going to those camps I got a better understanding of what college would be like at the military academies and discovered that I did in fact want to do that,” he recalls. In addition to formal application, military academies require prospective students be nominated by a congressman or senator. It’s a big process, Kyle says.
One essential component of the school selection process is narrowing down the list of potential colleges, and when possible, firsthand experience of various campuses can be a major boon. “We are able to take a school bus with 30 or so kids to the various state schools throughout the school year,” says Povse, the post-secondary coach at Springfield High. “Kids who have never been on a college campus are the ones I’m trying to reach out to, kids whose parents can’t get off work to take them to these kinds of things. This way they can see state schools, a few private schools, and they can actually get a feel for what a small campus is, or a medium-size state school, a big state school.”
While campus size is an important factor, it is also important to settle on an academic environment that fits the student’s overall plan. “Basically, it’s just a process of talking to the student and talking to the family and finding out ‘what direction are we headed?’” Povse continues. “Do you have a lot of money and wherewithal and you want to go to a private school? Do you want to stay in the Midwest? Factors like the location, the size, the cost are all important. Do they have an ROTC program? Do they have Greek life? All those things. We try to figure out what it is the student is interested in and then take it from there.”
Kristen Cullen, a senior at SHS, has done a lot of work honing in on the factors that will best prepare her for the future. She plans to major in chemistry, she explains, which follows from her participation in the Physicians Pipeline Preparatory Program, a partnership between SIU School of Medicine and District 186 that focuses on getting kids prepared for college. “I don’t really have a preference between state and private schools,” she says, “but I definitely have a preference for a smaller college with a strong science and math background, as well as some focus on liberal arts.”
The current economic climate creates a whole other set of challenges for today’s college-bound student.
“Everyone wants to go to a prestigious school,” sighs Donna Povse. “Not everyone can get in. Community college as a first choice is rising as the economy sinks. Trying to get parents and students to work on the financial aspect of getting into college is a much more difficult road than just the application process. Filling out the FAFSA in a timely fashion, applying for scholarships and looking for loans take far more time than filling out an online application or even writing a college essay. Lincoln Land Community College is a wise choice for many students who need to learn how to become a college student,” she continues. “There are vast resources there to help kids. It is also an excellent training ground for students who don’t want to go on to a four-year school, but who need to learn a specific skill for the job market.”
Steve Rambach agrees. “Right now, we’re in a national crisis, so many people are in debt,” he laments. “If you’re really set on going to college, and you have not-so-good ACT, GPA and class rank, my recommendation will be going to a community college to get your feet on the ground, do what you need to do, and then transfer. That’s what community colleges are made for. Probably 75-80 percent of my students will get financial help from the federal government or PELL. The thing I try to get my students to realize is that they need to fill out a FAFSA as soon after Jan. 1 as possible, because that will give me their monetary evaluation. If someone is really poor, they’re going to get maybe $10,000, and then I have to ask, ‘Have your parents saved any money, are you saving any money?’ and then pick a school from there.”
“One of the SHS assistant principals created a document which she gives copies of to the families in her junior class detailing all the things that parents and students should be doing before they make their appointment with me. We strongly feel it’s not possible for us to do it for all 350 students. They’ve got to do some legwork on their own.”
Other than the guidance offered on the high school campuses, other local options for college preparation include programs offered by the Springfield Urban League and Lincoln Library’s College Assistance Program (CAP). One resource available to Springfield families who do have money to invest is the Nelson Resource Center, located on Chatham Road in Springfield. The center offers help writing college essays, doing school searches, scholarship research, tutoring and ACT/SAT test preparation, with pricing available upon inquiry.
When asked what advice they would offer fellow college-bound students, both Kyle and Kristen stress the importance of timing. “The biggest thing is to get everything done early because the earlier you can get everything done the more chances you have of being looked at by the admissions boards and the bigger chance you have of getting in,” says. Kyle. “Definitely start about as early as you can,” Kristen concurs, “because it says to colleges, ‘I’ve got my eyes on the prize, this is what I’m going to do.’”
“It’s important just to take school seriously,” she continues. “I know sometimes, especially when they start sophomore year or senior year – because they’re either just settling in or just about to leave – kids will just say, ‘Oh, it’s not important.’ But it really is! So just keep on track, and still remember to have fun, but really high school is not the end-all. I see it more as just a funnel for going to college.”
Scott Faingold can be reached at scottfaingold@gmail.com.
This article appears in Capital City Parent July 2012.
