COVID-19 Challenges for High School Seniors
As high school seniors prepare their college applications in these next few weeks, teachers are adapting their online services to effectively support their students at this very stressful time. Our teachers have expanded their services to include the following:
- Small group senior seminars provide students with guidance on financial aid, how to select appropriate colleges based on interests and achievement, how to integrate testing data into the college application, and how to integrate community services and leadership into the college application process and essays.
- Students continue to participate in early college classes online that are offered directly from the high school campus. Through this process, college professors teach by using the high school’s online platform to better meet the needs of students.
- Students are registered to take the SATs and ACTs to add to the rigor for college acceptance considerations. While test scores will be considered by some colleges, others will not use these as part of their college acceptance review.
- In addition to meeting with students regularly for college counseling and planning, teachers provide college planning tips online to ensure that students complete each step of the college application process on time.
- Students continue to learn effective social-emotional skills through a school club to overcome the social isolation felt by many students forced to learn online due to ongoing COVID-19 health challenges and racism.
Maintain a Healthy Schedule
During the next few weeks, parents can support their child’s college application activities by encouraging them to maintain a healthy schedule of personal care, eating well, sleeping adequately, exercising, and relaxing to reduce stress and anxiety. Parents can listen to their child’s concerns and contact the school’s teachers and counselors for added guidance.
Much success as your child prepares for this next milestone activity during the new normal.
Warm regards,
Yvette
Copyright (c) 2020 by GenParenting
Yvette King-Berg, is the Executive Director of Youth Policy Institute’s Charter Schools. She was the former California Charter Schools Association Vice-President of School Development and Outreach-Southern California. Ms. King-Berg has over thirty years of experience working with teachers, students, parents, and organizations in a variety of positions including Director, Assistant Director, Curriculum Advisor, Bilingual, and Title 1 Coordinators, classroom teacher (K-12) in Pasadena and LAUSD. She has been married for twenty-three years, and is the proud mother of her son, EJ, who attends UC Berkeley.