Jackson Reed - Guidance in college planning process?

[Transplant_1]

I was wondering, what / how Jackson Reed does in terms of working with studens in the college planning process? Are there college fairs, do colleges visit for information sessions? Are there parent events? student events? Information sessions? Etc.

I see a lot in DCUMs about curriculum, grading, assessment scores, etc. But not about the college planning process. - Thank you in advance.

[Anonymous]

Transplant_1 wrote:I was wondering, what / how Jackson Reed does in terms of working with studens in the college planning process? Are there college fairs, do colleges visit for information sessions? Are there parent events? student events? Information sessions? Etc.

I see a lot in DCUMs about curriculum, grading, assessment scores, etc. But not about the college planning process. - Thank you in advance.

There are information sessions for parents and students starting Spring of your junior year introducing kids to how the process works, and then those pick up in Fall of Senior year (maybe 3 in total).

Many colleges visit the school in the Fall...probably 25 colleges a week make visits. All the Ivy schools, MIT, CMU, UC schools (a representative for all the UC schools), lots of flagship state schools, regional "safety" schools, etc.

There is a dedicated college counselor where kids can drop-in for advice. I also believe they run some personal statement essay workshops for rising seniors over the Summer.

[Transplant_1]

Thank you. This is helpful. Is there anything like this:
https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/wjhs/parents/guidance_events/

[Anonymous]

Parent of a junior (and freshman), and here’s what I’ve seen so far:

There’s a college and career center (https://www.wilsonhs.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=127999&type=d) staffed by a coordinator, who manages college visits to JR, hosts info sessions on different aspects of the application process, and shares scholarship information. She seems like a good and responsive resource. There’s also a lot of information on the site I linked above.

The guidance counselor side of things is bare minimum. They have way too many kids per counselor, so my sense is that they basically write the required recommendation (using brag sheets kids and parents complete), and that’s about it. That said, our family doesn’t really need and so hasn’t sought out specific support. It’s possible that there’s more help/insight for people who seek it out.

[Transplant_1]

Thank you very much. This is very helpful.

[Anonymous]

Transplant_1 wrote:Thank you. This is helpful. Is there anything like this:
https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/wjhs/parents/guidance_events/

I would say there is 35% of this in some shape-or-form...but no DCPS school will be able to offer what Walter Johnson offers. I imagine their PTSO raises many multiples of what the Jackson-Reed PTSO raises in funds.

No pride of ownership here...the highly regarded DMV publics will all likely offer much more.

[Transplant_1]

Thank you for offering that perspective without any political-equity bashing. I appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

Transplant_1 wrote:Thank you for offering that perspective without any political-equity bashing. I appreciate it.

You have to appreciate that all the college-related things offered by Walter Johnson are spearheaded by parents. Seems like the appropriate school staff participate where it makes sense, but doubtful that the school would offer 2/3 of this without a motivated PTSO.

My point is that you have to look at each school on an individual basis. Whitman, Churchhill, etc. could offer far less or more (I can't say far more...WJ seems to offer plenty).

[Anonymous]

Agree with the above. To my knowledge, WJ has a large group of particularly engaged parents who are willing and able to be generous in their support of the school. A close college friend has gone with WJ for her three kids mainly for that reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Transplant_1 wrote:Thank you for offering that perspective without any political-equity bashing. I appreciate it.

You have to appreciate that all the college-related things offered by Walter Johnson are spearheaded by parents. Seems like the appropriate school staff participate where it makes sense, but doubtful that the school would offer 2/3 of this without a motivated PTSO.

My point is that you have to look at each school on an individual basis. Whitman, Churchhill, etc. could offer far less or more (I can't say far more...WJ seems to offer plenty).

Was just having this convo with friends. Parents are the driving force at all of the good schools.

[Anonymous]

Interesting. Parent involvement is weak at JR.
It was also actively discouraged by the last principal

[Anonymous]

I believe that the current college counselor is moving in the direction of being more organized. There is a lot of information available on the school website but families do need to take the time to read it and take action. Not enough resources for hand holding.

https://www.wilsonhs.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=127999&type=d

[Anonymous]

Transplant_1 wrote:Thank you. This is helpful. Is there anything like this:
https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/wjhs/parents/guidance_events/

No there is not.

[Anonymous]

Having put 2 kids through the J-R process and with a rising Sr now, my best advice is the process must be self driven. There is no hand-holding and no one who can spend significant time helping your child identify schools. DCPS limited approved absent days for college visits to 2 per year, so if you want to make a number of visits, plan accordingly.

Many schools do visit the school, but again, getting excused absences to attend those sessions takes some planning, and often kids don't want to miss too many classes to go to all of the sessions.

Naviance is a good resource. Learn how to use it early on. Also, the common app is open the summer before senior year, so the more you can fill out before classes start, the better off your kid will be.

Good luck.

[Transplant_1]

This is all great insight and advice. Thank you.