One of the ways to decrease poverty is to enable people from disadvantaged neighborhoods to earn more by providing them with access to higher education. In order to achieve that, it is necessary, first and foremost, to increase the high school students’ awareness of the financial aid programs, possibilities of dual enrollment, and the overall reality of higher education. Such a program should rely on a close collaboration with the neighboring colleges and technical schools to provide support, information, and assistance for the junior, seniors, and dual enrollment students.
The purpose of this project is to increase the college attendance rate and, by extension, decrease poverty in the community. The program proposed would approach this goal by increasing the high school student’s awareness of the higher education opportunities, including financial aid, dual enrollment, etcetera. The specific objectives related to the purpose are:
- To commence student targeted discussions about college for all grade levels in a high school by 100%
- To commence financial aid and scholarship awareness for juniors and seniors by 100%
- To increase dual enrollment programs by 30%
- To offer different narratives of current college students or college students who went through the program for high-schoolers by 100%
The validity of this program is rooted in the fact that, as research indicates, academic support, such as counselors and advisors, may be as crucial for college enrollment as academic knowledge (Witkovsky & Clayton, 2020). As such, increasing the students’ awareness of scholarships and financial aids is a promising avenue of approach. The program would be based around financial aid advisors providing support, information, and assistance for junior, seniors, and dual enrollment students.
In order for the program to work, it would need to rely on cooperation with the neighboring colleges and technical schools. In this specific case, these would be Florida International University, University of Florida, University of Miami, Miami-Dade College, Memorial College, Florida Career College, Beauty school, and St. Thomas University, all of which are higher education institutions in the Miami area. Depending on the degree of cooperation between the high schools and the higher education institutions, the program may develop along different lines. Colleges and technical schools may participate either by providing affiliated financial aid advisors or by training high schools counselors so that they could provide accurate consultations regarding the financial aid programs available in the educational institutions in question (Pierce, 2017). Counseling may take place at the high school or in the colleges and technical schools based on the details of the agreement (Pierce, 2017). Naturally, the issue of sharing the costs should also be addressed. With these issues clarified, colleges and technical schools would be able to function within this program to provide more accurate information on financial aid and enrollment for high schools students.
To summarize, the program aims to decrease the poverty level in the community by increasing the rate of college admission and attendance. In order to do so, it is necessary to provide high schools students with accurate and relevant information on financial aids available to increase their chances of enrollment. The program should develop in close cooperation with the neighboring colleges and technical schools to ensure that financial aid counselors possess and can relay this information. Specific issues to be addressed include the organizational affiliation of the counselors, the location where the counseling is to take place, and the cost-sharing. These should be addressed through bilateral agreements between the high schools and colleges or technical schools in question, clearly outlining each party’s responsibility.
References
Pierce, D. (2017). The rise of dual enrollment. Community College Journal, 16-25.
Witkovsky, P., & Clayton, G. (2020). What makes dual enrollment work? High school counselor perspectives. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 44(6), 427-444.