Postsecondary

Do First

• Set an ambitious goal to maximize the percentage of the Class of 2020 that seamlessly enroll in a strong postsecondary pathway by Labor Day.  This goal is often measured in two ways:
  • The number of students that actually enroll in a postsecondary pathway in the fall divided by the number of graduating seniors.
  • The estimated postsecondary completion (EPSC) rate of the class as a whole which is calculated by using historical subgroup graduation data of each individual institution/pathway.  See here for how The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation calculates EPSC.
    • It is important for district and school leaders to integrate this measure (or a similar one) to ensure the quality of different postsecondary pathways is incorporated into goal setting and advising practices.
• Articulate clear, unambiguous priorities for all faculty members and district/school leaders that are working with 12th graders in order to create the conditions to achieve the ambitious targets.
  • The stakes are considerably higher for the Class of 2020 (compared to all other students in K12). Consider focusing whatever time remains of the academic calendar on postsecondary planning over virtual academic instruction.  Class time can be converted to advising sessions and educators can be trained in the case management approach outlined below.
• Assign a district or school-level Postsecondary Response Team (PRT) and name a leader with single point accountability, meaning there is one person who is ultimately responsible for reaching the ambitious goal(s) that are set.
  • The PRT should use a basic decision making framework – like RAPID – at the frontend to ensure all parties are clear and aligned on who commits the district or school to action, who makes final recommendations, who must agree with recommendations, and whose input is critical to include.
  • The PRT should include:
    • Anyone who must agree with recommendations of the leader (e.g., a lead counselor or a budget director)
    • Key stakeholders who can offer unique insights/input (e.g., an educator or head of PTO)
    • Leaders who are critical to moving the work forward (e.g.: the leader who owns district or school data systems)
• Organize a case management team that will be responsible for working directly with the Class of 2020.
  • Each case manager should be assigned between 100-150 seniors.  
  • The PRT should consider pulling in other team members to help including school-level personnel that have additional capacity to give (e.g., gym teachers, elective teachers, teacher aids, parent volunteers, and peer leaders (current 12th graders) or recent alumni who can assist in outreach while earning money and completing an internship.
• Determine what data matters most. 
  • Establish a set of qualitative and quantitative data points that cumulatively give the PRT a good sense for the likelihood that an individual student is on track , within reach, or off track from reaching the big goal.  These data points could include:
    • Parent/guardian name(s) and relationship to student
    • Phone number, social media accounts, and preferred method of communication 
    • Trusted advisor (i.e., which faculty member, educator, or counselor does the student trust most)
    • Current GPA and current SAT/ACT score
    • Whether a student completed his/her FAFSA
    • Whether the student would be first in his/her family to enroll in a postsecondary pathway
    • Whether the student has been selected for FAFSA verification
    • Schools or postsecondary pathways to which the student has been accepted
    • Financial aid packages offered by various schools in which the student has been accepted
    • Career goal(s) for the student
    • Intended major or discipline she/he wants to pursue
    • Postsecondary plan or goal pre SARS-CoV-2 and now (i.e., what is his/her goal for September 2020 and what is the current plan)
    • Risks or barriers (i.e., what are the top three concerns she/he has that might stand in the way of achieving that goal)
    • Likelihood to enroll (i.e., ask the student to assign a percentage likelihood today that she/he will enroll in the post-secondary pathway they desire)
    • Solutions (i.e., ask the student to name the top three ways that number would increase)
  • Narrow the list to the top 5-8 data points that are most important to capture.
• Decide how the data will be captured and where it will roll up.  
  • Utilizing an existing data system, a data leader should be assigned to build the intake fields and provide unique usernames to case managers to track their data. 
  • If your district or school does not use a data system for postsecondary planning, the data leader can build a similar platform quickly using google docs or a shared excel system.
• Train case managers on how to initiate new advising relationships.
  • Case managers will need to start by connecting on a personal level and articulating clear expectations and intentions for the new relationship.
  • Case managers will need to privilege methods of building trust and meeting students where they are emotionally in order to foster the kind of partnership that will lead to healthy and effective advising/counsel.
  • Case managers should shadow outreach by skilled/experienced counselors or social workers and practice situations before one-on-one outreach.
• Conduct the first wave of student outreach.
  • Couple efforts with a broader messaging campaign that is led by the district or school leader and supported by peer leaders.
  • Create a short video message that is placed at the center of the district website, posted on social media pages, and even introduced to local media to complement and fuel the direct outreach efforts by case managers.
• Analyze data and articulate priorities to understand – from both the student perspective and the case manager perspective – what the projected enrollment rate is at this juncture and even what the EPSC rate is based on institutional outcomes.
• Identify a manageable list of priority areas that will prevent postsecondary enrollment (high impact) and are impacting large percentages of the student population (high volume).
  • Assign an individual team member within the district or school to each issue who is responsible for designing ways to mitigate or solve the problem. 
  • Consider reorganizing the caseloads of students based on either their risk profile or by the particular issues that are preventing different student segments from enrolling in the fall.
  • Conduct routine communication with all students until the fall (ideally every two weeks to track progress).
  • Consider hosting a virtual graduation ceremony for students and parents to both celebrate the class and push out key messages to this captivate audience about the big goal and the resources provided by the PRT this summer.
  • Conduct outreach to institutions of higher education and workforce organizations that are likely to enroll large numbers of students.
    • Forge new partnerships with these institutions and organizations that make the enrollment process easier and more accessible for various student populations.  Many of these providers will be more motivated than normal to strike new partnership deals given enrollment is expected to decline (which impacts budgets).