Involving Counseling Staff in the NAF Academy: Benefits of ConnectEDU

Involving Counseling Staff in the NAF Academy: Benefits of ConnectEDU Dr. Lupe Ferran Diaz, Director, M-DCPS Patricia Gregory, AOHT Lead Teacher Ana Sevillanos, SLC Coordinator Dr. Rosann P. Sidener, Principal Miami Beach Senior High School July 18, 2011-San Francisco

Agenda • Introductions • Getting to Know You • AOHT in Miami • District Perspective on ConnectEDU • Miami Beach Senior High School Overview • ConnectEDU media • ConnectEDU tools • Kinesthetic Communication • Scheduling • Value of Assigned Counselors • Communication Application – Creative Thinking July 18, 2011-San Francisco

What is your role in your Academy? • Teacher • Academy Leader • Academy Director • Counselor • School Site Administrator • District Personnel • Business Partner • Other July 18, 2011-San Francisco

Are you currently using ConnectEDU? • Yes • No July 18, 2011-San Francisco

How are counselors assigned to students? • By Alpha order • By Academy • By Grade Level • By house/school • Other 17 5 11 0 4 July 18, 2011-San Francisco

July 18, 2011-San Francisco

ConnectEDU Goal • Provide a vendor developed and hosted system to senior high school students to assist with course planning, and selection of post-secondary education options including application, scholarships, and direct linkages to colleges and universities Objectives • Current in-district options for course planning and college planning are largely manual and require significant counselor intervention. ConnectEDU would provide a portal where students can leverage their existing course credit information into a full featured post-secondary educational planning and selection tool. July 18, 2011-San Francisco

ConnectEDU Alignment to District Goals: • Ensure achievement of high academic standards by all students. • Develop our students so that they are able to successfully compete in the global economy. • Actively engage family and community members to become partners in raising and maintaining high student achievement. • Reform business practices to ensure efficiency, effectiveness and high ethical standards. July 18, 2011-San Francisco

Cost Savings Analysis on Personnel Costs July 18, 2011-San Francisco

Return on Investment (ROI)and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) July 18, 2011-San Francisco

Estimated Cost Analysis July 18, 2011-San Francisco

ConnectEDU Success Measurement • Evidence of at least 70% of college eligible seniors showing activity in the Connect EDU system in one year of full implementation • Evidence of at least 50 college applications being submitted in one year of full implementation • Evidence of at least 50 scholarship applications being submitted in one year of full implementation

MBSH Demographics July 18, 2011-San Francisco

Graduation Rate *Includes regular and exceptional student diplomas, but excludes certificates of completion. Source: High school: Student data base system, October 2010. July 18, 2011-San Francisco

Academy of Hospitality and Tourism Academy of Information Technology Academy of Education and Training Service • Academy of Marine and Environmental Science • Scholars Academy (IB Diploma Programme) • Academy of Visual and Performing Arts • Academy of Communication and Digital Media MBSH Academy Structure School of Liberal Arts School of Creative Arts School of Technical Arts July 18, 2011-San Francisco

Our Lead Teachers • Ms. Nina Duval, Academy of Visual & Performing Arts Academy of Communication & Digital Media • Ms. Patricia E. Gregory, Academy of Hospitality & Tourism • Ms. Lorelei Stepp-Frolick, Academy of Information Technology • Ms. Gussie A. Bowen, Academy of Education and Training Services • Mr. David E. Guthrie, Academy of Marine & Environmental Science • Ms. Tanya Diaz, Scholars Academy July 18, 2011-San Francisco

Miami Beach SHS Implementation Plan July 18, 2011-San Francisco

ConnectEDU: Tools for Students Interactive Planning Tools • Course Planner & Credit Checker • Test Prep Information & Test Dates • Financial Aid Information & Critical Dates • College Budget & Cost Calculators • Scholarships Search & Applications • Profile & Resume Building Communication Tools • Email Counselors, Students, & Parents • Host & Track Student Events • Send Scholarship & Events Notifications College Search Tools • Customized College Search • College List Collaboration • 4,300+ Searchable College Profiles • Side-by-Side College Comparisons • Acceptance History Scattergrams Centralized Student Tracking • SuperAPP Application Processing • Complete Application Tracking • Electronic Transcript Requests July 18, 2011-San Francisco

ConnectEDU: Benefits to Counselors & Administrators • Save time & money! • Track student progress • Expedite registration and track graduation requirements with up to eight years of student data • Ensure state and district graduation requirements are met • Analyze college-bound trends and assess post-secondary planning initiatives • Compare student data across districts, schools, or student groups • Generate reports on college acceptance, scholarships and honors, and career interests • Collaborate for application completion and streamline application tracking July 18, 2011-San Francisco

The SuperAPP SuperAPP allows counselors to easily view students' college applications, track students' progress, quickly complete all administrative tasks, including processing requests for letters of recommendation, official transcripts, school profiles and all other application documents from a single online dashboard. Using SuperAPP, counselors have the ability to track 100% of the colleges that students apply to and use this data to create customized reports. July 18, 2011-San Francisco

Electives July 18, 2011-San Francisco

The Value of Assigning Counselors to Academies • To better counsel students regarding each assigned career theme; • To better communicate with parents; • To develop a sense of “belonging” on the part of the counselor; • To open the lines of communication between counselor/lead teacher that would expedite schedule changes, etc.; • To ensure that students are following the correct program of study and course sequence; • To strengthen the “family” atmosphere; • To prevent students from being withdrawn or switched from the academy without prior consultation with the lead teacher; • To maintain fidelity to the academy model in regards to cohorting of students; • To avoid manipulation by students of choosing a counselor to get what they want; • To make more effective use of time for all parties involved. July 18, 2011-San Francisco

Communication Application – Creative Thinking July 18, 2011-San Francisco

Involving Counseling Staff in the NAF Academy: Benefits of ConnectEDU