PTO Today

Hello----I'm an ex-pto president. I've retired (totally burned out!) and am now a high school mom hiding out from joining the pto there. Anyways, I'm hoping there are some other high school parents who can give me their opinion on my situation.

Our public HS (California--enrollment over 2,000) has many scheduling issues which prevent college bound students from getting all the clases they need to meet college admissions requirements. My sophmore could not fit PE into her schedule this year because of all the classes she needs (4 core classes, Spanish 2 and PE) none of them are offered 6th period. A senior student is being forced to take an online art class (required for college admissions) because the class is full (some of the students in art are freshmen!). These are just two examples, of many scheduling issues at the school.

Often the college bound students are forced to attend summer school, community college, or take courses online in order to get all the classes needed for college admissions. Many parents and the school administration think this is perfectly normal. I don't agree.

I think it is fine for students and may be a great experience to attend community college while in high school, however we don't have a community college in our town. The nearest community college is 15 miles away.

Is this happening in at your child's high school? Maybe I'm behind the times.

Wow. I have a sophomore and haven't found your situation to be the case in our school. Your high schools are not actually preparing the students for college; I'm puzzled as to why this would seem to be acceptable.

The worst situation I've run across in our school regards the curriculum of some of the duel credit classes offered (credit for high school graduation plus credit for college). It seems that the students taking the classes (say, Spanish I) with the expectation of enrolling in Spanish II in college are finding that their Spanish I class didn't cover what it was supposed to. So, the kids are wholly unprepared for the college level Spanish II. Torque'd a few parents off who paid the college credit cost for the high school class just to have to pay again for their child to take the remedial class in college.

I also have a sophomore. While we could fit all her classes in during the 4 years of high school, we chose to take summer school gym before her 9th grade year and this past summer so it will free her up to take something she really likes; many of the band, choir, and drama students do this so their schedule is free for an additional class in the field of their choice.
In our district we also have what's called the Toledo Early College High School. A student can attend classes at our local college and receive up to 60 credit hours of college without paying any out of pocket expenses. We are fortunate that we have a college in the city.

And I know how it is to be burnt out from the PTO's but you may regret not helping out. Maybe you could just help out with a few small things like volunteering for concessions at a game, or baked goods for a sale, or just attend a meeting and offer suggestions/ideas.

Thanks for the input. Talking with parents with students at other schools, I'm realizing more and more how off track our school is. Our school requires students to take low level classes which gobble up time and prevent students from taking the necessary classes for college. Example: 9th grade science is pre-chem/pre-physics, 10th is Biology, 11th is Chem, 12th is Physics. The honors track should be allowed to go straight to Biology in 9th grade. Also geography is a required class which is very low level--they start off by learning the continents! Students should be allowed to test out of geography. The sad thing is students are given very little information about college admissions. For students who don't seek that information on their own, they will find out much too late that they never even too the right classes. The school is content to push kids off into "filler" classes just so they have 6 classes. All this school seems to be focused on is making sure the students graduate.

I'm going to be following up with the principal/superintendent/school board on this issue. I know it is a situation that has been tolerated by parents for years. I have no idea why people put up with this. I've been told it is due to budget cuts, but the changes that need to be made would cost nothing, so that is no excuse at all.

As far as helping out--I do help out on campus in the concession stands--I guess I never even considered that as being involved. I don't mind helping out, I just don't want to get sucked into any leadership positions, so that is why I say I'm hiding.

We had a couple years where new requirements outpaced the current curriculum and it was almost impossible for the high achiever students to complete the necessary credits with only what the school offered during the school year. Among other things, only 2 credits of athletics count towards graduation. So any serious athlete who plays a sport for 4 years, automatically forfeits 2 credits. They can't even be counted as electives. It is/was very common for students to take summer courses to help make up the deficit.

Recently they changed our schedule to from 6 to 7 classes per day. The math works. For the most part 28 credits will cover the requirements. However, now the classes are only about 48 minutes long. By the time they get everyone settled and dive into a subject, I fear they only get about 35-40 minutes of instruction time. So I'm not convinced it will be a successful plan.

We have Block scheduling at our high school which the majority of students, parents, and teachers love. We call our days of the week either Red Day or Blue Day (school colors) with 4 classes per day. This type of scheduling affords the teacher the time to get students settled and proceed to teaching and have the time to do so. The graduation requirement is 25 credits but most of the students have much more. By the end of her sophomore year she will already have 16.5 credits.

Do your 8th grade students have the opportunity to take classes that will give them high school credits before they reach high school? Often our excellerated Math students have already completed Algebra 1 by the end of 8th grade and can start out with H. Geometry.

Geography is a required class? Good Luck working with your district; sounds like your curriculum needs updated. If they give you the run-around at the district level, ask when there curriculum meetings are as well as policy meetings. Those should be public.

Glad to hear your volunteering at the concession stands!

The 4 period block sounds like a great idea.

We are not in a unified school district. This is really central to all of what is going on. Long story which I won't bore you with. Yes the 8th graders can take Algebra 1 which does help. However the science and geography requirements are totally outdated and aimed at lower level proficiency (majority of students in HS district are low score).

I've fought similar battles before and I already know nothing will be done. E-mail response from principal today said as much. Apparently, it is a district issue, not a school issue, but he sees no problem anyways.

The interesting thing is our town is attempting to break away from this hs district and create a unified district within our smaller town. This issue is a big reason why I think we need to unify. Neighboring high school districts are much more friendly with college bound kids.

It does sound like the district has a lot of issues and it's totally understandable that it would seem overwhelming. I think most people in your situation would be frustrated, especially when it feels like most others do not see the issues or regard it as progress. You may also be right when you consider looking uniting with more college bound-friendly folks. It may just not be a good setting for you. Consider also that whatever energy you put forward will be reflected back, so if you assume the worst of intentions, the cause as lost, and others as uncaring, that is likely to be what you will see. It's real and you are right, but it doesn't make it better. So, what if you were able to focus on the partnerships you might be able to forge with more like-minded folks? what if you were able to create solutions around consensus? we all lead, by default or consciously with our energy...not just those in leadership roles, but all of us. I'd love to know what you think about http://www.ipeccoaching.com/files/do...ion-Chart.pdf?

I send you great energy as it does appear to be a difficult situation and creativity to forge fabulous possibilities!

I have a class of 2010 HS Junior this year and it's all college-college-college being rammed down their throats. My daughter said there is a freshman in her calculus class this year.

It is NOT like when I went to school - AT ALL - I graduated in 1979. High School is supposed to be fun, to try new classes, but there is so much pressure now to perform.

Our high school adopted a block schedule 4 years ago, which is slowly killing our Arts programs - string orchestra, band, choir and art classes. Our district has also faced severe budget cuts the last 10 years due to the Wisconsin State funding formula (our city is not in a high growth area) and that doesn't help for teacher/counselor morale at all. They have cut over 50 positions in the last ten years (which is the equivalent of our largest elementary school of 600 kids.)

Bottom line: Your child's college career is in your hands.

In my honest opinion, the majority of high schools have no clue on how to prepare our students or parents for college - as the rules keep changing:

>Numbers - the guidance counselor/student ratio is around 300:1 - get real - unless your child has a criminal record or conversely is a nuclear physicist, the counselors will not help until you have identified 3 or 4 colleges that your child wants to go to.

>Start shopping early. Yes. start attending those college fairs in Freshman and Soph years. College Fairs are held in the FALL - right now!! - just Google "College Fairs" and your state.

>Use the online assessment tools that the HS counselors provide. This will determine your child's interests. What you want and what they want may be different. Keep an open mind. Even though you might want them to go to the top school in your state, or the one in the closest city, it might not be a good fit for them.

50% of College Freshmen change schools their first year. That's a lot of wasted time and money! Plan now and get your kid involved so you get a good fit.

>You should have 5 or 6 colleges picked out before Junior year. Then in Junior year cull that number down to 3. You should have done some on-site visits by Junior year, communicated with the College Financial Aid office (they are awesome and more helpful than the HS counselors who give NO advice on financial aid).

>College competition is getting stiffer. More people than *ever* are now going to college. I don't know how many of my HS Moms I run into who "can't volunteer because I'm going to school."

>College admissions policies are changing. The colleges are wising up to the pre-college test scores. They are looking beyond the GPA and are looking for students to "fit" into their programs. Nobody but the colleges know what they're looking for. (Go to the College Fairs and talk to the recruiters.)

>Colleges are looking for leadership, volunteering, involvement and dazzle. Have you seen the movie "21" about the MIT students who card count in Vegas to raise money so they can pay for their schooling? The movie is a little extreme, but the first 15 minutes of the movie will give you an idea of what it's like if you want to get into an Ivy League School.

>Is your child a "First Generation College" student? meaning the first in your immediate family to go to college? Tell the counselors and recruiters that your student is first generation. I am now hearing of colleges offering $$ extra financial aid and extras to these kids to help fit in and who are at risk of dropping their first year of college. But you have to TELL THEM you're first generation.

>AP vs. CLEP - not all colleges accept AP courses, and not all colleges accept CLEP. CLEP you can take ANY TIME during your child's HS career. Keep in mind AP courses do NOT prepare your child for living at college (and all the temptations), it just may buy them some college credits.

>Totally Lost? Look into hiring a Certified College Planner. For a couple hundred bucks these certified planners can hold your hand through the entire process, and the confusing FAFSA form and probably save you Thousands of dollars down the road. They talk with both You and Your Student and act as wonderful mediators so the communication keeps flowing and no feelings get hurt.

>Money - if you find the right fit at the right colleges and they *want* your child, money will not be an issue. Colleges will discount their fees if they want your kid. Don't get sticker shock over the initial tuition - work with the college financial aid folks - they love to help.

My advice. Don't get bunched up over the H.S. curriculum until your kid has identified they really want to go to college, they have identified 6 colleges that interest THEM (not you), and then tailor your child's curriculum to fit those needs.

Yes, they may have to sacrifice band or choir to get their basics. Push the HS counselors to let your child take summer school or ask if a "self study" program is available that they could do off hours.

Or encourage your student to become a leader and start a "self study group" for german/french (which is the last year it is being offered at our school due to cuts) - it would look awesome on their college app.

Sorry for the rant - but it's not a quick answer to your "High School to College" question.


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I've got a Freshman & a Senior. I'm VP of our HS Parent Group and also the token male.

That does not sound proper to me. If it were me I'd challenge the situation. I would nag the school and district administrators to give upperclassmen priority of scheduling for college required courses. If worse comes to worse you may have to come out of retirement and push the issue to be discussed at your PTO.

Some kids who have no intent on going to college may be taking them just because they like the topic. This would force the students who are planning on college to seek other sources that you mention. Your situation makes me also wonder if there is a shortage of teachers at your High School. My HS has 1,600 students. Online courses are an option but not a requirement. They are used to augment credits or within the class to further the instruction.

Cardinal Parents VP -
Sun Prairie WI High School