Keeping the Options Open: Early Guidance as the Key.

The declining rate of college-bound high school students and the growing high school dropout rate of minorities both nationally and locally are trends that need to be immediately addressed and reversed. In an effort to reverse the trends, children need academic encouragement in elementary and middle school, and need at an early age to envision going to college after high school as an expectation for themselves. The young students and their parents must be provided higher education information and experiences at transitional points in the students' school life when it is still possible for them to select appropriate and prescribed courses to maximize preparation for high school success, college admission, retention, and graduation. To meet this need, the Baltimore City (Maryland) Schools' Office of Guidance Services initiated an Early Guidance Model for middle/junior high school students. A committee of middle/junior high school counselors studied the issue and developed the model as a supportive network of experiences and information intended to raise student aspiration levels and improve student potential for a satisfying future. This report lists activities implemented by one school for College Awareness Day along with 17 college awareness strategies school counselors can use to help young students learn about college options. (NB)