Student Led Conference Family Resources
Parents, guardians and families are important supports for students' High School & Beyond Plan (HSBP) process - exploring, planning and preparing for the future they choose. There are many ways families and community members can be actively involved in this process. Check out the resources below by grade-level for our middle and high school students.
If you have more questions, be sure to connect with your student's school counselor, College & Career Access Specialist (CCAS) and/or advisor.
The High School & Beyond Plan (HSBP) is aligned to the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success.
Resources by Grade
12th Grade
Activating your Plan & Completing Financial Aid
Related to HSBP, 12th grade students should:
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Continue to cultivate a positive attitude towards work and learning
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Have self-confidence in their ability to succeed and a belief in using abilities to their fullest to achieve high-quality results and outcomes
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Foster creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration
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Keep their post-secondary* options open by applying to financial aid (application opens October 1)
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Identify a plan for post-secondary goals and activating that plan by applying.
Activating Your Plan:
Milestones for senior year:
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Develop and finalize a list of post-secondary choices.
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Apply to post-secondary programs or institutions.
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Prepare a financial plan and apply for financial aid.
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Complete all high school graduation requirements.
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Graduate!
Check out our Senior Success webpage for more resources
*Post-secondary options include: 2-year Colleges, 4-year Colleges & Universities, Apprenticeships, Career & Technical Colleges, Employment, Military/National Service. Explore some of these post-secondary options more.
Your Student should apply to at least three colleges, one from within each of these three categories:
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Reach - You might not get in, but it's worth applying because you really want to go.
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Solid - You're a competitive applicant and will likely be accepted.
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Safety - You'll definitely get accepted, and it's a backup in case the others don't work out.
Financial Aid
You and your child should complete and submit either the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) or the Washington Application for State Financial Aid (WASFA). Both applications open October 1. You should complete this step as soon as possible.
REMINDER: File the FAFSA (https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa) if your child is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Students who do not meet these eligibility requirements should file the WASFA (https://wsac.wa.gov/wasfa). If you are unsure, you can complete the WASFA Eligibility Questionnaire (https://wsac.wa.gov/WASFAelig) to help you determine which application to complete.
Students will be required to report income and tax information from an earlier tax year or prior-prior year. For example, on the 2023-24 FAFSA/WASFA, students—and their parent(s), as appropriate—will report their 2021 income and tax information. Because you will have already done your taxes by the time you fill out your FAFSA, you may be able to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT) to automatically import your tax information into your FAFSA. See more information at: https://studentaid.gov/resources#fafsa
Filing early is holding your child’s place in line for financial aid. The sooner you get in line, the likelier it is that you’ll be awarded aid. Filing early – before your taxes are complete – helps ensure that your child has access to as much financial aid funds as is possible. Students need to file for financial aid every year they are in college. Confused? Get help and stop by your College Career Center and/or your School Counselor!
Things you can do as a parent/guardian:
Senior Student Checklist
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Complete all HSBP tasks!
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Meet with your counselor to make sure you are on track to graduate and/or review your Senior Status Letter.
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Research the admission and the financial aid offices at the colleges you are interested in attending. What are the admissions requirements? When are the deadlines? Are there fees? What forms do the financial aid offices require?
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Register for the October/November SAT, ACT, and SAT Subject Tests™ if needed for the colleges you are applying to.
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Prepare and submit your applications on time if you want to apply for early action or early admission.
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Ask your teachers/mentors to begin writing recommendation letters. Also, keep copies of all forms you mail.
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Work with your registrar to get your official transcript to each college.
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Submit your FAFSA or WASFA as soon as possible after December.
Family Checklist
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Sign up for the Scoop eNewsletter(s) if you are not already receiving it. Receive alerts of upcoming events and college and career resources directly to your inbox!
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Help your child get organized. Create a calendar with your child. This should include application deadlines and other important dates.
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Help your child decide about applying early. If your senior is set on going to a certain college, he or she should think about whether applying early is a good option. Now is the time to decide because early applications are usually due in November.
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Attend school and district events/opportunities to help your student complete college applications and/or financial aid.
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Work together to apply for financial aid. The earlier you apply, the better.
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Learn about college loan options together. Borrowing money for college can be a smart choice — especially if your high schooler gets a low-interest federal loan. Be cautious; learn about loan options and a parent's role in borrowing money.
11th Grade
Post-secondary options exploration & financing your future
Related to HSBP, 11th grade students should:
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Continue to cultivate a positive attitude towards work and learning and their self-confidence
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Cultivate creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration (21st Century Skills)
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Understand financial aid and the difference between aid that is free and aid that isn’t free
Know that post-secondary options include 2 and 4 year colleges, apprenticeships, military, employment, and career & technical colleges. Students should be able to identify a post-secondary goal and/or pathways of interest.
Post-secondary Options
Did you know that 70% of all jobs in Washington require some form of education after high school? Students have many pathway options after high school. Some of these involve continuing education and training. Post-secondary options include: 2-year Colleges, 4-year Colleges & Universities, Apprenticeships, Career & Technical Colleges, Employment, Military/National Service. Explore some of these post-secondary options more.
College Affordability
What is Real? Is what we think about life after graduation true or false?
Myth: The cost of college is so high it’s not even an option anymore.
Reality: Washington has ranked first in the nation in the level of need-based financial aid per undergraduate enrollments for the last three academic years.
Cost doesn't have to be a barrier to attending college. There is money available to help. You and your family will learn more details about financial aid this year. If this process if new for you, be sure to read resources, attend information sessions and reach out to your school counselor and/or college & career center.
Things you can do as a parent/guardian:
Family Discussion Ideas
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Find time to discuss how you each feel about a student’s post-secondary goals and planning process.
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Ask and discuss ways you can support their research, preparation and planning. This might be taking more of a listening role to hear how they are feeling or more of an active role with helping your student discuss tangible next steps.
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Review the 5 Questions Students Must Ask resource and discuss
Questions to ask your student:
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As you consider your future, what types of options after high school have you already explored (e.g., two-year college, four year college, certificates, trades, internships)?
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What concerns or questions came up for you as you explored?
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To achieve your career goals, how long are you willing to go to college or other type of training?
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What does success mean to you when it comes to a career?
Family Checklist
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Determine if your student is a College Bound Scholar. If so, review eligibility requirements and the pledge.
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Review Washington State financial aid resources. These include financial aid that is need AND merit based and Estimate your award with the financial aid calculator. There are many sources of money and kinds of aid available to continue your education—the only way to know for sure if you qualify is to complete a financial aid application.
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Encourage your student to meet with their school counselor and/or college & career access specialist. Have your student schedule a meeting to talk about career, college options and goals.
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Make a plan to for summer. This may include extracurricular activities, compiling a scholarship list (resources available in Naviance), reviewing/finalizing a college applications list, and gathering documents to apply for financial aid.
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Sign up for the Scoop eNewsletter(s) if you haven’t already. Receive alerts of upcoming events and college and career resources directly to your inbox!
10th Grade
Exploration: careers and course offerings
Related to HSBP, 10th grade students should:
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Continue to cultivate a positive attitude towards work and learning and their self-confidence
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Explore and reflect on values, interests as it relates to careers and world of work and foster habit of setting (and reflecting on) career goals
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Cultivate creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration (21st Century Skills)
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Understand opportunities to earn college credit in high school (Dual Credit) and program/course options for 11th and 12th graders in HPS
College Credit while in High School
There are many opportunities for students to earn college credit while in high school. This is called dual credit. Dual credit programs give students the opportunity to earn high school and college credit at the same time. There are two ways to earn dual credit:
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Exam-based: Students take an exam (such as Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate) and apply to receive college credit with a certain minimum score.
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Course-based: Students enroll in a class that has potential to earn both types of credit. These classes can be offered at the college (such as Running Start) or at the high school (such as College in the High School and Career Technical Education [CTE]). In these courses students are eligible to receive credit if they pass the class.
Things you can do as a parent/guardian:
Family Discussion Ideas
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Share your career/work experience. In what ways does/did your career/work reflect (or not) your values and interests?
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Share your hopes. What dreams do you have for your child 5-10 years after high school? What do you see as their strengths or traits that could help them succeed?
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Invite students to share their interest inventory results with you from Naviance. By the end of 10th grade, students should have completed:
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Career Cluster & Interest assessments
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Assessment to reveal their Strengths (StrengthsExplorer)
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Assessment to reflect on personal traits (AchieveWorks Personality)
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Family Checklist
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Discuss Dual Credit opportunities for your student and encourage your student to meet with their school counselor. Have your student schedule a meeting to talk about classes and program offerings that are aligned to your student’s academic and career interests and goals.
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Encourage goals setting & reflection. Encourage regular goal setting and interests and remind students it is okay to change their minds.
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Make a plan to regularly check in about school work. To find out about your child’s grades, assignments, and attendance, you can use ParentVue at least weekly to keep up with your student’s progress.
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Access Resources. Remind students to ask the College & Career Centers (and/or school counselors) about college and career programs students can participate in.
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Sign up for the Scoop eNewsletter(s) if you haven’t already. Receive alerts of upcoming events and college and career resources directly to your inbox!
9th Grade
Self Discovery & High School Transition
Related to HSBP, 9th grade students should:
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Continue to cultivate a positive attitude towards work and learning and their self-confidence
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Explore and reflect on values, interests as it relates to academic goals, careers and world of work. Foster habits of setting and reflecting on goals (academic, career, personal/social)
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Cultivate creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration
Ninth Grade Matters
Ninth grade is a key year for students both academically and socially. Freshman year is essential in deciding whether a student drops out or stays in school. The transition from middle school can be challenging –harder classes with higher stakes, new social pressures, changing friend groups, and a desire to assert independence and become their own person.
High school is a new environment with a lot more freedom and more homework. It is not uncommon to see a drop in grades. The possibility of developing bad habits such as skipping class can also grow especially if a student is struggling.
Three signs—attendance, behavior, and course performance—are believed to be the most accurate way to predict the likelihood to either quit school or complete it.
The biggest risk factor for failing ninth grade is the number of absences during the first 30 days. Missing more than ten percent is cause for concern. First-year high-school students are ‘on track’ if they earn at least five full year course credits, and have received no more than one F per semester. Students who fail more than one core class in their freshman year are more likely to drop out of high school without graduating.
How is your child doing? Supporting your teen through this important year is critical. Share ways to beat the beginning high school blues with your teen, like going to school (if you’re not in class, you can’t learn!), getting involved in school activities and clubs, asking for help if you need it, and having older students and adults serve as mentors
Things you can do as a parent/guardian:
Family Discussion Ideas
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Share your career/work experience. In what ways does/did your career/work reflect (or not) your values and interests?
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Share your hopes. What dreams do you have for your child 5-10 years after high school? What do you see as their strengths or traits that could help them succeed?
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Ask your student to imagine their life five years after you graduate from high school. What challenges do they want to solve? How does this relate to a career?
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Ask your student: Do your thoughts help or hurt your success? How?
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Ask your student: Is there anything you need to change about what you say to yourself? What?
Family Checklist
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Encourage your student to meet with their school counselor. Have your student schedule a meeting to talk about career, college options to make sure they are taking the most appropriate classes.
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Encourage goals setting & reflection. Encourage regular goal setting and interests and remind students it is okay to change their minds.
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Make a plan to regularly check in about school work. To find out about your child’s grades, assignments, and attendance, you can use ParentVue at least weekly to keep up with your student’s progress.
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Access Resources. Remind students to ask the College & Career Centers (and/or school counselors) about college and career programs students can participate in.
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Sign up for the Scoop eNewsletter(s) if you haven’t already. Receive alerts of upcoming events and college and career resources directly to your inbox!
8th Grade
Self Exploration and "trying on" post-secondary options
Related to HSBP, 8th grade students should:
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Grow & foster self-confidence in ability to succeed
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Begin to explore values as it relates to careers and world of work
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Understand that postsecondary education and lifelong learning are necessary for long-term success
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Participate in enrichment and extracurricular activities
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Identify career clusters of interest
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Be able to imagine themselves as a college student
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Cultivate creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration
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Practice critical thinking skills to make informed decisions (specifically about high school choice & course options)
Conversation Prompts:
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Tell me about a time you felt proud of something you accomplished at school in the last few months. How did you do it? (Ask student to be specific.)
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What else would you like to accomplish at school this year? Have you thought about how you are going to make this happen? Would you like to develop a plan?
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As you consider your career, what types of postsecondary training have you already explored? What concerns or questions came up for you as you explored?
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To achieve your career goals, how long are you willing to go to college?
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What does success mean to you when it comes to a career?
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What do you want your lifestyle to be like after high school?
Skills for Success
Students who succeed in school aren’t just good at memorizing facts or reading quickly. Research shows that “non-cognitive skills” or “soft skills” things like perseverance (determination) and self-regulation (self-control) might be just as important in helping students in the classroom and in the real world.
These skills include:
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Resilience: The ability to recover from setbacks and cope well with stress.
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Grit: Perseverance and passion for challenging long-term goals.
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Conscientiousness: A tendency to be organized, self-controlled, hardworking, responsible, and willing to delay gratification.
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Creativity: Curiosity, open-mindedness, and the ability to come up with new ideas.
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Focus: The ability to zero in on one thing at a time, tune out distractions, and avoid multitasking.
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Self-regulation: An awareness of what matters and the self-control to avoid temptations and see a task through.
These traits are especially important when a student goes to college and then enters a career. Time management and attendance are essential. Good communication skills are crucial to deal with difficult roommates or to ask for help. You can help your teen develop these traits by setting goals, sharing expectations and encouraging persistence.
Are you thinking about High School?
Highline Public Schools is a neighborhood school district, which means that you typically attend a school based on your where you live. There are exceptions to this, but it does take a little extra effort from you and your family. Now is the time to begin thinking and reflecting on what you would like to experience during high school. Applications for choice schools will happen in January and you can expect to hear about it from your School Counselor and Advisory Teacher later in on in the year.
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Find your neighborhood school based on your address HERE and typing in your address. What high school are you zoned for?
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Watch last year's CollegeCON workshop for 8th graders, "Choice High Schools" HERE. This workshop will help you learn about what each of the neighborhood schools and choice schools offer. It will offer you some time to reflect on school fit and prepare for applications opening in January.
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Learn about earning College Credit while in High School: There are many opportunities for students to earn college credit while in high school. This is called dual credit. Dual credit programs give students the opportunity to earn high school and college credit at the same time.
Things you can do as a parent/guardian:
Family Discussion Ideas
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Share your story. How did you decide what you would do after high school? What did you appreciate about your process? What would you have liked to be different?
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Talk about goals and aspirations. What dreams do you have for your child? What do you see as their strengths?
Learn about a growth mindset and the power of belief. Watch this TED talk: Eduardo Briceno, TEDxManhattanBeach
Family Checklist
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Learn more about the soft skills and growth mindset and how you can help.
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Help your child set goals for academic and personal interests. Start by setting goals for personal interests (in sports, extracurricular activities, etc.), and then help set ones for academic achievements. Ask your teen to envision both the benefits and the obstacles in achieving each goal.
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Provide challenge and support. Push your child to do his or her best but make sure you offer encouragement and help as needed.
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Encourage your teen to think about taking challenging classes next year in high school. Ask about homework, tests, and other assignments to stay connected with what is going on in school. Learn about dual credit and high school choice options by attending informational events together.
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Find out if your child is eligible for the College Bound Scholarship. If so, talk about what that can mean for your family. More information available in English, Arabic, Chinese, Dari/Farsi, Korean, Marshallese, Pashto, Punjabi, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
7th Grade
Self Exploration and "trying on" careers
Related to HSBP, 7th grade students should:
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Continue to cultivate a positive attitude towards work and learning
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Begin to explore values as it relates to careers and world of work
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Understand how habits lead to success
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Identify career clusters of interest
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Explore/”try on” different careers
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Cultivate creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration
Conversation Prompts:
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If you could learn about anything, what topic would you want to learn about and why?
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If you could create a new class at our school, what would it be?
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How do you think you will use what you are learning in our school when you begin a career?
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Think about going to school and having a career. Are they the same thing? Are they different, and if so, how?
- Full questions
Middle school is a time of emotional, physical, social and academic changes. Your child is learning and developing skills that will make it easier to adjust to the challenges of high school and beyond.
Research shows that teens do better in school when their families are involved in their lives in and out of school. Here are some things you can consider if your student…
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Has good study habits?
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Reads what is necessary to complete an assignment?
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Hands in assignments on time?
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Prepares ahead of time for assignments and tests instead of cramming at the last minute?
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Has the resources needed to complete assignments or knows where to find what is needed? If not, ask a teacher or counselor for help.
Things you can do as a parent/guardian:
Family Discussion Ideas
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Share your story. How did you decide what you would do after high school? What did you appreciate about your process? What would you have liked to be different?
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Talk about goals and aspirations. What dreams do you have for your child? What do you see as their strengths?
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Invite students to share their interest inventory results with you. If they have not done this yet, try CareerOneStop.org for:
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Interest assessment
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Skills assessment
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Values assessment
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Family Checklist
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Talk about extracurricular activities. Getting involved in clubs and other groups is a great way for your child to identify interests and feel more engaged in school.
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Explore options. Suggest making a list of interests, talents and favorite activities and start matching them with occupations.
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Identify Career Options. Talk about different jobs you see while you are out and about; when you see a construction site, go to the pharmacy, library, a play, etc.
- Encourage reflection. Encourage your student to keep a journal to collect their experiences and learnings as they think about their future and to support with writing essays for scholarships, college applications and cover letters.
6th Grade
Middle School Transition
Related to HSBP, 6th grade students should:
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Grow & foster self-confidence in ability to succeed
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Begin to explore values as it relates to academic goals
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Grow in self-awareness, regulate emotions
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Cultivate creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration
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Practice critical thinking skills to make informed decisions
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Begin to differentiate their own views
Conversation Prompts:
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Tell me about a time you felt proud of something you accomplished at school in the last few months. How did you do it? (Ask student to be specific.)
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What else would you like to accomplish at school this year? Have you thought about how you are going to make this happen? Would you like to develop a plan?
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How can our family support you this year?
Is it True?
MYTH: Teens value the opinions of their peers, so parents cannot influence them.
REALITY: Families have a strong influence in their child’s planning and decision-making for high school and beyond. Families can influence their child by setting high expectations and through encouragement and motivation.
For example, when families show that they believe their children are capable of high achievement, their children are more likely to set high goals, work hard, and persist in the face of challenges. When families place a strong value on learning and hard work, children are more likely to be successful.
Things you can do as a parent/guardian:
Family Discussion Ideas
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Talk about goals and aspirations. What dreams do you have for your child? What do you see as their strengths?
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Create a career genogram together: Activity link. Some questions include:
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What influence family members’ career decisions?
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Who influenced their career decisions?
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What age did they decide on their career choice?
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What type of education was needed for each family member’s occupation?
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What factors affected the educational attainment of each family member?
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Family Checklist
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Learn more about the differences between middle school and elementary school. Identify who to contact at the school with questions or concerns about your student (this could be their advisor, school counselor, etc.)
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Provide challenge and support. Push your child to do his or her best but make sure you offer encouragement and help as needed.
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Attend the school family events
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Get to know your student’s friends and their families
PDF Handouts:
For easy printing, please see PDF handouts: