Move from Good to Great with Collaboration to Ensure College and Career Readiness Across Your Community

Webinar

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Postsecondary education attainment rates among low-income, first generation, and students of color are comparatively low, and closing these educational attainment gaps can be especially difficult.  Students in rural areas and impoverished communities experience significant challenges that school counseling departments are combating with untraditional ways of working.   

Collaboration between school counseling departments and college access professionals creates alignment of programs to build meaningful college and career readiness across the community. 

This webinar examined the challenges faced by disadvantaged college bound students, explored the barriers and successes counselors and college access professionals share when working together, and showed how these professionals can support each other to create a comprehensive school counseling program. 

Learning Outcomes:
 

  1. Participants learned the importance of collaboration among school counseling departments and college access programs and how these partnerships can help to improve student success.
  2. Participants expanded their toolkit of collaboration techniques to increase access to postsecondary education in disadvantaged areas.
  3. Participants were asked to create a plan for expanding support within their own networks to provide college and career readiness for all.
Presenters

Katherine Pastor is the American School Counselor’s Association 2016 Image of Katherine Pastor National School Counselor of the Year. Katherine began serving as the Flagstaff High School counseling department chair in the 2008-2009 school year and was recognized as the 2010 Arizona School Counselor of the Year. Through a data-driven, comprehensive school counseling program, Katherine and her team have received both state and national recognition. She served the Arizona School Counselors Association (AzSCA) as a board member from 2007 to 2017. Her roles with AzSCA included the vice president for Secondary Counselors in 2008-2011 and conference director from 2012-2017. Before coming to FHS, Katherine worked at Northern Arizona University as a financial aid counselor and coordinator of student employment, and in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Athletic Department.

Katherine joined the American School Counselors Association (ASCA) board of directors in 2017 and is an adjunct faculty member at Northern Arizona University’s College of Education where she teaches the next generation of school counselors. She holds a bachelor of science in psychology and a masters of education in student affairs and school counseling from Northern Arizona University. Through the Arizona College Access Network, Katherine has become an Arizona College Access Professional (CAP). The Arizona CAP designation involves 60 hours of coursework, discussion and action planning in three areas: creating a college-going culture; college and career planning; and financial aid and college applications. 

Roxanne Dewyer served one year as an AmeriCorps volunteer with the Image of Roxanne Dewyer Northern Arizona College Resource Center (NACRC) in 2011, which opened her eyes to the issues and challenges that surround college access and sparked a passion for education. She then transitioned to become program manager at NACRC, housed at Northern Arizona University, where she works alongside students, families, educators and organizations throughout Northern Arizona to help all youth achieve their dreams of a postsecondary education. 

Roxanne also volunteers with LAUNCH, where she collaborates with community members to create a world-class education for youth in Flagstaff. She also serves as a board member of the College Success Arizona Advisory Council. Roxanne holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University.

Recorded on October 17, 2018