Move from Good to Great with Collaboration to Ensure College and Career Readiness Across Your Community
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:
- Participants learned the importance of collaboration among school counseling departments and college access programs and how these partnerships can help to improve student success.
- Participants expanded their toolkit of collaboration techniques to increase access to postsecondary education in disadvantaged areas.
- 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 
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 
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.