College Guidance Needs to Start in Middle School, Pelham Study Shows

Though the number of Pelham students getting into the most competitive universities has nearly doubled since 90s, the guidance department needs to implement more rigorous practices, a recent study revealed.

To keep the district’s graduation rate and college admission numbers on the rise, the Board of Education hired Charles Wilson, a former Pelham guidance counselor and superintendent, to assess the college guidance program’s data since 2004. Wilson studied everything from counselor-to-student ratios, to admissions rates, to the ways in which guidance counselors spend their days. While some of Wilson’s suggestions counter the message of “,” a wildly popular documentary that urges easing up on students, Wilson emphasized that the competition is only getting stiffer.

“It’s not the time to stand still,” Wilson admonished parents and faculty at Monday night’s Board of Education meeting. “These upward climbing trajectories, we want to support them. It’s going to be even harder with projected competition.”

The Figures

Though Pelham’s graduation and admission rates are heartening, according to Wilson, the fact remains that more students than ever are graduating from high school and are applying to college.

• The district boasts a 95 percent graduation rate—about 82 percent attend four-year colleges and 10 percent go to two-year or technical programs.

• Pelham’s guidance counselors devote 38 percent of their time to college planning, whereas the average public school counselor commits just 22 percent.

• 21 percent of students attend the “most competitive” universities, as ranked by Barron’s College Guide. This rate has steadily risen from 10.66 percent in the past decade.

• 3.29 million high schoolers will graduate this year, up 27 percent since 1990.

• Pelham will graduate 174 students on Saturday, but next year’s freshman class is slated to hit 230.

Best Guidance Practices

After assessing the strategies that have benefitted students and the gaps that need to be filled, Wilson shared a number of practices he would like to see implemented over the next few years in the district.

• Hire More Counselors: Pelham’s guidance counselors each shoulder a caseload of about 190 students, and will surpass 200 next year. An additional counselor would lower the student-to-teacher ratio and reduce distractions within the department.

• Develop Application Strategy: Instead of just applying to the “hot” schools, Wilson encourages students to consider universities that are of comparable stature, but don’t get quite as many applicants from Pelham. “You have to be very targeted and focused in your application,” Wilson said.

• Start Early: Though counselors start the college preparation process in ninth grade, Wilson thinks that the counseling should begin as early as middle school. “The process is so stressful, before you know it, you hear, ‘I didn’t know about the deadline, I didn’t know about the test,’” Wilson noted.

• Improve PSAT/SAT Prep: Wilson wants to see the PSAT preparation begin in the sophomore year. He also thinks that more students could benefit from taking the ACT, instead of the SAT exam.

• Schedule More Meetings: Parents currently meet with the college guidance counselors at least once, but Wilson would like to push the minimum up to two.

• Spice up Recommendation Letters: A Yale admissions officer counseled Pelham teachers in the past on the art of writing a recommendation letter and Wilson would like to reintroduce the workshop.

Tailoring General Education

In addition to improving the college guidance program, Wilson suggested ways in which more efficient preparation practices can be introduced to the classroom.

• Mandate Community Service: Wilson supports mandating community service in high school, a program the Board of Education is currently considering. “We are teaching a valid and important value, but frankly, it is in the self interest of students,” Wilson noted. “One of the things colleges look for is if they’re doing community service.”

• Write Essays in Class: Since having a “killer essay,” is key, according to Wilson, he would like to see English teachers get more involved with that piece of the application process.

• Lower National Honors Society Requirement: Wilson suggested looking into lowering the National Honors Society GPA requirement, so that it is consistent with other, neighboring schools.