College Readiness Experience

            During the past two weeks, a group of amazing students embarked upon our inaugural College Readiness program and it could not have turned out any better! On a daily basis, the group discussed topics that are common struggles and unknown territories during the transition to college or other post-secondary programs. Some of the areas that we covered included breaking down a syllabus, procrastination, note-taking strategies, conflict resolution, accommodations, and more.

Each topic was a blend of teacher and student driven learning, where discussion began with a broad definition of the focus, followed by a more detail-driven discussion steered by the students and their questions. Students were engaged in a seminar style setting to simulate a post-secondary environment. Each lesson was performed in a 45 – 60 minute time period with a 10 minute break before the next lesson in order to practice the ability to quickly shift from one activity to the next. The stamina and participation performed by the students was outstanding. In fact, their discussions led to building strong relationships amongst each other, which are continuing outside of the program setting. The goal was for the students to have a sense of what is usually expected at the post secondary level, whatever that may be (college, gap year, etc.) but it also fostered camaraderie between the students that is so important for young adults. We cannot wait to see what next year’s group will bring!