Sparkman program to aid communication between colleges, students, parents
Sparkman High School College and Career counselor Roger Hillis knows a good educational tool when he sees it.
Through a guidance counseling colleague at Randolph School, Hillis discovered Naviance, a premier Web-based planning and advising system for high schools. Hillis immediately went to Principal Manuel Wallace to inform him of the wonderful things this software could do for their school.
With around 1,700 students, Hillis feels this program can streamline the communication of important college and career information for the large student body.
"This is a communication vehicle that will allow us to communicate with both the student and parent as well as allow colleges to do the same," Hillis said.
Hillis says seniors are already using the communication portion of the program, and the program should be fully functional by November.
"We brought all the seniors into computer labs to complete their data. I sent an email asking the students to wear black and red for senior day just to see if everyone is checking their Naviance account. We had a good turnout," Hillis said.
Besides being used as a communication tool, the Workspace K12 portion of Naviance allows guidance counselors to manage course, college and career advising process and analyze data about student achievement and outcomes.
Students can make payments for transcripts and other school fees with Workspace K12 as well as make college visit appointments.
"This program is just a good way to streamline the guidance and college and career information. It gives parents and students options," Hillis said.
Hillis is especially proud of how Naviance can show Sparkman students where they compare with other students around the nation. As students apply for college, the program performs a dot graph showing how students compare to others who have applied for that same college.
"We are looking to raise our standards and letting students see how they compare to others is just one way of doing that," Hillis said.
Along with Naviance, Sparkman is focusing on college and career readiness by covering the cost for all sophomores to take the PSAT, a preparation for the SAT college entrance exam and the National Merit Scholarship test.
The school also held a college and career fair last week, drawing 29 colleges, including Duke University and Notre Dame University. Businesses like Adtran were also present.
A financial aid workshop will conclude the college and career fair. The workshop is set for Oct. 23 at 6 p.m. in the school's cafeteria.
