Superintendent Message
November 2009
Happy November!
For the past several weekends, I have raked leaves....OK, A LOT of leaves! :) I have used this time to reflect upon some EHS seniors who have asked me to write letters of recommendation for their college applications. I want so badly to craft a message that will be meaningful for the student and stand out when the college evaluators read the letter.
We have many transitions in our school system for students (and parents!). I have heard from several families that the first day of kindergarten is a very emotional one. Parents share how much they will miss not having their child at home all day. There's another transition as students move from elementary school into middle school. Many parents fear these years as they are full of emotional and physical changes. Another transition occurs as students move into our high school. Independence arrives as students begin driving themselves to school and activities. Yikes!
After high school transition used to begin in the middle of a student's senior year or for some in the summer after graduation! As a school system, we are attempting to provide increasing opportunities for the post high school conversation to occur throughout high school and even in middle school. For the past couple of years, we have invited EHS students returning from colleges, technical schools and the military to come for a luncheon during winter break to share information with students. This year we will be hosting this luncheon on Tuesday, December 29th in our EHS library from 12:00 - 1:00. All high school and middle school students and families are welcome to come and listen to our former students share their journeys. This fall, our high school hosted a beyond high school fair featuring booths from colleges, technical schools and the military. Our EHS commons was packed!
Britt and I are working with our daughter Anna on her applications for transition beyond EHS. Here are a few things that we have found helpful in preparing her to make an informed decision about her future:
- Make visitations to college campuses and technical schools. Like reading to your child, I don't think it is ever too early to start. Make a day trip to walk around a campus, go to their bookstore and have lunch in their student union center.
- Conduct web searches on schools and/or military organizations and search their offerings, degrees and certifications. Often you are able to put your child's name on a mailing list.
- Find out any prerequisites that your child will need in order to be accepted into a school or the military. What entrance tests need to be taken? Are their certain course requirements (for example: number of years of a foreign language)? Some of these decisions need to occur far before a senior year.
- If you are looking outside the state of Washington, make a contact with the school's or military's regional representative. Make sure they have contact information about your child.
- Often, to be considered for academic scholarships, a student must apply early in his/her senior year. Deadlines vary with schools, but usually fall in November.
- If you are applying for college, explore what the "common application" looks like. More and more universities are using this single application form that can be easily looked at by our underclassmen so they can see what is being asked.
Our desire is that all of our students find incredible success upon leaving our system. We will continue to seek ways to connect students and families with opportunities to learn what is available after Enumclaw High School!
In partnership with you,
Mike