Valley View Aims to Send More Kids to College

Submitted by Valley View School District:

In an effort to continue to increase the number of seniors who not only attend college, but also go on to obtain their degrees, Valley View School District 365U has embarked on a unified multi-year plan to educate students about the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in life.

Developed by the VVSD College and Career Readiness Committee, components of the plan will be launched this fall at every grade level.

“It’s exciting to be able to look at the data and see roughly two thirds of our students go to a two-year or four-year college right after they graduate from high school,” said Dorletta Payton, Director of College and Career Readiness for VVSD. “We want to widen the funnel to not only get more kids into college but also increase the number of kids who get their degrees and ultimately go into a career that can sustain them and their future families.”

Both VVSD high schools, in cooperation with the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), are in the final planning stages for information-filled college application nights in September that will help seniors and their parents understand, and actually begin, the college application process. The “College Admissions Process I” events will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10 at Bolingbrook High School and at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23 in the Romeoville High School Little Theatre. Parents and students may attend either session regardless of where they live.

Romeoville High School and ISAC will also host “College Admissions Process II” on Tuesday, Oct. 28 featuring more information on applications, interviews and financial aid.

Meanwhile, the entire month of October has been declared “College Application Month” in VVSD. While details on the month’s activities at every grade level are in the formative stages and won’t be released for several weeks, Payton gave a sneak peek at what’s in store for high school seniors.

“Our goal is to get each senior to fill out and submit at least one post- secondary application during October,” she said. “Or if they’re interested in the military, we want them to meet with one recruiter.”

Also on the 2014-15 school year schedule are FAFSA Completion Nights, evenings designed to help juniors and their parents start their college search, standardized testing seminars and what promises to be an amazing “College Declaration Day” celebration in May.

Plus, students at both the middle and elementary school levels will be involved in a variety of college awareness activities.

“This is really an opportunity to shine a light on college and career readiness,” Payton said. “Our goal is to make more students and parents are aware of the possibilities.”