Middle/High School to College
For seven years, the Foundation funded visits to surrounding colleges and universities. This successful activity continues to thrive at the school and is one of the highlights of the school year. Through the Technology program, our students complete a personal survey that matches their interests to career possibilities. This information is then used to help create a program of studies for each student as they advance their education toward their chosen career field.
Through funding from the Foundation, the school was able to get this program running. Middle schoolers visit local colleges, and the High School students chose from: Boston University, Emerson College, Gordon College, Northeastern University, Salem State College, Suffolk University, Tufts University and Wentworth Institute of Technology. Students attend information sessions and go on campus tours. This program, although no longer financed by the EFR, continues to be a success in both the Middle and High School.
The Middle School students visiting surrounding colleges and universities. Through funds provided by the Educational Foundation and the enthusiastic support of the seventh grade team, this activity continues to thrive and is one of the highlights for our middle schoolers.
The kick-off to our program occurs within Jeff Richard’s Technology curriculum. Production of a power-point project begins with the students doing an interest inventory, which matches up their interests to career clusters and to subjects in high school and college that will be needed to prepare for various jobs. This exercise is followed up in the spring by our own “mini college fair”. Students were divided into 5 groups and visit 5 classrooms for brief presentations of local colleges, (Endicott, Gordon, Northeastern, and Tufts) as well as a presentation on “College Basics 101”. Following this two-hour exercise the students return to write an essay on the college they would most like to visit and why? A brief questionnaire accompanies this essay w/questions about size of school, academic areas of interest, extra-curricular interests and a ranking of 1-4 of their choices. Essays and questionnaires are reviewed by our local “admissions officer” and postings of the school’s acceptances are met with glee and in some cases disappointment.
Visits to the schools took place in the spring, with tours arranged through the institutions admissions offices. Former RHS students are contacted and meet with our students at the conclusion of the tours to discuss their experiences at RHS and in college and offer up advice as well as answer all questions.
Special thanks goes out to the grade seven staff, who continue to dedicate time and energy to this program, to the colleges and alumni that avail themselves to our students and share their facilities and experiences, and especially the Education Foundation's financial support.
David M. Curley