Increasing College

Applications
Brandon Cun, Andrew German, Michael Duarte,
Alondra Villegas, Kaley In

Smarter Goal (Alondra)

Description/ Break Down of Smarter Goal:
-

Increase the percentage of seniors applying for college.

This process would begin in the 11th grade. Here we want to increase students, who
are going from 11th to 12th grade, to apply to colleges.
Familiarize the students with the college application process through workshops
- SAT, ACT, personal statements, etc.
implement a motivational guest speaker every 2 weeks to speak about the colleges
they come from
give surveys to students throughout entire program to evaluate point of interest and
subject matter
Keep track of previous application percentages to compare and apply to current target
group.

How it meets target population needs

- Knowledge?: teaching college data/ stats, teaching college app. process
- Behavior?: students feeling more confident and prepared about applying to colleges
through program

Smarter Goal Alignment to Point- of Service Quality Standards

(Alondra)
- Active and Engaged Learning
- How: we use participant feedback through surveys to adjust our material,
create opportunities for students to visit colleges, social alumni events to
create mentorship relationships

- Skill Building
- How: mastering how to apply gained knowledge into personal life decisions by
creating their own college presentation to share with peers and future
participants
- Ex: identifying which college and major is most applicable to them

- Youth Voice and Leadership

- How: allowing our participants to share their interests in a safe environment
gives them a voice to practice leadership, especially for our first generation
students

LEADERSHIP Competencies (kaley)

A.

2 Competencies:
a.

Has a working knowledge of and abilities to use resources within the broader community.
i.

Finds the resources to expand the array of opportunities within the program. Enlists the involvement of
multiple stakeholders (e.g., parents, community leaders, school leaders, etc.) in program design,
implementation and evaluation. (Mott 2009, pg.13)

1.

b.

In order for us to achieve the goal of increasing the number of college applicants parents, community
leaders, and school leaders must be involved. Without the active support of these main sources of
information, students would literally be lost.The knowledge that community and school leaders could
provide for first generation college applicants could be a huge step in accomplishing our goal.

Ability to design program activities that support program goals and incorporate needs and
interests of program participants, their families and the broader community.
i.

Articulates the link between specific activities and program goals. Articulates a clear scope and sequence of
activities that will contribute to the achievement of program goals. (Mott 2009, pg.13)
1.

Many students are unaware of the many local college prep classes and workshops which will prepare
them for tests like the PSAT, SAT, and ACT which will help towards the application. Personal statement
revision workshops will also lead to an easier time when the actual application time comes.

LEADERSHIP competencies cont. (kaley)

Critical thinking:
A. Young people, especially from low-income and historically underrepresented
backgrounds or who may be the first generation to attend college, disproportionately
lack access to the critical supports and services that help prepare them for college
admission and success.
B. Many afterschool and summer learning programs expose youth to the importance of
college by taking them on visits to college campuses, working with students by
providing assistance in the college application process, helping families navigate the
financial assistance jungle, and providing encouragement and support to students
who do not see themselves as college material.
a.

Research involving immigrant students, indicates that OST programs can help these students
develop the social and cultural skills and knowledge they need to thrive in the U.S (Maxwell-Jolly
2011, pg. 1)

b.

Overall, the evidence suggests that participation in ASPs can positively affect the academic,
social-emotional, and physical well-being of young people, including long-term educational
attainment and occupational success. (Mahoney 2010, pg. 89)

STAFF Competencies (Brandons)

A. Ability to relate to and work well with diverse children and youth (Mott, 2009, pg.7)
i.

Demonstrates knowledge of what is going on in participants lives,

neighborhoods and schools.

ii.

Staff need to know how to work well with diverse students because a lot of the kids will
come from a mixed background. The program will take place in high school, which has a
lot of students who come from different cultures and income areas. Having the ability to
help the students understand that college can change their lives is crucial to this program.
To do that staff must connect with these students on a personal level that is beyond
school, staff must know where the students come from. Our goal is to make sure more
students are applying for college so being able to build multiple relationships with multiple
students is a factor in making this successful

a. Commitment to ones own learning, skill building and professionalism on the job
(Mott, 2009, pg.10)
i.

Is open to new ideas and learning opportunities.

ii.

Staff need to be willing to be open with all students. Open as in willing to learn and

STAFF Competencies Cont. (Brandons)

A. Critical Thinking
a. Parents were very satisfied with the programs both in terms of positive changes in
their childrens behaviors and attitudes, and in general program functioning. They
felt that the staff cared about and respected their children. They also reported that
afterschool staff dealt with their childrens behavioral problems promptly. (Huang,
2011 , pg.6-7)
b.

Staff need to make sure that both the parents and the child feel that they belong at the
program. Having the ability to change a childs behavior is amazing and that will help raise the
students motivation to apply to college in our program. Along with that using the expectancy
value theory, we know that behavior is key role in a child success. Utilizing that and helping
those students who are have bad behavior and are not likely to apply to college will further
prove that our program is successful.

Quality PROGRAM Components (andrews

Activities
slide)Provided:
-

Bi-weekly guest speakers allows students to ask questions and receive feedback on
their progress.

Students can take surveys to request certain speakers from their college of interest

Visit several college campuses so students can experience through their own eyes
- Motivates them to want to attend a college, thus pushing them to apply

College prep workshops allow hands on experiences and practice.

Steps Taken:
1. Give daily SAT study guide problems to address areas students are struggling in
2. Meet up with the teachers so we can asses what criteria to give the students to
correlate with what they are learning in school

Quality PROGRAM Components cont.

Alignment wanted: Coordinated
-

Programs that maintain consistent communication and joint learning goals with schools we describe
as Coordinated. (Noam 131, 2003)

This type of alignment is wanted so our program staff can meet regularly with the teachers and be
informed on the material that is being given to our participants
-

Allows the students to work on the exact material needed to increase SAT which will influence
their hopes into getting accepted into college

Participation:
-

Staff will give incentives to each student who participates in weekly discussions
-

Ex: Free tutoring, field trips to college, SAT materials, and other scholarly resources.

Encourage student to mentor relationship so student will not be afraid of sharing their opinions
-

Barrier: Some students are not confident with their intelligence leaving them with a mindset
where they believe theres not point on applying to college

Ensuring student engagement:

1.

Eccles Expectancy Value Theory (Allan Wigfield 68, 2000)

a.

2.

Afterschool Program Quality and Student Outcomes: Reflections on Positive Key Findings on Learning and Development From Recent Research
(Deborah Lowe Vandell 4)
a.

3.

Creating a sense of connection between the two colliding factors makes sure kids are on top of their assignments. We can make sure kids are
actively engaged in and outside of our program.

Afterschool Outcome Measures Online Toolbox (Terry K. Peterson, PhD)

a.

5.

Having a positive student-staff relationships makes it feel more personal towards the student motivating them to participate

Our findings also suggest the possibility of aligning effective interventions during the school day with those occurring after school to maximize the
benefits for participating youth. http://www.expandinglearning.org/docs/Durlak&Weissberg_Final.pd
a.

4.

The progress of the students test scores sets of personal achievement making them feel motivated to apply for college.

The Afterschool Outcome Measures Online Toolbox can be used to improve student experiences (and student outcomes) (Terry K. Peterson
Page 4) By allowing the students to actively voice their opinions, the site is progressively increasing the involvement and self engagement.

School-Age PQA
a.

Active assessments and surveys ensure that staff quality is corresponding to the goals that are given in this program. Allowing for such feedback

Evaluation Tools for Measurement

(Michael)

How will you measure progress toward meeting your goal?

Since ongoing evaluation is vital to measure program

performance, internal evaluation will be conducted biweekly with various interview and survey responses
being reported as well as weekly notes being
documented.
We can consider our program successful if:
Students are more engaged with the college application process and
have developed a genuine interest in the idea of college
Students develop trust and friendship with staff members
Students have a better understanding of the college application process
and can take initiative in applying themselves
Overall growth in confidence and various skills: communication,

Evaluation Tools for Measurement

(Michael)

Identify 2 tools we learned about and explain what parts of them would be
aligned to your goal.

Lias Observation Tool

The LIAS learning principle: Meaningful
Since young people are personally motivated when they find the topic
meaningful, we felt that a students thoughts towards our program and feelings
towards the activities should be meaningful in the sense that they take
ownership in the topics learned, assess their progress, feel motivated because
they are given responsibility/leadership roles/opportunities to speak, etc.

Expectancy Value Theory

Individuals choice, persistence, and performance can be explained by their beliefs
about how well they will do on the activity, the probability of success, and the extent
to which they value the activity
This theory is key to attaining our goal. Since expectancy and value are KEY

Evaluation Tools for Measurement

(Michael)
Explain which of the following sort of changes those tools are measuring?
(which of the following could be measured with the LIAS? Knowledge?
Behavior/Skills? Attitudes?

LIAS and Expectancy Value Theory

The primary changes that these tools measure for determining the success of
our programs is the overall attitudes and attitude changes that occur with
these students in the program. We measure the level of engagement, the
participation levels, the critical thinking, etc. which all leads back to how their
attitude is toward the program. The correlation between a positive attitude
and engagement in all activities is significant in measuring the success.
The tools also are used to measure various skills and behavior in the program.
The program makes use of getting speakers, taking field trips, incentives to
answer questions in order to help students with their communication skills,
confidence levels, etc.

References
Eccles, Jacquelynne. "Who Am I And What Am I Going To Do With My Life? Personal And Collective Identities As Motivators Of
Action." Educational Psychologist 44.2 (2009): 78-89. ERIC. Web.
Huang, Denise, Ronald Dietel, and Standards, and Student Testing National Center for Research on Evaluation. "Making Afterschool
Programs Better. Policy Brief Number 11." National Center For Research On Evaluation, Standards, And Student Testing (CRESST)
(2011): ERIC.
California Department of Education After School Division and the California AfterSchool Network (September, 2014). A Crosswalk
between the quality standards for expanded learning and program quality assessment tools.
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation (2009). Core Competencies For Afterschool Educators.
http://www.afterschoolprofessional.info/images/Mott_CC_web (Links to an external site.).pdf
LIAS Observation Tool,
http://www.expandinglearning.org/docs/Durlak&Weissberg_Final.pd
http://acmd615.pbworks.com/f/ExpectancyValueTheory.pdf

References Cont.
Maxwell-Jolly, Julie Maxwell-Jolly.(Feb 2011). English Learners And Out-Of-School-Time Programs: The Potential of OST Programs to Foster
English Learner Success. Davis, CA
http://www.afterschoolnetwork.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/soe_research_brief_0.pdf (Links to an external site.)
Mahoney, J. L., Parente, M. E., & Zigler, E. F. (2009).
Afterschool programs in America: Origins, growth, popularity, and politics. Journal of Youth Development.
Noam, G. G. (2003), Learning with excitement: Bridging school and after-school worlds and project-based learning. New Directions for Youth
Development, 2003: 121138. Retrieved from: https://eee.uci.edu/15w/12320/syllabusandreadings/Noam_G+bridge.pdf

Vandell, D. (2013). Afterschool Program Quality and Student Outcomes: Reflections on Positive Key Findings on Learning and Develo
pment From Recent Research. (Links to an external site.)