academic advising

"Educational leaders must be mindful of potential biases and how they contribute to narrow assessment policies and practices and, thus, create or maintain barriers for underrepresented groups."

Eminence-Focused Gifted Education: Concerns About Forward Movement Void of an Equity Vision, Gifted Child Quartely, Tarek Grantham, 2012

Academic Advising Conversation Starters

During academic advising in FCPS, school counselors meet individually with students to discuss their upcoming course selections. Counselors and students consider many data points during these conversations to provide depth to the discussion; they review achievement in previous coursework, progress in their current classes, standardized test scores, FCPS Young Scholars data, graduation requirements, student interests, and their academic, career, and extracurricular goals. Classes are then selected based upon these individualized conversations. A primary goal of academic advising is to find the right balance of academically challenging courses while not overwhelming the student. The following conversation starters were created to support the academic advising process.

• Tell me about your interests in school (ex. favorite class, sports, activities, clubs).
• Tell me about your interests outside of school.
• Tell me about your aspirations and hopes.
• What prior life experiences have influenced your aspirations and hopes?
• What motivates you to put forth effort?
• What would you identify as your strengths/assets?
• What would you identify as your areas for growth?
• What strategies do you use to manage your time?
• How do you keep yourself organized?
• What do you do when challenges arise?
• Is there a subject or topic that you thoroughly enjoy?
• Which classes have you enjoyed the most this year? The least? Why?
• Have you considered taking any honors, AP, or IB courses next year?

College Success Program

The College Success Program (CSP) is comprised of four individual programs: Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), the College Partnership Program (CPP), the Early Identification Program (EIP) and the College Pathway Programs (Pathway Connection and Pathway to the Baccalaureate). These four programs work together to support students who are traditionally underrepresented on college campuses. Many, but not all, CSP students are the first in their family to attend college. These programs prepare students for the academic rigors of college coursework, help students navigate the college application process, and provide enrichment experiences to build resilience. Together, the programs promote college readiness by offering a variety of services that include: assistance with the college application process, field trips to college campuses, goal setting and career exploration, academic skill-building, and monitoring of academic performance.

See the CSP Flyer for information about the individual CSP programs, to determine which schools have specific CSP programs, and to learn about important application or enrollment deadlines. You can also follow College Success Program on Twitter @FCPS_CSP.