Kids Kollege
Kids Kollege2 students head to class at Lamar State College Orange for career explorations. The Generation Texas t-shirts are part of an initiative by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to encourage students to continue their studies after high school and become career certified.
Kids Kollege2 Photo Gallery
More Kids Kollege Videos on Flickr.com
Kids Kollege2 was held May 19, 2011 at Lamar State College – Orange. This video was from the first Kids Kollege. We will be posting more videos and pictures from the second Kids Kollege in the coming days.
Kids Kollege2 was a day of fun and career explorations fo 360 7th and 8th graders in the Golden Triangle. A total of 14 Junior High and Middle schools participated in the event. Classes were given by instructors from local colleges.
Course descriptions for Kids Kollege 2 (click)
Each class is taught by college or university faculty partnering with business experts. Some additions to the program for KK2 include
- Having more info on the skills and education needed for the careers, including career paths and of high school and college course plans.
- Having presentation materials students can share with their classmates.
Students chose three classes on their enrollment form and our enrollment committee tried to get them in those classes, if possible.
Each Kids Kollege student get to experience what it is like to be on a college campus with lunch provided. Each student attending received a free Generation Texas t-shirt. (see the http://GenTX.org web site).
Our goal at Kids Kollege is to leave students with a four-part message:
- A college campus is a fun place to be. Forget how scary many people make it sound.
- The exciting careers you experience in Kids Kollege can be yours.
- However, you have to go to college to qualify for these careers.
- Lastly, you won’t make it into college without studying hard now in the 7th and 8th grade and taking demanding classes
Students using a multi-meter, testing voltage after completing a circuit with an LED light, resistor and batteries.
What’s the connection between Generation TX (GenTx.org) and Kids Kollege?
The Southeast Texas P-16 Partnership has signed on to a new and exciting part of the Closing the Gaps initiative for the State of Texas. 
A large part of Closing the Gaps and getting more students into college and finishing degrees, is to break down cultural barriers and information barriers students face.
These barriers include
- Adults not having setting expectations for students to continue their studies after high school.
- Students not having access to information they need to make college decisions.
- Students having to find out on their own what kinds of plans they need to make to attend college.
- Student and parents not understanding the importance of continuing education after high school.
- Students not having robust support networks among their peers so they can learn from other students.
- and many more
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) has added another tools to its Closing the Gaps tool chest: Generation TX. THECB hired MilkShake Media ( the ones who did the Lance Armstrong “Live Strong” campaign) to come up with this campaign and web site that students can join in and share among themselves and education experts. GenTx.org will become the prime site for all information about going to college in Texas. In just its first couple of months it has gained a quick following and information resources are flowing in ( and information flowing out into the minds of students who can use it).
The Southeast Texas P-16 Council has started co-branding all of its projects with the GenTX logo to show our support and involvement. We hope you will join in this effort and help our students raise their goals in education and in life. Stay tuned to this web site to learn how your organization can co-brand with Generation TX.
From the past –
Information from the first Kids Kollege (held Dec. 4, 2010)
- Kids Kollege brochure
- Kids Kollege schedule (Dec. 4) and course descriptions
- Kids Kollege schedule in Spanish
Kids Kollege in the News:
(Spanish Version)
Kids Kollege frequently asked questions ( for the December 2010 event)
What is Kids Kollege?
Kids Kollege is project of the Southeast Texas P-16 Council and many partners. The project gives 7th and 8th grade students experiential exposure to careers in the Golden Triangle. The first one-day session was Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010 at Lamar University and Lamar Institute of Technology, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Participating institutions were Lamar State College Orange, Lama State College Port Arthur, Lamar Institute of Technology and Lamar University
Will there be another Kids Kollege event?
Our team is working to decided that now. Questions that need to be answered are:
- Who — what age of students? Do we select on grades, at-risk status, etc?
- What — what careers should we focus on?
- When — how do we fit it into a busy schedule in the K-12 schools?
- Where — Do we do it at different locations to make it easier for other schools and the colleges to participate?
- How — how do we best get the message out to the students? How do we best introduce students to careers and show them that study is important?
What did students learn?
Kids Kollege is designed to give students an appreciation of careers by hands on demonstrations and activities the day of the event as well has enrichment activities in the classroom for two weeks before the event. The program
- Shows a connection between the core curriculum (reading, writing, math, science) that students learn in school and how it is necessary for the career.
- Shows students that career preparation is necessary to get good jobs. We aim to push hard the idea that post-secondary education (college,university, military training, Union Apprenticeship etc) is vital to landing a job that will provide a good quality of life. The careers they experiencee at Kids Kollege require study after high school.
- Introduces children to the college campus. We want to make them feel comfortable in a college setting.
- Shows students that the decision they make in the 7th and 8th grade as to the courses they take, and how hard they study, make a big impact on their future. Those decisions impact how prepared they will be for college and a career.
We know the enthusiasm our college and industry experts have for their careers rubs off on the students — something that will make the students’career goals more attainable.
What did it cost?
Nothing. A grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and donations of time, money, and effort from our industry, education and community partners, all made this possible.
Why hasn’t this been done before?
It has. There are many efforts throughout the Golden Triangle to introduce students to careers. However, we sensed a growing need. The new AchieveTexas program (http://AchieveTexas.org) that is being implemented in all public schools this year as a career awareness program is an example of that. Businesses, also, have seen a growing need to “fertilize the forest” by fostering awareness of the careers and opportunities they offer.
There is a greater focus in the high schools, colleges and universities that the purpose of education is a high skilled, career-ready workforce.
We are cooperating with many of the other career awareness efforts in the region. All of these efforts have one main goal – to get students to study harder with more enthusiasm for their studies and set their career goals higher.
How do I get my child enrolled?
Our team is busy now drafting the rules for enrollment. The first session on Dec. 4 will be highly targeted to at-risk students who have shown promise. Check with your principal to express interest for yours student.
Will there be other sessions?
Everyone on the team expects that to happen. However, we are putting all of our focus on making this first event successful. There is a lot more legwork that has to be done for the first event vs later events. One example is developing the curriculum and classroom enrichment activities. Also, we have to meet with all the schools to get buy-in.
Why are you targeting 7th and 8th graders?
Because that is the age when they have to start making their Texas Achievement Plan(TAP) The AchieveTexas program requires a TAP for each student. In the plan, the student with the help of counselors, lays out the career cluster he/she wants to target and maps out the courses they will take in high school and their study plans after high school. Decision made at this early point in their studies can have big impacts later.
In addition, having a firm career goal gives a student the opportunity to seek outside-the-classroom resources to further his/her career preparation such as attending trade shows, reading books, magazines and web sites on that career.
How do I get more information?
Check back with this page on our web site (http://setxP16.org/kids-kollege) we will be updating it frequently.
Call us at 409-880-7639 or email sbuser@setxP16.org
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