Southeast Texas P-16 Council

The Kids Kollege committee set some firm deadlines this week to assure the Dec. 4 student event happens.

The committee also setup fiveworking committees

• Enrollment Chair – Karen Newton
• Partner Enlistment Chair – Todd A. Senters
• Curriculum and Enrichment Chair – Bertie Standley
• Publicity Chair – Kim McMurray
• Logistics and facilities Chair – Brenda Mott

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 is set for Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010 at Lamar University and Lamar Institute of Technology. Exact times have yet to be decided.

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 aims to

• Show a connection between the core curriculum (reading, writing, math, science) that students learn in school and how it is necessary for the career.
• Show 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 will experience at Kids Kollege require study after high school.
• Introduce children to the college campus. We hope to make them feel comfortable in a college setting.
• Show them that the decision they make in the 7th and 8th grade as to what 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.

The committees will now begin work on lining up business experts to present the career classes.  It is also working to get school committee to the project and bring in other non-profit agencies that support education.

Initial support for thee program is from a grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

For more information, check back with our web site frequently.  Email us at sbuser@setxP16.org or call the Southeast Texas P-16 Council at 409-880-7639

The Texas Education Agency, in conjunction with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, is launching a pilot program this month that will help high school students manage the complex college selection and application process.
Approximately 20,000 to 30,000 high school students, drawn from all regions of the state, will participate in the Online College Preparation Assistance Pilot Program.
The pilot program will provide free college and career preparation tools for students and families in Texas in a single online resource. Counselors, teachers, and administrators will also benefit from using the program. As a result of this pilot, information to assist students in preparing for college, currently available from a variety of sources, will be brought together in one easily accessible place.
This resource uses state-of-the-art technology and individualized student information to help students stay on track to graduate, simplifies the college search, application, and selection process and allows students to take the steps necessary to successfully transition to other types of career training or directly to a career.

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