Section 1: Understanding our programs, tracks, and …

 Student Support PlaybookA toolkit for successful virtual student supportTable of ContentsInstructions: Click the blue link to access each section. TOC \h \u \z \n Section 1: Understanding our programs, tracks, and studentsOur ProgramsHow do students join our programs?What does their SM ID mean?What is required for them to be scholarship eligible?Section 2: Coach ExpectationsData ReportingSection 3: Student EngagementA Guide to Your First Call5-7 min: Send summary email to studentA Guide for All Calls (Except Your First)Unresponsive StudentsOpen-Ended Question ListSection 4: Milestones and Staying on TrackMilestones Help Guide Students toward CollegeScholarMatcher User GuideHigh Graduation Rate SchoolsSection 5: Additional SupportResourcesCommunity Building and SupportSection 1: Understanding our programs, tracks, and studentsOur ProgramsHow do students join our programs?What does their SM ID mean?-142874171450What is required for them to be scholarship eligible? Section 2: Coach ExpectationsCollege Coach Expectations Committed, not Expert, Engagement: College coaches are expected to provide consistent support by dedicating 1-3 hours per month for each student. We expect you to be present and responsive, but you are not expected to be the expert on every college or every aspect of this process. For students, being able to count on you is invaluable, and part of the process knowing that together you will?ask questions and find answers. If you don’t know something, it is perfectly ok to say, “I don’t know the answer, but I’ll find out”. ScholarMatch will be providing support for specific objectives along the way, so do not feel as though you are the singular source of information247650304800 Communication Regular communication is key to building strong relationships. Therefore, we encourage coaches to connect with their students at least twice monthly. Be open to using a variety of methods including but not limited to phone calls, text messaging, FaceTime and Google Hangouts.?Please inform us immediately if you are unable to keep your commitment to your student.?Additionally, let us know if you are having trouble contacting your student and staff will follow-up with them.190500152400DocumentationIn order to evaluate our program’s impact and areas for improvements, ScholarMatch and CollegePoint must regularly collect essential data such as college application list, acceptance outcomes, and frequency of coach-student communication. Coaches will be tasked with reporting this data using monthly coach reports.1333501304925247650228600Appropriate ContentAt ScholarMatch, our rule of thumb is if you can’t talk about it in front of a student’s grandmother, then you shouldn’t talk about it with your student. Only discuss sensitive topics when it relates directly to the work you two are doing tied to college access. Additionally, we expect that you will not solicit students for any services you provide privately, such as for-profit college or career consulting.2857501200150Privacy & SafetyIt is important that every ScholarMatch student feels that their privacy is respected. Please do not discuss personal information about our students with anyone else.If you ever feel uncomfortable in a situation with a student, reach out to a ScholarMatch staff member immediately.Data ReportingWe rely on all coaches to help us gather information on pivotal college application milestones. We use this data to better understand trends in student outcomes and improve our program to best serve students overall. It’s also crucial that we’re able to share accurate and thorough data about coach and student interactions with our partners at CollegePoint. This guide outlines the methods we use to collect data.College coaches are required to track progress with their students using the following methods:Monthly Coach Reports: On the first of every month, you are required to complete a brief, 5-minute Coach Report reporting on the previous month’s progress. It is imperative that you submit these reports on time, even if you are unsure of the answers (you can always note that you do not yet know an answer).?You will also use the form to indicate if your student has gone unresponsive. We will follow-up with all coaches who fail to submit their coach reports. We will email you the link each month with a friendly reminder to complete it, as well as include it on the coach resource page.Milestone Completion: All students are encouraged to complete the College Ready Milestones regardless of their program track. This will be the main way we track their college application progress. Students in our Kayne Destination College Program, San Francisco Program, or CollegePoint women identified students in Texas or Massachusetts are eligible to apply for The Scholars Program once they complete the Milestones. Section 3: Student EngagementA Guide to Your First Call1166688In your first coaching session, the objective is to begin building your relationship and to ensure that your student understands what to expect from our program throughout the year. Use this guide to structure your introductory call. Expected time: 45-60 minutes 5 mins: Greeting/Set the stage5600700123825Warmly greet your student and introduce yourself as their ScholarMatch Virtual College Coach. Establish this first call as a time to get to know each other, learn where they are in the college process, review expectations for the year, and establish next steps.554355093345010 mins: Build relationship Share more details about yourself and your high school and/or college experiences. Consider including details about your career and/or personal interests. Ask 2-4 questions from our open-ended question list.15 mins: Gather informationThere will be variability in student progress in the college application process. Provide encouragement regardless of where your student falls on the spectrum. Ask probing questions to discern where he/she is at, including:How are they feeling about the college process overall? Stressed? Excited?Have they thought about which qualities are most important to them in a college? Have they started to build their college list or research schools? (what do they have so far?)What is their preferred college size? College setting (rural, city, suburban)What is their preferred distance from home?Have they started to draft their personal statement? What is it about?Have they thought about applying to any scholarships with deadlines in the summer/fall?Have they looked into any fly-in programs?Have they thought about what they want to study once in college?333384095755 mins: Review College Ready MilestonesLook over the College Ready Milestones and go over the importance of submitting completion forms for each as they will keep you on track and inform ScholarMatch on your progress. Scholarship eligible students must complete the first 10 in order to be invited to apply to our Scholars Program. 66676138113 5 mins: Action Items Discuss next steps and establish concrete action items for both the student and yourself with deadlines. 2 min :Wrap UpSchedule the next call. Close the session with a kind comment or reflection.5-7 min: Send summary email to studentSend a summary email to your student to recap the discussion, review what action items were agreed to, and confirm when the next meeting is scheduled.A Guide for All Calls (Except Your First)5 minGreetingWarmly greet your student. Try to build rapport and find commonalities. Ask open-ended questions about their interests and what is new in their life since you last spoke. Share about yourself and your interests. Refer to the open-ended question list if needed.5 minCheck-in on action itemsShare with the student any updates on action items assigned to you since the last call. Ask the student for an update on action items assigned to them since the last call. We recommend taking notes to make your Coach Reports detailed and so you’re able to follow up with the student in your summary email. 20 minNew contentCover relevant content for where the student is in the college application process. This could be following up on a topic that was started in a previous session (such as a second draft of an essay) or starting a new topic. Refer to Milestones for suggested content based on timeline.5 minAction items Discuss next steps and establish concrete action items for both the student and yourself with deadlines. 2 minWrap upSchedule the next call. Close the session with a kind comment or reflection on the call.Coach only:5 minSummary emailSend summary email to your student to recap the discussion, review what action items were agreed to, and confirm when the next meeting is scheduled.Unresponsive StudentsAnother helpful guide is our Unresponsive Student Guide! What occurs to their program status when they become unresponsive?Once you submit a coach report, whether you are interacting with your student or to let us know they have become unresponsive, a staff member reviews the submission. If the student is indicated as unresponsive, their profile is flagged and communication is sent out to the student to check-in. If after ScholarMatch nudging the student does not respond, they are switched to a “light-touch unengaged” status category (this means that they continue to receive our newsletter, resources and text reminders, but that you are no longer expected to submit monthly coach reports or continue trying to work with them unless they reach back out for help). We will also do everything we can to rematch you with another student, if this is possible and you remain interested in doing so.You are no longer required to submit a monthly coach report for them, but it would still be helpful to let them know you are still here if they need your support. If they were to reach back out we would then tag them back to active. If you are no longer able to coach them, please let us know and we will switch them to a new advisor. Open-Ended Question List Overview: Supplemental questions to use as needed to foster productive conversations. Use the following questions to foster productive conversations with your student, gain further insight into your student’s college process, and understand the best ways to offer support and guidance. We recommend that coaches use 1 or more of the following questions during every call.General Relationship Building:What kind of job would you like to have when you grow up? What is your favorite thing to do outside of school?If a friend or family member was to describe you in 3 words, which would they choose?What is your family like? How many siblings do you have?What is your hometown like?Who do you most look up to or admire?What is the farthest you have ever been from home?What is the best thing that happened to you since we last talked?Reflections on High School:What have been your favorite classes in high school? Why?What has been your favorite thing about high school?What has been your least favorite thing about high school?Who has supported you most at your high school?What extracurricular activities are you currently involved in?Reflections on College:What are your motivations for attending college?What are you most looking forward to about college?What are some of your fears as an incoming college freshman?What are you most interested in studying once you are in college?Describe what your ideal college campus would look like.What are you looking for in student life?If you were to tour the schools on your list, what are the things you would hope to see?What kinds of clubs or activities do you see yourself joining once in college?Do you plan to study abroad? Where would you most like to go?Section 4: Milestones and Staying on Track Milestones Help Guide Students toward College Students in our Kayne Destination College Program, San Francisco Program, or CollegePoint women identified students in Texas or Massachusetts must complete all milestones in order to apply for The Scholars Program. If you are coaching one of these students, it is important that you introduce them to the milestones and remind them to complete them throughout the year. Keep in mind, milestones 1-4 are completed by students prior to being matched or during their junior year. Students in our CollegePoint Program should also be aware of the milestones, as they can help guide students through the college process. There are also specific goals that help us track program data for the CollegePoint program and drive the mission of students enrolling in high graduation rate schools, which you will find below. We highly encourage you to work with your CollegePoint student in completing these goals. 5Revise and Finalize College ListUse your research to narrow down your college list; include safeties, targets, and reaches; check for financial fitSign up for college campus visits if possible GOAL: Student builds a list with 7-10 schools, including 4+ high graduation rate schools and 1+ EA/ED school Aprilthrough September6Draft and Revise EssaysOrganize what essays you need to write:Common ApplicationSupplemental essays for specific collegesState-specific application essaysCreate a timeline for brainstorming, outlining and drafting these essays. Allow multiple months for rounds of drafts and editing.GOAL: Student’s essays are revised at least 3 timesMay through August7Submit 8-10 ApplicationsOrganize deadlines for applicationsContact teachers for letters of recommendationContact schools about application fee waivers if applicableStart Common App and state-specific applicationsGOAL: Student applies to 7-10 schools, including 4+ high graduation rate schools and 1+ ED/EA schoolJune through November8Apply for Financial AidGather necessary financial and tax informationSend tax forms to the financial aid offices of colleges if requestedGOAL: Student completes FAFSA by 12/15 GOAL: Student completes CSS Profile, if required October, November, December9Apply to ScholarshipsSearch for scholarship opportunities Draft and refine scholarship essaysGOAL: Student applies to 2+ scholarshipsOngoing!10Compare Financial Aid OffersWrite appeal letter if you have been waitlistedReview and compare financial aid offersWrite appeal letter if financial aid of dream school is too lowGOAL: Student reviews and compares financial aid award letters March,April, May11Accept OfferReview Student Portal to complete all necessary steps (ie. immunizations, deposit)Accept loans/ complete entry loan counseling if applicable GOAL: Student familiarizes themselves with their institutions portal and makes necessary steps to enrollApril12Create A College Transition PlanDiscuss what is exciting/scary about the transitionCheck-in about how the family is feeling about the decisionCreate a plan for getting ready and transportation to schoolEncourage student to visit, connect with a current student, or participate in summer bridge programs (if offered)GOAL: Student enrolls and creates a transition plan for a high graduation rate school April, May, JuneScholarMatcher User Guide6286504391025 14811388896350ScholarMatcher FAQ: Click hereScholarMatcher tutorial: Click hereHigh Graduation Rate Schools19051419100What are High Graduation Rate Schools and why do we focus on them? The American Talent Initiative (ATI) highlights excellent colleges which have 6-year graduation rates of more than 70%. These institutions are what we refer to as High Grad Rate Schools, (sometimes referred to as “CollegePoint Schools”) and the outcome this college coaching program seeks to drive is for students to enroll in and attend one of these schools. The vast majority of these schools are also found on the ScholarMatcher, as these institutions not only have high graduation rates, but also excel in other areas of student support. Select the “High Graduation Rate” checkbox under the “School Characteristics” filter on the ScholarMatcher schools to view these schools. You can also view a full list of these schools here.It is important that you communicate these types of schools to your students early on, especially as they work on their college list. Referring to them as “high graduation rate schools” is most common, however you can also use the term “CollegePoint schools” as long as you explain to students what these mean. These schools have the highest graduation rates, meaning students have higher odds of setting themselves up for post-graduate success. A goal for CollegePoint is to ensure that students apply and possibly enroll in a CollegePoint school. Familiarizing students with these schools helps us get there. Section 5: Additional SupportResourcesCoach Resource PageYou will be able to find current monthly goals and deadlines, materials and resources, and links to coach reports and other forms. All the resources in this section will be available via the College Coach Resource Page College Toolkit This serves as our resource bank and archive of links! We’ve compiled a list of quality internal and external resources spanning the full range of college admissions topics, including on:ApplicationsPersonal StatementsFinancial AidScholarshipsTransitioning to CollegeSupporting Undocumented StudentsGeneral Coaching/Mentoring Best PracticesCommunity Building and SupportCoach Connection Webinars: In the initial months of the program, we will be hosting webinars moderated by staff for coaches to meet one another, connect about their experiences, discuss best practices, and build their networks. College Coach Facebook Group: This optional private Facebook group is for coaches to connect, support one another, and share resources. We take an active role to ensure the group is of value to coaches. Varsity Coach Gallery: ScholarMatch is fortunate to have many volunteers with an incredible wealth of knowledge! Some of these volunteers have offered to serve as a point-of-contact on various content areas, to help answer questions on all things college access-related. We will put out the call to sign up as a 2020-2021 Varsity Coach once you complete your onboarding. ScholarMatch Listserv: The listserv will be another way for coaches to connect, inclusive of volunteers who don’t have or don’t spend time on Facebook accounts. We’re excited to continue leveraging the collective knowledge of our volunteers in this way, and sparking more of the great discussion and crowdsourcing Q&A. ................
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