Key Messages: 

There are many ways to get financial support to attend college!
 
Seniors: The timeline for filling out the FAFSA (to receive financial aid from the federal government) has changed! Now, you can use last year’s tax returns to fill out the forms starting on October 1st! Since the money is given out on a first-come, first served basis, it is really important to fill out the forms as soon as possible so that you can get the maximum amount of money! 

Resources: 

• FAFSA 
• Explanation of FAFSA
• FAFSA4caster: A tool to help students understand options for paying for college 
• Scholarships by state 
• Ways to minimize the borrowing costs for college 
  
  

Things to do and know: 

• On Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, search the hashtag #CollegeMonth and like, share and retweet anything you think students or families in your network will find useful. 
• Wear your college apparel on Citywide College Pride Day, Thursday October 1st. Don’t forget to take a photo and share on social media with #CollegeMonth, #SuccessBoston, and @BostonSchools. 
• Make plans now to attend one of the virtual College & Career Fairs. These are free and open to ALL students and families. 
• For elementary students: Have a class discussion and come up with an itemized list of what you need to pay for while in college. Then discuss the different ways you can pay for college. Ways to pay are through scholarships, grants, work study, loans, a job, or money in a savings account.  
• For all high school students: Encourage students to log into their Naviance accounts to set S.M.A.R.T. goals for the year and explore all of the resources available to them within the program. 
• For juniors: Walk them through the FAFSA4caster tool to see how much money they can expect to receive in federal financial aid. Check out videos on the US Dept of Ed’s Student Aid YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/FederalStudentAid  
• For seniors: Encourage them to find their family’s tax returns from 2019 to start the FAFSA application process on October 1.  
• For seniors: Help them search for various Boston-based scholarships they might apply for. What is the criteria? What is the timeline for applying? 
• For seniors: Share with seniors that their college application fees may be able to be waived. Direct them to the College Board’s Fee Waiver page and encourage them to see their guidance counselors for more information. 
• For all students: share the message that college can be affordable for anyone. Discuss the difference between loans and grants, talk about work study programs, and loan repayment schedules (which tend to be longer term and less interest-bearing than other loans). Discuss the difference between need-based aid and merit-based aid. Have students do some online research into the cost of various schools - state universities, community colleges, private colleges, etc - to gain an understanding of what college costs. 

Key Messages:  

When thinking about your future, dream big! Start by setting goals and envisioning your ideal lifestyle. What are your passions? What makes you happy? What are you good at? Think about what kind of career would both make you happy and allow you to attain the lifestyle you want. What kind of degree do you need in order to enter that career? What kind of college or university do you need to go to? What do you need to do now in order to get accepted? 

What’s the value of a college degree? The ability to earn $1.4 million more throughout your career...than someone who does not have one. 

Did you know? There is a lifetime difference of $1M for earning a college degree. 

There is a career for everyone! Spend time investigating all the possibilities. 

 

Resources & Activites: 

• Research colleges and universities according to location, cost, degrees offered, and many other categories a College Scorecard and Big Future. 
• Career search  
• Jobs A-Z for students to use for research 
• ReadWriteThink lesson detailed with more resources. 
• Directory of College Open Houses within a 100 mile radius of Boston
  
  

Things to Know & Do This Week: 

• Continue to be active on social media to let others know that October is Success Boston College Month. Help us get new followers and get the message out broadly by liking, retweeting, or sharing our posts. We encourage you to join in by sharing college and career resources, advice, and words of encouragement to all Boston students. Check out our Social Media Toolkit for more ideas. 
• Visit the BPS College & Career Site for resources and events. Share with students, families, and practitioners. 
• Start spreading the word about the BPS Virtual College Fair Panels and Success Boston alumni panel. Registration here. 
• Let students and families know about the NACAC Virtual College Fairs happening on October 18th & November 8th. Register here. 
• MassEdCo is offering free weekly workshops for students and families on signing up for an FSA ID and filing the FAFSA, the first steps in the federal student aid process. The FSA ID workshops are happening on Thursdays through December. The FAFSA Completion workshops are happening on Saturdays. Click here to register for the workshops and go to https://www.massedco.org/eocintake/boston to complete the intake form. 
• Let's Get Ready is offering 1:1 SAT tutoring and college readiness planning and support. Students can fill out this form to start the process. 
• See and share the attached flyer and highlights calendar. 
• Wednesday, October 14th is PSAT/SAT Day in BPS. For SAT Prep, check out Khan Academy. 
• To learn what courses to take in high school in order to be college-ready, check out MassCore. 
• For early elementary students: Make a class alphabet book or alphabet poster of careers they could have.  
• For middle and high school students: Explore US News & World Report’s Top 10 lists to start making a personal list of reach, target, and likely schools to apply to.  
• For high school students: Visit College Scorecard to learn more details about colleges you like. 
• For all high school seniors: Check out the Common Application 2020-2021 Essay Prompts

STEM:

Key Messages:

Creating opportunities for more students to pursue STEM fields after high school will continue to improve our education system, workforce and economy.

STEM careers are some of the most high-demand job categories in Massachusetts. 

Developing the next generation of leaders in STEM is all about capturing the imagination of kids early and showing them how much fun hands-on science can be. 

During the next 10 years, U.S. industries will demand one million more graduates with STEM backgrounds than the nation’s educational system will generate. 

More than 40 percent of all employment in Massachusetts revolves around innovation industries such as clean energy, information technology, defense, and advanced manufacturing. 

Resources: 

• Massachusetts STEM Week 
• i2 Learning 
• Boston STEM Network 
• National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) - NSBE Boston 
• Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) - SHPE Boston 
• Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE) - SASE Boston 
• BPS Technology’s Computer Science Resources 
• BPS Makers Website 
• FirstByte 

Suggested Activities: 

• Continue to be active on social media to let others know that October is Success Boston College Month. Help us get new followers and get the message out broadly by liking, retweeting, or sharing our posts. We encourage you to join in by sharing college and career resources, advice, and words of encouragement to all Boston students. Check out our Social Media Toolkit for more ideas. 
• Visit the BPS College & Career Site for resources and events. Share with students, families, and practitioners. 
• Make plans now to attend one of the virtual College & Career Fairs. These are free and open to ALL students and families. 
• Happening this week: BPS Virtual College Fair Panel and Success Boston alumni panel. 
• My STEM Story: Hear the amazing stories of Black Women who are pursuing a degree in STEM and professional careers in the STEM industry. Engage in conversations on what it means to be a Black woman in STEM, find the courage to uplift your voice, and inspire others to follow their own path. This event is in partnership with Boston Afterschool and Beyond, sySTEMic flow, and United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley. Attend Experiences from Black Women in College/Graduate School, October 20, 2020  3:00 - 4:00 PM EST via Zoom or The Career Journey of the Professional Black Woman October 21, 2020, 12:00 - 1:00 PM EST via Zoom (or both!).
• In honor of Latinx Heritage Month please join PEAS, in collaboration with ASA, for a Virtual College 101 Workshop and College Fair on October 22nd, 5:00 - 7:30PM.
• Personalize Online Learning with LabXchange Webinar: Join us for this public webinar to learn how LabXchange can support differentiated, student-centered online learning. During the webinar, you will: Take a guided tour of the different ways both educators and students can use LabXchange to personalize learning; Learn how the classes feature of LabXchange protects student privacy while providing opportunities for digital collaboration; See examples of how teachers have used LabXchange to support remote learning and development of lab skills. Happening on Monday, October 19th, 3:30-4:30PM
• Join us for a virtual STEM Week kickoff event to empower future STEM leaders from the Boston Public Schools! It's more important than ever to make sure that all students have access to high-quality STEM work and learning opportunities. Dr. Fox Harrell will provide the keynote address focused on equity in STEM, followed by a panel of students discussing innovative ways that STEM education is continuing during the pandemic. Together, we can expand access to STEM career pathways for Boston youth, and inspire the next generation of STEM professionals. Monday, October 19th, 4:30-5:30PM
• Going Virtual: Stories from STEM Student Interns: Please join the Boston Private Industry Council (PIC), in partnership with State Street Corporation, for a STEM Week student panel showcase. This event will highlight Boston Public Schools students’ voices, across Boston’s key sectors. Students will discuss their summer internship and learning experiences, with a specific focus on working virtually during the pandemic. Please see attached flyer and feel free to share with anyone who might be interested! Tuesday, October 20th, 3-4PM
• BPS STEM Town Hall: Boston Public Schools will be hosting a virtual event for families, BPS educators, administrators, central office, and corporate partners. The purpose of this event is to provide a clear definition, mission, and vision of what STEM means in and for Boston Public Schools. There will be a 10-minute presentation, followed by a Q&A with a panel of BPS Educators & BPS Partner and then an opportunity for the audience to ask questions of the presenters and a panel. Thursday, October 22nd, 6-7:30PM  
• For school students: Implement a week-long, immersive STEM experience for middle schoolers, in partnership with i2 Learning.
• For middle and high school students: Sponsor coding activities to promote participation in Hour of Code.
• For high school students: Participate in the MATLAB STEM Challenge. High school students learn to code in MATLAB and are then tasked to create their own fitness tracker.  
• For high school students: Arrange a field trip to a research lab or factory floor, or invite employers in to talk with high schoolers about internship opportunities through MA STEM@Work, part of Connecting Activities. 
• For all students: Attend the MassRobotics Robot Block Party in Boston’s Seaport District on Saturday, October 20th. 
• For all students: Organize a webinar to inform girls about Mass TLC’s annual Technovation competition (http://masstlcef.org/technovation/) 
• For all students: Invite manufacturing/engineering students from a local vocational-technical program to put on a robotics demonstration. 
• For educators: Learn more about the Boston Scratch Educator Meetup to play, learn, and connect with K-12 educators around teaching with Scratch, a free online programming tool through which students can creatively explore Computer Science concepts by creating interactive media (like stories, games, animations, and simulations) and sharing those creations with others online.

Alumni Engagement:

Key Messages:

A college or career school education often means more money, more job options, and more freedom in your life after high school! 

The college experience can lead to opportunities that not only benefit the student, but the entire family! 

More employers are requiring a college degree for their job openings 

Some studies show that college can result in healthier and happier lives! 

Resources:

• Directory of College Open Houses within a 100 mile radius of Boston 
• First in the Family, I’m First 
• Reach Higher: Former FLOTUS Michelle Obama’s ad campaign (w/ helpful resources) 
• U.S. News & World Report College Rankings Lists 
• No College Degree? That’s a growing hurdle to getting hired 
• Want to Be Happier and Healthier? Then Go to College 

Suggested Activities:

• On Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, search the hashtag #CollegeMonth or #SuccessBoston and like, share and retweet anything you think students or families in your network will find useful. 
• For elementary and middle school: Depending on the level of students, have 4 stations with a poster and post-its. Each poster has the following questions; why is going to college important to me? How do I think going to college will affect my life? Who are the adults in my life that can help me go to college? What questions do I still have about going to college? Have whole class discussions about students’ responses. Continue to keep the posters up so that students can continue to add answers and spark conversation between students.  
• Share your college story on social media or with a young person you know: What do you remember about the college application process? Where did you apply? Which school did you end up going to? Why? What was college like for you? What did you study? How did your college experience help you get where you are today? What advice do you have? Make sure to tag your posts with #CollegeMonth or #SucessBoston!  
• For elementary students: Read and discuss the book Mahalia Mouse Goes to College by Timothy Lithgow, a New York Times Bestselling author.  
• For middle and high school students: Explore US News & World Report, Businessweek, Forbes and other college ranking lists to learn about which institutions might be best for you and your family. 
• For middle and high school: Watch First Generation, an award-winning documentary following the lives of 4 students who want to be the first generation in their families to attend college.  
• For all students: Invite a current college student, a parent, or the principal to come to discuss college with your students. 

Key Messages:

Our district's goal is for every high school student to engage in a post-high school planning process using a comprehensive college and career readiness platform Naviance. Naviance helps students achieve critical milestones to prepare for college or careers. Once students use the platform to identify their strengths and interests, Naviance helps them connect those interests to potential careers and plan a course of study to reach their goals, whether they are heading directly to college, entering the workforce, joining the military, or pursuing another path after high school.