Introduce+ILP+and+begin+College+Exploration

Developed by the 2011-2012 Advisory Curriculum Committee Objectives: Develop students’ email use, introduce idea of ILP portfolio and begin college exploration.
 * Introduce ILP and College Exploration (9/1, 6)**

‪Email to teachers:

I plan to send the following email and attachment to the students towards the end of second block. In your advisory section, please direct students to their email. The advisory committee and I hope you will try to convey to your students how special their personally developed learning plan will be. The level of empowerment of students in the process and some of the technological features we hope to roll out truly set this approach apart.

After the students understand that they are beginning a cycle of long-range planning, they should open the attachment in pages and complete the worksheet using information they find searching the internet about colleges of their choice. They should save the completed worksheet in their iPad2's to be expanded over time.

The advisory committee will be working on this program with help from IT and other constituencies in the system. While we are resolving exactly how far we can go with the technology, we are going to go ahead and start generating some content to import into the system when it is ready. We hope to create something truly unique and extraordinary for our students.

Thanks, Stephanie O., Jill Robbins, Samantha Kennedy, Rebekah Ellis, Ndaya Farrell, (and technical consultant Jeff Knox)

Email to students:

As students at the STEM Academy, you have the opportunity to pilot a variety of programs not yet available elsewhere: Today you will begin gathering information that will help you with your planning.
 * Email: You are the first students in Knox County Schools to have Microsoft Outlook accounts.
 * STEM: You are participating in the development of a new course for the state of TN implementing design principles developed at Stanford University.
 * Advisory: You will be using technology to create your very own professional development plan for success in high school and mentorships, in college and in your careers. Supported by your advisor and other resources at this school, you will be equipped and empowered to engineer your own successful adult lives.
 * Think of 2-4 schools you think you might want to attend after graduating from high school. You may want to use a search engine to give you ideas. Because of financial incentives, you may want to consider at least one TN school that qualifies for the Hope Scholarship. You will want to choose at least one school you believe will be easy for you to get into and may want one that is a bit of a stretch. Remember: eliteness is less important than finding the right fit for you.
 * Next, open the attached file in pages (converted to a pages file from a free resource on www.OfftoCollege.com ). Add the names of the schools you might want to attend to the worksheet and see how many of the questions you can answer about each based on online research. Once you find the website for your target schools, their admissions page is likely to be a good resource to answer a lot of these questions.
 * You will want to add to this worksheet from time to time, so don't delete it.

Ultimately, we plan to include this work, along with much much more, in your professional portfolio. As you learn how your GPA and scores are shaping up, having a broad list of options you have created will give you targets for growth. Your list should inspire you to reach high and encourage you that there is a good fit for you out there. **STEM Academy College Comparison Worksheet**
 * School Name/ Location || Min./ Avg. GPA || Min./ Avg. SAT || Min./ Avg. ACT || Other (SAT II) || Filing Deadline || # Essays || # Recom-mendations ||
 * 1. ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * 2. ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * 3. ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * 4. ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||

Notes: