Taylor Sandoval

DFST 4323.001
November 18, 2014

Policy Paper
Policy Topic and Impact Statement
The policy I am looking to implement is a college preparation class that is added to the
Texas high school curriculum. There is a lack of preparation for students looking to go to
college. In todays society its important to get a degree because many jobs require that official
piece of paper from a college. The job market is competitive so we need to better equip our
students before sending them out to the work place. I feel like without this policy students have
to do all of the research on their own, especially if they are first generation college students.
Schools could provide more resources to help the students make smarter decisions about college.
I think when the students hear about financial aide and other ways of paying for college more
students will actually attend college. The lack of information that high schools provide to the
students and families is a problem. Schools should be encouraging their students to further their
education to create a better future for themselves.

Stakeholders
This policy is going to greatly benefit high school students across Texas and maybe
eventually across the United States. This policy is for the implementation of college preparation
classes into their standard curriculum. After this class students will feel more comfortable with
their decision to attend college. Our society will also be impacted by this policy in the long run.
If more students are getting through higher education, we will be more intelligent society.

Education is a way out of poverty, so students who come from low socioeconomic backgrounds
will be able to break the cycle and strengthen their familys futures.

History and Literature Review

According to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Boards website, the rate of
college enrollment after high school has increased from year 2003. The statistics were from
students who enrolled in Texas Universities only, so out of state students were not configured in
with the in-state students. The percentage of students, who enrolled in a college the fall after they
graduated in 2009, was 56%. Thats a little over half of the students but what about the other
44%? Some could have gone out of state but Im sure not all 44% did because not everyone
attends college. Some high schools now offer advanced placement (AP) or international
baccalaureate IB programs that allows student to take classes that are more rigorous while
completing high school. If they pass the AP or IB tests they can get college credit for it. Other
schools are starting an early college high school program so, students who choose to enroll in
this program can earn up to 60 hours of college credit once they graduate high school. Those
options are fantastic for students as well as dual credit courses but none of those programs help
students apply for college while they are completing their classes. Another advantage to my
policy is that every student would have access to it, because not all schools have the programs
already in place. The article I read for my news review stated that we are doing a poor job of
getting children from low socioeconomic status to college. With the implementation of my
policy they will have more access to information about college and feel better prepared to
succeed once they are admitted. They can get the opportunity to go especially with the
scholarship aspect in the class.

Requirements
1. Junior and senior year you meet three times a week perhaps during a study hall time.
2. Junior year the students will complete SAT/ACT preparation and begin researching
different majors and schools. They will also start learning about the cost of college and
talk about scholarships. They will go on one college visit to get a better idea of what a
campus might look of feel like.
3. Senior year the students will learn more in depth about financial aide and they will be
given opportunities to apply for scholarships. They will continue to research schools but
they will start the application process. In class they will get help with writing their essays
and building their resume. They will visit one more college near the beginning of the
year. During this year they will also have some review and help with classes like algebra
to better prepare them for the academics needed college. Something else the students will
do is take a survey or test, like the my plan that will show the students how their strengths
can be used to pick a career and give them options as the explore choosing a major.
4. The district should hold a college fair that is open to the public every year. The junior
students that are taking this class should be required to attend. It could be one evening
that is planned ahead of time so the parents can make arrangements to get their children
there. This is open to parents and students from across the ages.

Implementation
Adding it to the curriculum to Texas high schools will enforce this policy. Each
individual school will have to have a teacher or a counselor teach this course. They will have to
recruit chaperones for the college visits. The principals and counselors will also make sure this

class is on the students schedules. The principal will assign an appropriate teacher for the
course. It can be someone who is already employed with the school or they could hire a new
teacher. Hiring a new teacher would cost the school more money so having a counselor who is
already working there will not add more costs for the school. The only thing that will cost the
school is the college visits. They will have to have money for transportation to the colleges and
plan for food since it will probably be an all day event.
The teacher will have to be responsible for making the lesson plans. There will be times
that would be good to bring in different colleges to present information to the students or guest
speakers who can lecture on different career options. I think within the schedule if they cant get
specific college to come and speak to the classes they should do a research project once the
students have an idea of what they want their major to be and present about a college they are
interested in to the class. That would be a great way to get the students involved and it will
expose other students to different options for colleges.
The public would be notified once their children are in high school. Unless they do their
research before their child attends high school. The districts website will have web page with all
the information about this new course. The high schools will send a newsletter home to all the
parents the first year this is implemented, even to the students who are not juniors or seniors yet.
Just explaining what is going to be taking place from here on out. The parents will also be
getting a letter home at the end of sophomore year telling them that their students will be
attending this class and so the parents will be aware of what their students will be doing. On the
letter that will be sent home sophomore year will be points that the parents can talk about with
their student to get them more involved in this process. I know not all students will want to go to

college but I think this class will be important so that they can at least hear the information and
make a better decision about pursuing something in the work force and not going to college.

Assessment
The school district will be in charge of maintaining and assessing it this new policy. First
they will look at SAT scores to see if the averages were higher than the previous years. They will
also survey the students at the end of their senior year to see if they have enrolled in college or if
they are planning on enrolling for they next fall. In the survey as well they will need to ask how
the students felt about the class. Did the class help them with their decision of what school to
attend? Did they learn something they didnt know about going to college? Was this class
beneficial for them? The state will collect data from Texas universities and see if the percentage
of students attending college right out of high school has increased.

Contact Information
If you are interested in hearing more about this policy you can get in contact with me via email at
tsandoval677@gmail.com.

Reference
College and Career Readiness. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2014, from
http://tea.texas.gov/Curriculum_and_Instructional_Programs/College_and_Career_
Readiness/
Texas Higher Education Data. (n.d.). Retrieved November 16, 2014, from
http://www.txhighereddata.org/Interactive/HSCollLink.cfm
Webley, K. (2009). Were doing a lousy job of getting poor kids to college.Time. Retrieved from
http://nation.time.com/2013/05/09/were-doing-a-lousy-job-of-getting-poor-kids-tocollege/