Enriched Preparation

Enriched Preparation integrates high quality college-ready instruction with strong academic and social supports. These key features can be valuable in any classroom serving formerly off-track/out-of-school youth.

Explicit College-going Culture

• Staff deliver consistent messages, from intake through graduation, that students are college material and college success is the goal.
• Staff continually assesses progress through strategic use of data, using postsecondary access and completion as the key measures of program success.
• Staff create a climate focused on acculturation to academic norms and practices as well as personal responsibility for one’s own learning and life goals.
• The physical setup and artifacts in the building, and opportunities to experience college classes and college life, enable students to perceive themselves as college students.

College-ready Curriculum & Instruction

• The curriculum emphasizes deep learning over test preparation, focusing on a solid understanding of key concepts and the exploration of major themes within the core disciplines.
• The curriculum is aligned and sequenced toward increasingly challenging subject matter, building skills needed for entry into credit-bearing college coursework.
• Substantial reading and writing take place daily across the curriculum, scaffolded through collaborative group work, literacy circles, and other strategies that enable learners with diverse skill levels to support and challenge their peers.
• All students develop thinking, listening, speaking, and inquiry skills through purposeful questioning and opportunities to talk about their learning.
• Staff embed in the curriculum ongoing opportunities to practice college-ready skills and behaviors such as time management and test-taking strategies.

Intentional Use of Time to Maximize Instruction & Accelerate Learning

• Program organizes time flexibly to enable older youth to accomplish family/work responsibilities while working toward graduation and postsecondary goals.
• Program is of sufficient length and intensity to enable youth to both gain a secondary credential and get adequately prepared for college.
• Staff use regular assessments, including college placement exams, to diagnose students’ specific learning needs and customize instruction to accelerate learning.
• Technological tools provide skill-building support and facilitate “anytime, anywhere” learning to supplement classroom instruction.
• Students are coached and supported to use time outside the program to accomplish their learning goals and develop independent work habits.

Personalized Guidance and Support

• Students develop a clear, realistic, and detailed postsecondary and career plan.
• Students develop an understanding of how they learn best, reflecting regularly on what they still must accomplish or master to graduate college ready.
• The program works to strengthen students’ care network, such as child care and mental health resources, so they have adequate support to address barriers that impede learning.
• Staff develop students’ abilities to take greater responsibility and have a voice in their own learning and life choices.