Our guest for this podcast episode is Bill DeBaun from NCAN.

Bill starts by telling us about the work of the National College Attainment Network (NCAN), including the conference in 2025.

Bill says that districts and states can use frameworks of success to ensure that students are reaching their postsecondary goals.

We must treat college and career exploration as a subject matter like any other subject in schools, including exploration, lesson plans, and curriculum resources, so that every student has equal access to the knowledge and experiences they need for postsecondary planning.

Bill tells listeners about Tempe Union High School District in Arizona and their special scope and sequence for college and career awareness.

One of the best outcomes of a framework that teaches students about colleges and universities is that it can provide information to students who might not otherwise have access, and it can dispel myths about who college is for.

One thing that students can learn as they explore college options is an understanding of how financial aid works and college affordability. Bill explains that the cost of college has gone up, but there are still many different ways to make it affordable for students who want to go.

Bill talks about the importance of making sure that students understand the completion rates at the colleges and universities where they want to apply so that they know the likelihood of actually graduating with a credential.

Bill and T.J. discuss credentialing and the fact that lots of important credentials are only available at 2- and 4-year colleges despite the rhetoric around not having to attend college after high school.

Bill explains the kind of data that schools are using to track postsecondary success after graduation, including the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC).

Bill says that senior exit surveys are often not an accurate representation of postsecondary attainment, and districts are surprised when they compare their rates of acceptance and matriculation to real numbers from the NSC.

He tells listeners that a better use of survey data is on the front end of the student experience, such as asking them early in K-12 what their interests are and then building programs based on that.

Bill mentions FAFSA as a data point that schools can analyze because it’s a solid indicator that students are returning to college year-over-year.

Bill recommends the book, Ready, Willing, and Able by Mandy Savitz-Romer and Suzanne M. Bouffard.

Bill’s final message is that the “water’s edge” of the K-12 experience cannot be high school graduation. The investment that we’re making in our students must lead to more than walking across a stage.

Our Guest for this episode is Dr. Jennifer Winward from Winward Academy.

Jennifer starts with her number one tip for parents and students as they prepare for postsecondary success, which is to embrace mistakes. The best way to learn how to learn is to be open to learning from your mistakes.

Jennifer discusses the benefits of skill formation, including the durable skills that were featured in Episode One of College & Career Readiness Radio.

Don’t miss what she says about the risks associated with college scholarships.

Jennifer provides guidance on exactly how students can learn from a test that they took in school versus just looking at the grade and moving on.

Particular to the math classroom, Dr. Winward recommends that students be given an opportunity to make test corrections and earn their points back for doing so.

The conversation dives into the field of neuroscience and tips and tricks that educators can use to help students with remembering and retaining information. Also, check out Powerful Teaching by Pooja Agarwal and Patrice Bain.

Jennifer describes the power in chunking information so that students can remember it better.

Dr. Winward is an expert in the SAT and ACT examination; she tells listeners about huge technical changes to the test format and content.

Check out Sold a Story in connection with the conversation about vocabulary attainment.

Jennifer calls to action that all educators embrace learning theory and learn more about what we know about how people learn.

Learn more about college and career readiness tools at MaiaLearning.com.

Book a time to discuss college and career readiness with the host, Dr. T.J. Vari.

Our guests for this episode are Dr. Sharon Pepukayi, Superintendent of Talbot County Public Schools (TCPS) in Maryland, and Robin Werner, Director of Teaching and Learning in TCPS.

Robin tells us about a career counseling initiative in Maryland and Talbot’s unique response.

The Talbot plan for career counseling is innovative and inspiring; listeners who are interested in implementing a career counseling model in 6-12 schools will enjoy this conversation.

Sharon provides a big picture vision of student achievement as it relates to their career counseling initiative.

Pay close attention to the other aspect of counseling in general that Robin shares.

Listen to their approach to professional learning for the people implementing the initiative.

Robin is taking a team to ACTE Vision this year to learn from other leaders regarding this work and other CCR initiatives. You’ll also hear T.J. plug NCAN, the National College Attainment Network.

Robin describes a problem with tracking students after graduation and some of the solutions that they are using for that.

Learn more about college and career readiness tools at MaiaLearning.com.

Book a time to discuss college and career readiness with the host, Dr. T.J. Vari.