High School Core Curriculum Lessons

The Core Curriculum lessons were created for 11th grade students at Dr. Wallace High School to help assist them with preparing for high school graduation and college. Our lessons were divided into two parts which identified the True Cost of College and Graduation Requirements. The first lesson, “The True Cost of College”, goals were to help 88% of the students become knowledgeable of college tuitions/fees, understand their needs and wants for college expenses, FASFA and scholarships, and creating a realistic budget for college. The ASCA Student Standards and VA School Counseling Standards were addressed throughout the first lesson. Two of the goals were identifying an appropriate budget for college and defining necessary and unnecessary expenses

B1.12 developing an action plan to set and achieve realistic goals; and HP 2 which states that students will understand how to utilize family, peer, school and community recourses. (American School Counselor Association, 2004; Virginia Department of Education, 2004) After completing their budget and action plan for college, the goals for the students aligned with Virginia Standards HA 3 demonstrating knowledge and skills necessary to ensure a successful transition from high school to post secondary options; and HP 11 applying decision making skills to career planning. (Virginia Department of Education,

The pre-post test for lesson one was made up of 15 multiple choice questions and the pre-post test for lesson two consisted of 5 fill in the blank questions. The process data represented nine eleventh grade students who met once a month for thirty minutes in their English class to discuss two lessons on college readiness. The perception data presented in the data are the pre and post tests which tells what the students thinks, knows, and can demonstrate as a result of the lesson. (Hatch, Greene-Wilkinson & Holcomb-McCoy,