Comprehensive Best Practices for Creating a College Going Culture

There are many best practices for creating a college going culture.  When researching the original purpose of working in a comprehensive school setting I found the following from UCLA, ( “Creating a College Culture” is a UCLA Project, lead by Dr. Patricia McDonough) a great foundation for having the conversation about establishing a college going culture at any school. The specific best practices come from your implementation of the following critical principles. Dr. McDonough also talks about the need for 4 conditions:  

1. School leadership is committed to building a college culture
2. All school personnel provide a consistent message to students that supports their quest for a college prep K-12 experience
3. All counselors are college counselors
4. Counselors, teachers, and parents are partners in preparing students for college.

Here is a wonderful graph of the 9 Critical Principles of a College Culture:

-->

Schools with a "college culture” usually exhibit most or all of the following NINE CRITICAL PRINCIPLES of a COLLEGE CULTURE:
College Talk Clear, ongoing communication among students, teachers, administrators, and families about what it takes to get to college.	Clear Expectations Explicit, clearly-defined goals, communicated in ways that make them part of the culture of the school.	Information & Resources Comprehensive, up-to-date college information and resources, easily accessible by all students, families, and school personnel.
Comprehensive Counseling Model View of counseling that makes all student interactions with counseling staff opportunities for college counseling.	Testing & Curriculum Information about and access to “gatekeeping” tests (PSAT, SAT, etc.) and courses (A-G, AP, etc.) for all students.	Faculty Involvement Informed, active participation from school faculty in the creation and maintenance of a college culture.
Family Involvement Meaningful engagement on the part of family members in the process of building a college culture.	College Partnerships Active links in a variety of forms between the school and local colleges and universities.	Articulation Ongoing coordination between counselors and teachers among all schools in a feeder group.