Before starting his senior year of high school last fall, Emilio Hernandez worried about how he would get into college.
“I was kind of nervous,” Hernandez said. “I didn’t know how the process worked. My parents didn’t either.”
But, he said, he found help at his high school’s Future Center.
The centers in Denver Public Schools are staffed by a college adviser and provide information about financial aid, scholarships and college. This month, their activities are in full gear.
“They helped us choose the college that’s best for us,” Hernandez said, “helped us with applying for financial aid and took us to college field trips.”
The Denver Scholarship Foundation operates 16 Future Centers in DPS high schools, up from three at the program’s start in 2007.
In the past few years, the Future Centers have been just a part of the increasing efforts to raise students’ and parents’ awareness about getting ready for life after high school graduation.
“It’s about what it takes to be college-ready and career-ready,” said Antwan Wilson, assistant superintendent. “Whatever students decide they want to do, we want them to understand that they’re going to have to have some education after high school.”
Wilson said DPS found students need help the most with improving their writing and vocabulary, and understanding the college application process.
The majority of college-ready programs this month focus on the three areas, each catering to a different age group.
Elementary schools host parent meetings to talk about college preparation from an early age.
In the middle grades, Wilson said schools are incorporating advisory classes into schedules so students get regular time to talk to advisers.
“We want them to understand how high school credits work,” Wilson said. “We help them understand what they need to be college-ready, such as increasing their reading, writing and math scores, and how that will tie into their options.”
Hernandez is studying business at the University of Colorado Denver.
“Students should take advantage of the Future Centers in their schools,” Hernandez said. “I know I still would have found a way to apply, but it would have been a lot harder, and I don’t know that I would be where I am today.”
Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1372 or yrobles@denverpost.com
