For graduating seniors, saying that final goodbye to classmates and teachers evokes mixed emotions. The right support and advice for graduating seniors helps them prepare for their life’s next great chapter. Hopefully, high school has done its job priming them academically, but students also need help to adapt socially and emotionally to the new challenges ready in their next stage of life. Families and parent-teacher groups can play a major role in aiding the transition of graduating from high school.
Most graduates can expect to undergo sudden changes after leaving high school. Getting ready for college, taking on the world of full-time employment, and exploring service opportunities can be overwhelming. In all cases, your encouragement and the support of other important adults in your student’s life matter.
There is a direct link between parental involvement and a school’s overall success. This piece explores the various ways teachers, parents, and parent-teacher group can help graduating seniors prepare.
How You Can Support Graduating Seniors
Parent-teacher groups take part in collaborative efforts to help students succeed in high school, but your help needn’t end there. Parents and your whole group can serve as an advocate, funding programs to engage families in conversations that guide graduating seniors towards the bright future that’s right for them.
Let’s discuss what your organization can do to help.
Weigh the Benefits of College vs No College
A strong emphasis is placed on the importance of a college education, especially by parents. However, college is only one path to a fulfilling life. Some graduates are more interested in starting their career in a field they’re passionate about, especially vocations where traditional 4-year college degree will not provide a significant advantage. In truth, there are pros and cons to each path.
Most trades don’t require a traditional four-year degree, and new graduates can start earning good wages right after high school while learning the ins and outs of their field. Still, these trades often include long hours, dangerous environments, and physical demands not suitable for every graduate.
On the other hand, certain careers are only open to college graduates. Job fields like teaching, accounting, engineering, and medicine require four, eight, even 12 years of higher education before a student every becomes job eligible in their field. However, some US firms are dropping the university degree filter from their application forms. Instead, they are aiming to build talent pools based on skills garnered through work and life experiences. [1]
Whichever route graduating seniors steer towards, college-educated jobs generally offer higher earnings potential overall than non-college-educated professions. But not everyone wants to chase the big bucks. Another critical factor in choosing an occupation is job satisfaction. After all, working five days a week in a job you don’t enjoy until retirement is a long time to be miserable.
This table illustrates some of the popular careers for degree and non-degree professions.
| COLLEGE DEGREE JOB SAMPLES | JOBS WITHOUT A COLLEGE DEGREE |
| Economist Finance manager Engineer Business analyst Registered nurse Software developer | Choreographer Salesperson MechanicTrades, e.g., plumber, electrician First responder Licensed vocational nurse Solar photovoltaic installer |
There are many others, but the point is that interesting jobs exist for all graduates, not only college students. That’s why every high school student should be aware of all their options.
Discuss the Perks of Vocational Training
Every high school graduate can benefit from knowing what types of vocational programs are available, from welding and plumbing to cosmetology and culinary arts. These courses help prepare young people for specific trade jobs in fields that interest them. Their hands-on approach to learning equips graduates with the vital skills and knowledge needed to thrive in a wide range of industries.
Parent-teacher organizations usually have diverse volunteer pools, including some who have undergone vocational training. These members have firsthand educational and career advice they can share with seniors. Q&A sessions offer the perfect opportunity for students to ask for opinions, real-world experiences, and guidance.
Another way to support vocational training is to host career fairs that offer practical advice for high school students. Your school may allow you to organize training sessions and workshops or introduce businesses that offer apprenticeships.
But what if your student doesn’t know what they want to do or study?
Offer Career Interest Assessments
Career interest surveys help students discover vocational opportunities aligned with their aptitudes and personalities. Since this kind of profiling exposes strengths and weaknesses, it will both match students with well-fitting occupations and highlight professions they may want to avoid.
Your organization’s collective voice can support the school’s endeavors to expose seniors to career possibilities. You may want to suggest that school counselors conduct career and personality assessments to measure students’ preferences. If your nonprofit is connected to people working within popular professions, invite them to give talks or run Q&A sessions.
Parent-Teacher Groups Support for Vocational Training
Parent-teacher organizations usually have a diverse volunteer pool. Your organization may have officers, helpers, or relations of volunteers who underwent vocational training. These people have first-hand educational and career advice they can share with senior year students. Q&A sessions offer the perfect opportunity for students to ask civilian and military personnel for their opinions, real-world experiences, and guidance.
Another way to support vocational training is to host career fairs that offer practical advice for high school students. Your school may allow you to organize training sessions and workshops or introduce businesses that offer apprenticeships.
Scholarships for Graduating Seniors
Scholarships are an invaluable way to give students a leg-up over the burden of financial stress. Parent-teacher groups can help with the cost of higher education or vocational training by awarding merit-based scholarships for academic achievements, intended fields of study, or excellence in extracurricular activities.
Scholarships can be funded by the same pot collected from your fundraisers and other events, but money takes a lot of time and effort to raise. That’s why booster clubs and other non-profit parent-teacher organizations need insurance to protect their funds.
Funding your own club scholarship isn’t the only way you can help. Simply helping seniors find and apply for grants and scholarships is a major help to finding ways for a bright young mind to grow.
Other organizations, like the military, can also help students pay for college.
Invite a Recruiter to Talk about Military Service
Military service offers graduates an alternative form of employment in a highly structured environment. This structure can be a good influence for graduates who are perhaps still a little immature to be 100% self sufficient living on their own.
After basic training, recruits have options to move into specialty areas. Many military careers offer vocational training, equipping service members with skills they can later transfer to civilian jobs. Alternatively, after their commitment, some soldiers enjoy their lifestyle and opt for the stability of a lifelong military career.
Inviting a military recruiter to speak to high school students can provide valuable insight into the opportunities available for those considering a career in the armed forces. It can also help students gain a better understanding of the roles and responsibilities of military personnel, as well as the benefits and challenges of serving.
And, of course, military service can help graduates pay for a formal college education after their commitment.
Protect Your Funds with AIM’s Affordable Embezzlement Insurance
Initiatives to support your final-year students need funding like any extracurricular pursuits. AIM’s embezzlement insurance protects your parent-teacher organization against embezzlement, robbery, and theft. If someone you trusted disappears with your money, we replace those missing funds. Our protection ensures you can continue to support successful student transition to adulthood.
Details on Safeguarding Your Organization’s Funds
Introduce Mentorship Opportunities for Graduating Seniors
Mentoring has a critical role throughout the educational lifespan. After all, most schools don’t offer classes on budgeting, managing credit, laundry, and cooking, but mentors can offer words of wisdom and real-world insight for students to develop essential life skills. It’s especially helpful in those final school years as students look to create their professional networks and navigate new experiences. Good mentors and mentorship programs expose graduating seniors to new opportunities.
Student Volunteers Gain Mentors
Encourage students to volunteer in your parent-teacher programs. Adult volunteers can be excellent mentors by sharing and teaching critical life skills not taught in the classroom. Your fundraisers and other events provide excellent opportunities to mentor high school seniors.
You can show them how to handle money, interact at public gatherings, broaden their conversational skills, and work with different generations. Also, consider connecting students with alumni or other community members qualified to offer guidance.
And there’s no need to stop there.
Sponsor Programs for At-Risk Students
No child should be left behind in 21st-century America. At-risk students need particular care to avoid falling through the educational net. Fortunately, programs exist to support the most vulnerable learners, like the community-based STRiV program.
STRiV helps at-risk students navigate social, emotional, and skill challenges. It aims to reduce or avoid disruption as they transition to adulthood.
Keeping parents in the loop is essential with any sponsored programs that help at-risk learners. Indeed, parents need support, too. Nonprofit parent-teacher groups can work with schools and community organizations on programs that assist vulnerable children and their families. Such initiatives could help facilitate the development of vital skills needed for social and emotional learning.
Protect Your Organization’s Officers from Litigation
Why would your organization need Directors &and Officers(D&O) Liability insurance? D&O helps cover the defense costs of charges brought against your officers. It happens to non-profits all too often. Expenses could include settlements and judgments resulting from accidental or wrongful acts and advice.
Learn More About AIM’s Directors and Officers Liability Insurance
Empower Graduates Well into Their New Lives
School staff and parent-teacher groups focus most of their attention on improving the academic experience for students. But there’s also a need to support graduating seniors and help them transition from high school into the real world or higher learning. Even the best-prepared students will experience dramatic changes in a post-graduation world.
Teach Graduating Seniors How to Become Lifelong Learners
The end of school shouldn’t mean the end of learning. It just means young adults get to choose the information they absorb. Being a curious lifelong learner keeps the brain sharp and makes career progression much easier. Developing the skills needed to learn independently requires critical thinking, asking questions, and daring to challenge the status quo. A willingness to learn gives graduates a real competitive advantage after school.
Other benefits of learning without instruction after graduation include:
- Increased learning speed, making it easier to acquire and store new ideas
- Experiencing new things, which broadens the mind
- Training the brain to problem-solve more effectively
- Keeping neural pathways (signals between parts of the brain) active
Parent-teacher groups can raise funds for extracurricular activities and educational resources. By their very nature, popular projects help stimulate young minds and maintain a hunger for knowledge. Consider funding workshops and seminars for in-demand topics not covered in the classroom. Your after-school program support keeps students in the learning zone and helps them become well-rounded individuals upon graduation.
The more support and advice seniors can get for life after school, the smoother their transitions will be. Your organization can make a difference by implementing these tips and staying aware of the unique and shifting challenges faced by each new class of seniors.
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