The Doss College & Career Shop is open each school day and features financial aid information, college representatives, and quick assistance with postsecondary options. The questions fielded by college access resource teacher Jamie Baldwin range from general to specific. Students are sated with information, applications, and encouragement."They are so hungry for information," Baldwin says. "I don't think they've had this available to them before. I'm another resource. I'm helping these students get focused on options after high school."
The idea for the College & Career Shop was adopted from a similar operation at Grady High in Atlanta. A team of four Doss educators—Marcia Carmichael-Murphy, Tami Slaughter, Brian Davis, and Jason Toler—toured Grady through a High Schools That Work (HSTW) partnership. Slaughter, who coordinates student involvement with Doss's Class Act Federal Credit Union Branch, observed the operations of Grady's highly successful magnet program.
All four were amazed with Grady, especially the school's college and career shop, which attracted a steady supply of parent and community volunteers, says Carmichael-Murphy, coordinator of the Small Learning Communities (SLC) Grant at Doss. Upon returning, the team approached Principal Ken Moeller with a proposal to start the College & Career Shop at Doss, based on Grady's model but adapted to fit the needs of Doss students. The idea from district leaders is not just to adopt a program working elsewhere, but adapt it to best fit the school, Carmichael says.
"It's been great so far," Carmichael-Murphy says. "It's in a perfect location. [Baldwin] is rocking it out down there. She has gotten two or three colleges each week to say that they'll come."
The College & Career Shop's cozy digs were transformed from an old bookstore and custodian's storage room. Baldwin, a former middle and high school teacher, received her new assignment on a Sunday in July, and, by Monday, she was e-mailing colleges to gather information.
Since school began, Baldwin has distributed information about financial aid and hosted college representatives from Bellarmine University, Morehead State University, St. Catharine College, and Eastern Kentucky University (EKU). Baldwin maintains shelves of plastic bins with school applications and pamphlets for interested students, and she gathers customized information for students. When one student expressed an interest in mortuary school, Baldwin gathered information about a nearby program.
Students are familiar with the larger state schools, and Baldwin hopes to show them that a variety of options exist. Baldwin has contacted each Kentucky college, and news of the school's College & Career shop has spread to Ohio State University, which contacted Baldwin with an offer to visit.
"It's exposing the students to places and things they may not have heard about," Baldwin says. "It just lets them know there are choices. I want them going into a career, not just some job."
Visiting college representatives often waive the application fees of $30 to $50, and several students seized on the opportunity to submit applications to EKU during a personal visit from Kim Merritt, EKU diversity recruitment specialist, on Mon., Sept. 19.
The setup at Doss helped the conversations with students be more personable, Merritt says. Often, college representatives are placed in a noisy cafeteria or secluded in a distant office. Doss students were interested in the different majors and entrance requirements, she says.
The current operation is on a shoestring, but future plans include computer access so that students can apply or explore colleges online. Carmichael-Murphy hopes to eventually attract parent/guardian volunteers and current college students to work the booth, and she would like to make military representatives available for the students who are interested.
"I think that the College & Career Shop is a great idea," Carmichael-Murphy says. "And every school could make it their own, no matter what sorts of students they have … schools could customize it to fit their needs."
The SLC grant funds Carmichael-Murphy's and Baldwin's positions, and the grant's purpose is to provide students with personalized educational experience and support. Carmichael-Murphy works with the teacher groups while Baldwin runs the shop and designs the advisory curriculum.
All Doss students benefit from an advisory class, which responds to student needs that surface but are not easily addressed in the tight schedule of a class. Doss students use the classes to discuss financial aid and résumés or even register to vote.
Baldwin has taken a select group of sophomore girls under her wing to provide weekly targeted guidance and encouragement. Baldwin is also preparing student trips for upperclassmen to the campuses of UofL, Morehead State, and the University of Kentucky (UK) in October and November.
"I want to get them out," Baldwin says. "I want as a many as possible exposed to campuses and college life."
