THIS IS NOW... WRCHS has combined postsecondary readiness, parental involvement, and academic and career advisement to provide a seamless education from junior high school to postsecondary education on a high school campus. In keeping with its progressive history, two new wireless lecture halls and several small conference rooms for students and teachers have been added to provide state-of-the-art teaching technology. WRHS was renamed Will Rogers College High and Junior High School when it reopened its doors in 2011. 22
Building a Culture of College and Career Readiness by Jeanie Newell
reprinted by permission from “Techniques” - April 2013
Will Rogers College High School (WRCHS), an innovative new school located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, opened its doors in the fall of 2011. WRCHS has combined postsecondary readiness, parental involvement, and academic and career advisement to provide a seamless education from junior high school to postsecondary education on a high school campus. In a partnership with Tulsa Community College (TCC), WRCHS students are able to take TCC courses on the high school campus. This allows students to begin their college careers during their junior year of high school and obtain six college credit hours—tuition free—each semester while still in high school. All students have a plan of study that enables them to be on track to be college or career ready. WRCHS has three goals: 1. To improve the urban dropout rate by providing an opportunity for seamless access to postsecondary education in a Tulsa high school. 2. To graduate students who are college and career ready by underscoring the relevance between education and work through early academic and career planning. 3. To use an advisement system that encourages relationships between students, teachers and parents to plan for success. Student Diversity The demographics of WRCHS reflect a democratic selection process. The students selected to attend WRCHS do not go through any type of academic screening process, nor do they need to make any test-score target. Rather, the students who live in the neighborhood boundary have first priority to attend WRCHS; they simply have to agree to the program and any recommended interventions. Any additional seats are filled by lottery, with
students selected equally from the four quadrants of the city. This process has created a diverse student population for WRCHS from the many neighborhoods of an urban school district with more than 40,000 students. Many students who enter WRCHS will be the first generation in their families to graduate high school or participate in postsecondary education. Many WRCHS parents do not speak English as a first language and have very little knowledge of the postsecondary education system. An Advisement Program for All Students The WRCHS administration made a commitment to provide academic and career guidance not only to students, but to partner with parents in this effort as well. As a result of this commitment, the Will Rogers Advisement Program (WRAP) was born. This school-wide advisement program, which has been embedded into the schedule from the school’s inception, ensures all students are counseled for college and career readiness. Teachers advise students in groups of 15–20 during a set time each week. Each advisory period offers information on career, academic and social development for students, in addition to focusing on strong test-taking skills, including test-taking strategies, essential vocabulary and critical-thinking skills. Former vice principal Michael Ballard, who oversees the WRAP program, said he believes that “the key to our advisory program is building relationships between students and staff. Students stay with the same advisor throughout their time at WRCHS, which gives students a constant contact who can help them academically and with career and postsecondary education exploration.” With grants from the Oklahoma Department of Career Tech, the College and Career Readiness Department at Tulsa