MUSD plans to partner with the California Colleges organization to provide students with free resources and ease the college application process by combining multiple application platforms into a single website starting next year, said counselor Cory Nakamoto.
MHS counselors attended a California Colleges counselor conference, where they were provided with insight regarding how the program will integrate students’ academic information into one platform and automatically transfer class information into applications, Nakamoto said.
“It basically takes a lot of our student data, which is provided through Aeries, and syncs it with a certain software that we can use to run different reports to see if someone is eligible to apply to college,” Nakamoto said. “We will be able to access which students are California State University and University of California eligible through their A through G requirements.”
The program offers personalized career aptitude and interest tests that will allow students to determine the potential careers they can pursue, Nakamoto said.
“Another huge aspect of this program is the assessment portion, which is a career component of the website where students can take assessments based on their learning type, their interests, and their personality,” Nakamoto said. “These tools will allow students to have a better understanding of their individuality, their uniqueness, and their interests or passions.”
The program will be available to students before they even enter middle school, allowing them access to resources and different career or college opportunities, assistant principal Amanda Gross said.
“You can start looking into opportunities as a sixth grader and build upon those interests in seventh and eighth grade before you even reach high school,” Gross said. “You can decide where you want to go in terms of education, including how to utilize ninth grade to make a plan for your future classes.”
The organization decided to partner with multiple school districts and individual schools in California at no cost to them, which is beneficial to both students and administrators, Gross said.
“The state of California recognized that there was a need, and the need had been fulfilled largely by things that cost the school money or were cumbersome to use, so families may not have been taking full advantage of them,” Gross said. “In the past, some of these platforms were only available to the schools that opted in and paid for those services.”
Students and parents will have the option to opt-out of this program if they submit a form to the school, according to Gross.
“Security is fantastic around these websites, but there are people that are distrustful of technology in general,” Gross said.
MHS staff and counselors are hopeful that this program, which will be implemented next school year, will be the additional resources students need in order to pick suitable classes based on their passions, according to counselor Julie Cler.
“The benefit of doing this for students is that it turns the program into a one-stop shop,” Cler said. “It’s exciting to know that when we work with seniors next year, we will be able to directly access their applications and help them through the process.”