<<music I think that student’s need to exhaust all options out there before they look at taking out a student loan.

>> What students and parents should know about the daunting task of paying for college.

>> If I wasn't in that class, I think I'd be struggling very hard.

>> One Jefferson County School is helping seniors turn the chaos of applying for college into clarity.

>> Our kids are going to be the ones that are hired.

Our kids are going to be the ones with the higher success rates in school, because we're preparing them for that up.

>> And find out how one county is helping prepare high school students for success in their next step.

>> Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Millennium Fund.

>> Good evening and welcome to a special episode of Kentucky edition.

I'm Laura Rogers, filling in for Renee Shaw.

Thank you for joining us.

Tonight.

We are focusing on education.

Life after high school can be a very daunting thought for many teenagers.

How will they pay for what's next?

What do they want to do and should they be doing?

What should they be doing now to prepare?

This season, on our Education Matters series, we brought together experts to help you make informed decisions.

That includes a high school counselor and Russell County who recently had the tables turned.

When it was time for her first child to head off to college.

She says there are things she learned in the process.

Robin Rixon is college and career readiness counselor at Russell County High School.

And Robin, aside from your professional role, you're also the parent of a college freshman, so you know this process very well.

I want to ask how you started planning and saving for those college expenses, because we know how costly it can be.

>> Absolutely.

It's scary for a parent to think about the financial responsibility of having a student in college.

But there are some things that I did early on.

Whenever my child expressed interest in wanting to pursue college someday.

And that was I had him look into merit scholarship opportunities at colleges based on his GPA and his Act score the keys money that students earn while they're in high school.

That has helped tremendously.

And then, of course, filing the Fafsa with that federal aid from the government.

>> This is your background.

So you had a lot of experience and you knew a lot going into the process.

However, is there anything you wish you had known last year that you know now?

>> So when I took my son on college visits his senior year, I realized that there were a couple colleges that he had really focused on and put a lot of attention and effort into researching that.

Once we made it on campus, that wasn't the fit for him.

And so if one thing I could have changed was, I think I would have gotten him on the campuses earlier, possibly his junior year, so we could have eliminated the colleges that were not a fit for him.

>> I want to ask you more about your role there at Russell County High School and how you do help prepare high school seniors for that college admissions process, or whatever they may want to do after they graduate.

>> So I feel like I'm a liaison between the student and the military rep, the partners in our community with businesses, our chamber of commerce, our college reps.

I do a lot of planning to set up meetings between students and those.

Those individuals also have Fafsa workshops for parents and students, so we can have them file their Fafsa in a very relaxed environment with plenty of help.

I host College Application Day and we just had that on Monday.

It was a success with over 275 applications filled out.

We had people from all over the state here to help us.

I have senior newsletter, I have correspondence with parents.

I do all the scholarships.

I'm the dual credit coordinator, so I play a role in just making sure that the student feels more prepared and the parent feels better prepared to move that student on to the next step, whatever step.

That might be.

>> Pivotal role that you play there at Russell County High School, any common mistakes that you see people make?

>> Possibly some common mistakes that I see students make procrastination when it comes to filing, filling out scholarships, following the Fafsa, even applying to college when they wait until the last minute, it just makes it harder for them.

>> And then back to that affordability factor.

What is something that you think every senior needs to know, needs to consider when it does come to paying for college?

>> I feel like that every senior needs to know that there are funds available for college expenses, through scholarships, through military opportunities, through grants, work study options.

There are opportunities out there, and it never hurts for a student to go ask a financial aid office or a scholarship office at the college that they're interested in, and explain their circumstances and ask for any available funding that might be out there.

But I think that students need to exhaust all options out there before they look at taking out a student loan.

>> Yes, can definitely save you money in the long run.

>> Absolutely.

>> Robin Rixon, College and career readiness counselor at Russell County High School, thank you so much for your perspective and your expertise today.

We really appreciate it.

>> Thank you.

>> And a lot of the conversations about paying for college are directed at parents, but involving your child is a great way to start preparing them for the real world.

It's really a master class on finance and research, and for students at the Brown School in Jefferson County, they're taking charge of their own futures in a class called Senior Seminar.

Our Christie Dutton paid them a visit.

>> If you have applied and have a transcript.

>> Transcripts, scholarships, SATs and GPAs for many high school seniors, the road to college can be a complicated one.

But at Jay Graham Brown School, there's a class that turns the chaos into clarity.

>> But then that last link, you have to link 502 to your Fafsa.

>> A senior seminar class taught by Nora Wakefield that guides students through the college application process and helps them find scholarships.

>> Also, lock in your tuition rate at a lower level.

>> To bring down the cost of higher learning.

>> They will pick their school and hopefully have it paid for.

>> The process starts in their junior year, optimizing Act and SAT scores and Exploring colleges in junior seminar.

>> We'll do quite a few college visits and we bring in college reps, because I really think that if you start looking senior year, it's too late.

>> And once senior year begins, Nora Wakefield's concentrates on applying to colleges.

>> She's always occasions.

Always.

It's our main focus as soon as we come and sit down.

>> Honestly, the process to application, I thought it was a lot easier than it was, but like it's a lot more and but it's like I think the class, if I wasn't in that class, I think I'd be struggling very hard.

>> And the demands of applying for college can be stressful.

>> There's a lot more than just applying.

It's being personable in your essay.

It's ensuring that you get the proper amount of scholarships and just ensuring that you keep your life balanced while you're going through the college process.

>> The Senior Seminar class serves as a guide to make this process as smooth as possible.

>> Of all 502 you go to their link and you fill out the application.

It's very quick.

Then we help them apply, but we help them meet those deadlines for things like Fafsa, early applications versus early decision.

>> If you are eligible and you complete these three steps, you will get the scholarship.

It's a guarantee.

>> It can be intimidating, and asking for help is intimidating, and we need to take every obstacle away.

>> But there's one more big obstacle left paying for college.

Senior seminar helps students with that too.

With lots and lots of.

>> Scholarships.

>> Scholarship programs, grants.

>> A ton of scholarships.

>> We help kids with their questbridge applications.

We help them with their Jack Kent Cooke applications, coach scholars, doctor Pepper.

Nowhere else are students going to have somebody that's hand feeding them.

These lists of scholarships to apply for.

>> Nora's always on it.

>> She always has a scholarship for us to apply to.

>> Every little bit of scholarship money.

You get help.

>> And a little bit can add up to a lot.

>> We have a whole row of million dollar scholars.

>> Students apply for.

>> Five, five, five, five.

>> Different institutions, and that total amount is $1 million.

But that's not $1 million to one institution.

>> More than scholarships or even college.

Nora Wakefield wants her students to author their own destinies and live lives that are authentically and joyfully their own.

>> My success is my students success, and I cannot express to you how much I love them.

And having known some of them, you know, for 13 years, almost all their life, it is so important to me that they are number one happy with when they leave.

I want them to be happy individuals and successful individuals, however they define that.

>> For KET.

I'm Christie Dutton.

>> Another option to help pay for further education is Kentucky's work ready scholarship.

This fairly new and unique scholarship is designed to give students interested in high demand careers like health care or manufacturing.

A fast track to employment.

Here, again, is our Christie Dutton to explain.

>> Joining us now is Joe Carroll Ellis, the executive director of Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority.

And we're talking today about the Work Ready Kentucky scholarship.

Tell us what that is.

>> So the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship is a program that allows Kentuckians to pursue short term credentials, meaning a certificate, a diploma, or an Associate of Applied Science degree to fill high demand job areas in Kentucky's top five sectors.

>> Okay, so who would do this?

Who who is the audience for this type of program?

>> Sure.

The audience is really any Kentuckian, a traditional student fresh out of high school, or nontraditional adult student who's who's looking to either reskill or upskill to fulfill some of these high demand areas with a program that they can complete in two years or less.

>> Okay, so what kind of programs are they?

What might they learn?

>> Okay, so the top five sectors in Kentucky are healthcare, professional, scientific and technical services, manufacturing and logistics, construction and education.

So there are many occupations that fall under those headings.

Many fall in health care like nursing Phlebotomists, medical coding, medical assistant.

There's plumbing, HVAC, welding, many IT fields like cybersecurity or web design.

So many opportunities.

>> Yeah.

So all of these are in high demand.

How did this scholarship even come about.

>> So it was actually created in 2019 by the state legislature through Senate Bill 98.

And Senator Mike Wilson was the sponsor.

And it was created to address workforce shortages in Kentucky to provide affordable access to Kentuckians to fill these needs, but to also help Kentucky's industry and economy by providing the workforce needed to fill these jobs.

>> Okay.

And for somebody interested, maybe a senior in high school who's about to graduate, who may be interested in learning some of these skills, these trades, how is this program going to benefit them?

>> Okay, so the great thing about Work ready is it is is available to students who apply on a first come, first served basis.

But it has eligibility requirements that often qualify students who may not qualify for other need based grants.

So many middle income students will be able to get these funds to help further their education.

>> Okay, and how do you apply for this scholarship?

>> So visit our website which is k e.com.

And then you would select the Work ready scholarship under the scholarship heading.

And that has all the information, including a link to the list of all of the eligible programs and the institutions where those programs are offered.

>> Okay.

And this is for the Kentuckians Kentucky students and adults.

So how many of these scholarships are offered each year?

Is it competitive?

>> It's not competitive.

It is first come, first serve.

There are some financial requirements you do need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which is the Fafsa.

And you would do that at Studentaid.gov and then you would complete the work ready Kentucky scholarship application, which is available on our website.

Last year for the 2425 school year, we awarded over $12.7 million to over 4600 students to attend these programs.

>> Oh, wow.

Okay, well, how does this program, this scholarship benefit Kentucky?

>> So it's great because it serves two purposes while helping Kentuckians obtain post-secondary credentials that make them ready to enter the workforce.

It also addresses the workforce shortage needs in certain industries and helps Kentucky say here business ABC come into Kentucky because we can prepare the workers to fulfill those needs that you have.

>> Okay.

And so for somebody interested in this and you mentioned that they may qualify even in that middle income area, what are some of the financial aspects of this.

>> So work ready pays for the average or pays the kctcs tuition rate.

So if you go to Kctcs then it would cover the tuition and fees there.

If you go to a more expensive institution, it would cover the amount up to the kctcs rate.

>> Okay.

For somebody interested, maybe a senior in high school interested in one of these trades, what is the benefit of them going through this work ready Kentucky scholarship rather than a different path?

What benefits will they gain.

>> So there's there's a few.

So first of all is the financial, like I said, because these funds are available and available to a large pool of applicants, and the financial eligibility restrictions aren't as tight as they are for some of the need based programs.

So you have more people that are eligible for them, but also it provides a short term pathway.

So if for students who are looking to to get some high demand skills and get into the workforce quickly, these programs have to be two years or less.

And they are specifically for those areas that are in high demand in the state so they can get in, get out, get a job, start their careers.

>> Oh wow.

They can really hit the ground running.

>> The ground running.

Yes.

That's right.

>> Well, that may answer my next question, but I'll ask it anyway.

What do you wish people knew about the work?

Ready Kentucky scholarship.

>> Actually, what I just said that this program is, is not designed for those who are pursuing a career that require like a four year bachelor's degree or higher credential.

This program is really designed for those that want a shorter term path to hit the ground running and really get these middle skill jobs that that employers are needing today.

>> Are there any other scholarships like this?

>> Work ready is unique in how it's designed and in its purpose.

And, you know, it's very popular, as you can tell from the numbers that I shared.

>> Okay, all this is great information.

Joe Carroll, thank you so much for being here and sharing your expertise with us.

>> Thank you so much for having me.

>> You can find more information about eligible programs and how to apply for the scholarship on their website at dot com.

High schools throughout the state offer numerous opportunities for their students to prepare for the next step, whether it's college or a career that includes AP and dual credits, work study options or career and technical education programs.

Also known as CTE, the Jessamine College and Technology Center has 12 CTE program areas with about 29 different pathways.

Our team recently visited Jctc to learn more.

>> High school students don't know what they don't know.

They know what their parents do for a living.

They probably know what some aunts and uncles and grandparents do for a living.

But the world is much larger than that, more than likely.

So by offering these opportunities, students can both early in their high school career get some exploration and determine what they think they might want to do.

Then, as they move through high school, they can specialize in that, potentially get some dual credit in that area.

They can earn some industry certifications in that area.

We offer articulated credit if they pass an end of pathway assessment.

Work based learning is also a key component of what we do.

So they can actually go get some job experience in that area that they might be interested in all before they're paying college tuition for it.

We want them to be prepared for whatever is next.

Sometimes, though, the best thing that we can do for a student is help them figure out what they don't want to do, because what we don't want is students to head on to that post-secondary level with a plan in mind, but no experience in that area, only to realize they've paid a lot of tuition for something that isn't actually their passion.

>> When I went through high school, we did not have these types of programs.

So I think for me, teaching these students that career and tech ed is important because it gives them the opportunity to explore different career paths before they have to really settle in on something.

It's also a safe environment for them to learn more about the career, to grow in the career, and to really see themselves after high school, being able to enter the workforce or to go post-secondary and get further education.

>> In college.

It's a lot of money to go through and do all of your different pathways.

It's a lot of money.

If you want to switch it, it's going to be a lot.

So being able to have like a choice in like what we want to do in high school and it's free.

Like you get to dabble in everything.

Like I also took Small animal tech.

I've also taken wildlife.

I'm taking equine science.

Next semester, I get to dabble in all of the other different things that would, in college cost money for me to take.

So it's super cool, like getting to like, make sure that I know what I want to do here in high school.

Oh, I know, I know, it's okay.

>> In the vet assisting program, it really we try to stair step into what they would be learning next.

So to assist in a surgery they don't need to know every vein or vessel that is in an animal's body, but they do need to know some basic anatomy and physiology.

And so I think that preparing them and giving them a good foundation for those higher level skills that they would receive if they're going into a traditional four year program or they're going to go to graduate school to get their DVM, I think that that's essential.

Building that self-confidence early and giving those fundamental skills to them so that they are confident enough to take on the more difficult tasks.

>> In the classroom.

We're required to complete so many hours of lab or practice time, and then they go through competency on 25 skills.

So before we ever go to clinical, they learn 25 skills and they get checked off in the classroom to make sure they're competent to perform those.

And then when we go to clinical you have the added component of you actually have patient interaction.

So here in the lab, while we do practice with each other the mannequins, it's just a one way they're doing the skill.

We can simulate what would happen if this occurred.

But in the real world you're getting that real time feedback.

So the students get a lot of actual real time interaction.

How do you respond to people?

How are you kind to people?

How do you deal with things that aren't going the way the book says, but keep your composure, you know, keep your professionalism that you've learned here in the classroom?

>> I really like like the more that it's hands on, but also all the opportunities we get.

So like these, like with M&A, I'm going to be able to have my CNA license, and then the classes that we're about to add are going to be really beneficial for college because they're going to count as college classes.

So that means my college won't have to take so long.

>> What the scenes are on the outside.

>> Why that doesn't call.

>> For sure.

Yeah.

Just like we do with our linens.

>> For people who really want to go into healthcare, this is a perfect stepping stone for them, and they'll be able to get their knowledge further because some some people don't have that.

And like, they go to college and they kind of have to learn it all there.

But we already have some knowledge that is set up for us and handed to us, so it's just easier.

>> I've had students be a part of murder cases.

I've had students be a part of high value civil cases in excess of 100,000 towards $1 million, and they're handling the paperwork for it.

I know that students coming out of this pathway are more prepared than any college graduate for law school, because they don't offer something like this in college.

They're going to have already explored, as a high school student, what's, you know, 20 year olds are just starting to explore in law school.

>> I definitely feel like I could walk into any starting position as a veterinary assistant in any of the clinics and just with a little bit of help, understand everything that needs to be done.

Because the basic information that I learned here.

>> It seems like every year we have a group of students that will come in once the first semester of college is over, they'll come back to visit and talk about how maybe they were the only person in their class that knew what some of the terminology meant because of the things they had done here, or they were the only student in their class that had this specific skill set that they learned with us.

And they were that they were prepared because they had been a part of our pathway.

>> Our kids are going to be the ones that are hired.

Our kids are going to be the ones with the higher success rates in school, because we're preparing them for that.

>> When you let go of this dial, you need to do it slower because you're going really fast.

>> Students are not limited to one pathway during their high school years.

Some students complete as many as four pathways by the time they graduate.

During our most recent Education Matters program, our panel of education experts discussed some other options and how to choose which 1st May be best for each student.

>> A lot of people talk about dual credit, but there's also Advanced Placement classes in high school.

What's the difference between these two and what should parents know about that?

>> I don't mind to refer to that one.

So with Empower You, we do put some focus on our Advanced Placement program as well.

In Davis County Public Schools, when we have recruitment nights, we start as early as eighth grade, usually recruiting and kind of talking to parents and students about what the options are as they explore their interests in high school.

And so we partner with our AP program, where students and parents can also find out if AP is the right fit for them.

So one of the main differences with AP versus dual credit is a student would sit in a college level class in AP, and then they would take an exam at the end.

And then if they score a three, 4 or 5 on the exam.

Across the nation, different universities and colleges would award them credit based on that exam score.

In a dual credit classroom, a student would earn a grade just as the same as they might like in a high school classroom, but that grade would also go on a college transcript not only on their high school transcript.

>> So what are the pros and cons there with AP?

Obviously, you've got to do well on the test to get the credit, right?

>> Correct.

>> Yes.

And what would you say about dual credit?

>> Well, I think AP you made a good point.

If you're not a great test taker, you've taken a whole academic year to learn the content down to one exam, which dual credit you're going to be in a semester instead of year long for most cases.

And it's a regular academic class.

So you have participation quizzes, exams and papers.

So you can kind of spread out the stress for a student.

>> Sure.

Yeah.

One of the.

>> Conversations we continually have with parents, especially around dual credit, is that Kentucky does offer a dual credit scholarship.

And so students are able to get multiple courses throughout their high school career that the state of Kentucky actually pays for for them.

And so when we have that conversation with parents, it's about it is saving time and money.

When you're utilizing dual credit and dual credit scholarships that are available here in the state of Kentucky.

And we have tried to break down this concept of like college ready versus career ready, because obviously everybody's going to college with the hopes of getting a degree to do the career that they want to do.

So we try to talk about career pathways for everybody, whether they're, you know, wanting to go straight into the workforce or if they are college bound, because many of our pathways, whether it's health, science, engineering, they lead into college degrees that you can do as well.

>> You can learn more about these topics and more by watching our Education Matters programs online on demand@ket.org.

That does it for Kentucky Edition, where we inform, connect and inspire.

Thanks so much for joining us.

Have a good evening.