Wednesday, March 14, 2018

An Open Letter to School Administrators Everywhere




From time to time weather keeps students from going to school. Heavy snow falls, torrents of rain pour down, the wind blows at dangerous velocities. In such cases and others, many of you school administrators wisely close schools to protect the lives of children. When you do so, you send out tweets, emails and notices through radio and television media.

I suggest you use this opportunity to pass on other vital information. Families would benefit greatly if they used some of this time at home to apply for college scholarships. There are thousands of scholarships available for students of all ages, types and ability levels. There's free money waiting for your students.

Last year alone, over $2.9 billion in federal college grant money went unclaimed. This is tragic. Today college loan debt is over $902 billion in the U.S. Helping families avoid college loans is a goal we should all get behind. The next time you, a school administrator, tweet an announcement that school is closed due to snow, sleet, ice, rain, flooding or other natural disaster, suggest families use this time wisely to apply for college scholarships.

There are many simple ways to find scholarships no matter the grade level of the child. Yes, college scholarships are even awarded to elementary school students. Parents or secondary students can simply do a Google search, or search Twitter using the hashtag, #scholarships. Personnel at your schools could do the grunt work for parents by supplying them with websites of organizations that assemble scholarship and grant information.

Families need something to do when kids are forced to stay inside instead of going to school. Why not suggest they apply for college scholarships? They’ll need the money.

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE . It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

 

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you.


Image Credit: Pixabay

Thursday, March 8, 2018

College, Career and Scholarship Readiness Begin before Preschool






Some people believe preparing for college starts in high school. They feel the same about career and scholarship planning. But this isn’t the case. Getting ready for all three should begin while children are still in diapers. I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, as the twig is bent, so grows the tree. What happens in early childhood has a direct impact upon post high school success.

Babies are fed on a schedule. Sleep takes up much of their days and nights. While they’re awake, parents coo, sing and read to them. All of these activities are vital to a child’s development. As they grow older, some adults forget kids are still under construction and need to eat, sleep and learn at regular intervals. Sitting a child in front of the TV or some other screen may give parents a break, but if it happens too often, these children will fall behind others who have had more enrichment and attention.

If you take the strategies of high school students who earn the most scholarship money and trace them back to early childhood, you’ll see the same attention to detail was being paid then. All such students report having had a complete and healthy breakfast daily. They had dinner together as a family at least five times each week. Their families talked, read and played music and games together. Schedules were created and routines established. In such an environment, children thrive.

All sixteen habits which result in graduates being awarded huge college scholarships have their roots in early childhood. Following “First Five” (there are several branches online) and “Zero to Three” (@ZEROTOTHREE), makes it easier for parents to keep abreast of what experts in early childhood education recommend. Three chapters of my upcoming book apply to Pre-K children, while six other activities are most often implemented in elementary school. The remaining strategies are intended for middle and high school students.

Remember, as Stephen Covey recommends, “Begin with the end in mind.” Begin thinking about college, career and scholarship readiness while children are still quite young and take appropriate action for the best results.

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE . It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

 

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you.


Image Credit: Pixabay