New toolkit helps schools, communities celebrate students’ postsecondary plans
Today, the Florida College Access Network is releasing the Florida College Decision Day Toolkit, a “how to” guide and resource for schools and communities interested in hosting a Florida College Decision Day event in 2015.
College Decision Day, or sometimes referred to as College Signing Day, is an initiative to recognize and celebrate high school seniors for their postsecondary plans and to encourage younger students and their families to prepare early for college. College Decision Day is held annually on or around May 1 and is designed to coincide with the date that most seniors must inform a college of their plans to attend. Many high schools are already doing a great job recognizing the postsecondary plans of their graduating seniors–this is your chance to be a part of a broader statewide movement to celebrate students’ next educational steps.
Florida College Decision Day is modeled after highly successful events held by the City of San Antonio and in Michigan, as described in a Florida CAN blog from April 2014. College Decision Day is also building momentum across the country; the White House also offers an informational toolkit and invites communities to submit requests to bring a government official—maybe even First Lady Michelle Obama!—to speak at their local event.
Florida CAN’s Toolkit, which is adapted from a toolkit created by the Michigan College Access Network, contains the following resources. These documents are available as PDFs and as Word documents, allowing you to edit the included templates to fit your needs:
Florida College Decision Day Manual (PDF) (Word)
Supplemental Guides
(A) Creating a College-Going Culture (PDF) (Word)
(B) Media Outreach (PDF) (Word)
(C) Volunteer Management (PDF) (Word)
(D) Business Outreach (PDF) (Word)
Register your school to be a part of this inaugural statewide College Decision Day here! If you happen to be at a school or district already planning to host a College Decision Day or similar program, let us know so we can publicly celebrate your big day!
Contact Arianna Pineiro, FCAN’s Special Projects Coordinator, at (813) 974-6429 or apineiro@floridacollegeaccess.org, if you have any questions or concerns about planning and implementing the event at your school.