Tina Proctor, college and career counselor at the Academy of Holy Angels, and Kim Oppelt, senior consultant at Naviance, discuss parent engagement best practices.

1. Success Starts with a Plan
Fostering Parent Engagement in the
College Counseling Process
Tina Proctor Kim Oppelt
College and Career Counselor Senior Consultant
Academy of Holy Angels Naviance

2. Introductions
• Introductions
• Overview
– Parent engagement at AHA
– Using Naviance with parents and families
– Naviance materials for families
– Discussion

3. Academy of Holy Angels
• Setting
– Enrollment
• 705 students
– First Tier Suburban Catholic High School
– Counselor Breakdown
• Two Academic/Personal Counselors
• Two College and Career Counselors

4. Methods of Engagement
• Weekly Newsletter
• College and Career Center Website
• Naviance Family Connection
• Parent Volunteers
• Targeted Email Communication
• Letter Invitations for big events

5. Ninth Grade
• Individual Family Meetings
– 1st trimester, half an hour
• Survey, Transcript, College Application Overview,
and a 4 Year Course Plan
• Adaptations
– Ninth grade parent event

6. Tenth Grade
• Personality Assessment /Career Information
– Do What You Are
– Send note in the Weekly Newsletter for Parents to ask their students about the
assessment at home
• Career Speakers
– Advertise on the College and Career Center Website to keep parents informed
– Also advertise in the hallway and in the CCC for anyone to see as they are in the
building
• Colleges and Majors of the Month in the CCC
– Make available for students and parents to see while they are in the CCC asking
questions, volunteering, or waiting for an appointment
• Sophomore Parent Meeting
– Sophomore Parents have questions – generally sophomore students don’t, so we
offer a meeting to ease parent nerves in the spring – emphasize that we do have a
plan and give them an idea of what to expect next
• Spring College Fair
– Evening event, parents and students are invited

7. Eleventh Grade
• College Planning Night
– Students and Parents invited, evening event
• Homeroom Visits
– Give the students a handout timeline to share with their parents
• Financial Aid Night
– Parents and students are invited, evening event
• Junior College Planning Day
– Students attend sessions, parents assist with check-in, trouble shooting
and catered lunch
– Portfolio Requirement
• Junior Family Meetings
– Student and Parent surveys
• Parents receive their own Naviance Family Connection account
• Access to scholarships, college information and scattergrams
• College Fair and Career Speakers

8. Twelfth Grade
• Senior Check In Meetings
• Application Questions
– Transcript request and tracking on Naviance
Family Connection
• Financial Aid Night
• Scholarships

9. Using Naviance with Families
Naviance allows schools to communicate
effectively and efficiently with students
•Email
•Family Connection
•Surveys

10. Using Naviance with Families
• Email
– Registration Codes
– Newsletter templates
– Student groups
– Attach documents
– Survey links

11. Using Naviance with Families
• Family Connection
– Manage multiple students
– College planning
– Student goals
– Multilingual options

12. Using Naviance with Families
• Surveys
– Brag sheets
– Anonymous surveys
– Sign-off on portfolio items

13. Using Naviance with Families
• New Naviance Initiative
– Family Engagement Materials
• Complimentary
– Family Connection Brochure
– Family Connection Handout
• Fee-based
– Customizable Brochures
– Customizable Handouts and Quickguides
– Communication Templates
– Multilingual Materials

14. Complimentary

15. Fee-based

16. Discussion
How do you engage parents in your school?

17. Questions/Comments?
Tina Proctor
tproctor@academyofholyangels.org
Kim Oppelt
kim.oppelt@naviance.com