Franklin Academy’s mission states that our goal is to help students develop the competencies that are “vital to the pursuit of college goals, professional aspirations, and fulfilling lives.”
DOTS
Our Department of Transition Services (DOTS) has been working for the past few years to develop improved programming for moving our students towards successful post-secondary planning. Of course, programming includes extensive conversations about college and career. We also assess each student’s skill development. Additionally, we work closely with families to ensure that everyone is on “the same page” about a student’s future. DOTS currently includes Kinsley Rausch (Dean of Transition Services), Tom Hays (Assistant Headmaster), Rebecca Hays (Program Director), Byron Crozier (College Counselor), Shannon Cove (Academic Dean), Pete Govert (FLI Residential Specialist and Intern Planner), Jen Dziekan (FACTS Coordinator), Josh Acocella-Stollerman (Evaluation Center Coordinator), Stephanie Lopez (Learning Specialist), and James Turner (Learning Specialist).
New Initiative This Weekend
We will be enacting a new initiative this weekend to engage all students in some form of transition planning. Some students will be taking the ACT on Saturday. Another large group will be taking the PreACT. There will be other developmentally appropriate activities related to transition planning for students not taking the ACT or PreACT. These include writing college essays, hearing career talks by alumni, or exploring online career resources.
Benefits of the PreACT
The PreACT is geared towards 10th graders but can also be useful for older students who are not yet prepared to take the ACT. This testing activity offers several advantages. First, students gain practice in test-taking and familiarity with the ACT process. Second, they receive vital feedback about performance in different academic areas (Math, Science, Reading, and English). Additionally, there is the opportunity to re-examine questions that students answered incorrectly. Meanwhile, teachers receive information about how their students are performing in their subject area. Finally, an interest inventory is included. Consequently, we will use the student’s responses to initiate discussions about post-secondary educational goals and career objectives.
We anticipate having the results from the PreACT back in time to continue our transition planning Fall Intersession. Activities might include goal-setting, career exploration, and personal reflections about daily performance.