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School to Community Connection |
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Issue 102 HHS College Prep and the Class of 2005 Healdsburg High School (HHS) describes itself as offering “… a rigorous course of study aimed at meeting the needs of the college bound student.” It is true that with average SAT scores of 1104, HHS ranks above state and county averages; 44 percent of its students are eligible for Cal State or UC schools, and each year between 30 and 40 percent of its graduates attend four year colleges including an impressive list of Ivy League and other top-tier universities. To find out how this translates into college preparedness, we asked eight top graduates from the class of 2005 to tell us how well they thought that Healdsburg High had prepared them for the challenges of their first semester in college. This graduating class had 36 percent attending four year colleges, 26 percent of whom are at Cal State schools, 16 percent at UC campuses and 3 percent at Ivy League schools. In general, our students felt that HHS had prepared them academically for the level of work they now face. Kyle Deas went so far to say that none of the other students he has met were any better prepared than he for NYU. San Diego State student Zack McBeth felt that his classes were “on par with high school AP classes”. Students attending Ivy League and UC schools, however, felt that college was far more challenging and that the workload was far greater than anything they had anticipated. Each student felt they were adapting to the more challenging environment. Kaleigh Bulloch, a Cornell pre-med student, pointed out, “you learn what is expected and you adjust”. , Math stood out as a subject where students felt very well prepared. Julie Marmor felt that her math class at UC Berkeley was “easy” compared to high school. It was noted that some of their peer group from private prep schools seemed to have an edge when it came to study habits and familiarity with a grueling work load. Ms. Bulloch noted a “much stronger work ethic” and more finely honed study skills from this group of students. However, some felt that college prep schools that push students hard to prepare them for coveted spots in prestigious colleges run the risk of burning those students out in the process. Yale student Jamie Van Horne agreed that some of her peers were more experienced with academic rigor but pointed out that many of these students now lacked the “energy and enthusiasm for hard work”, something that she and others in our sample feel they still possess. Indeed, Linnea Hill who is attending Dominican College says that education at the college level “is just more exciting”. Many thought that HHS could have been more rigorous to help prepare them, but admitted to being glad they did not have to work as hard in high school as they are now. The students did have some suggestions for HHS, which included adding more AP classes (there are 11 offered at HHS). However, with a six period school day and extracurricular activities, an energetic high school student may not be able to fit more into their schedule. Ms. Marmor pointed out that the SRJC was great alternative source for such classes. More counselors offering college guidance was urged, although Laurie Nimmo from HHS’s Career Center pointed out that funding cuts have meant that the counseling staff has been nearly halved in the past few years. She explained that these cuts have come at a time when the need for guidance is growing as students seek top-tier private and out-of-state schools as alternatives to first-pick UC campuses where admission standards are increasingly more difficult. Simone Wilson at UC San Diego suggests that HHS students develop testing skills and “take tests more seriously” since colleges certainly do. Oh, and by the way, every single student in our sample talked about how much they were enjoying being in college! For information about Healdsburg public schools, log on the web at www.husd.com, e-mail the HUSD Communications Committee at communication@husd.com or call the HUSD District Office at 431-3117. By Darcie Lamond |
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