- Jen Curtis Plaskov, College Counselor
Over the past year, Watershed seniors have been going through the daunting task of dreaming beyond high school. Finding colleges they feel are a good fit for them, working through the application process this past fall, and now, with acceptances in hand, they are weighing their options before the May 1st decision date. Stay tuned for an update on where our seniors will head after graduation!
At Watershed, we have time each week dedicated to college counseling. Starting in the spring of junior year through the fall of senior year, we have a weekly 40-minute seminar block carved out, which is enough time to talk about process, share ideas and progress, and work through questions for the good of the whole. Our students begin by exploring options for what’s next: Who are you? What do you want in your next learning community? Where do you want to live? A lot of my role as college counselor is to ask questions and encourage students to build the confidence to answer for themselves. An individual’s transition out of high school and into whatever comes next is often the first major independent decision they make. Our college seminar program is designed to support students in finding their most inspirational future. Then the college application process requires our students to clearly articulate what our program is and how their experiences with it have shaped who they are to prepare them for college-level rigor.
Watershed School students experience honors level learning through interdisciplinary expedition courses investigating real-world questions, and skills courses that give students the tools to be critical thinkers, problem solvers, and creatives. Each class a student takes, from mathematics to art, endeavors to push learning beyond the classroom. Students collaborate on big projects to communicate the depth and breadth of their understanding and gain experience managing group dynamics. Our students play active roles building our community—from participating in the hiring of new faculty, stewarding our space, to planning and leading community days with service projects and school-wide activities. We don’t have “finals” or traditional grades; instead we do large, end-of-term presentations to share learning with parents, students, and community members. Students spend an average of 40-45 days off-campus each year as a student, whether that’s in the U.S., internationally, or through the wilderness, learning how to thrive in a group and meet new people and places to understand more deeply the cultures, environments, and dynamics that make up our world. So, when our seniors ask, “will I be able to get into college?”, what they are really asking is “where does all this experience fit on my applications for college?”
In addition to a student’s essays, Watershed sends a transcript packet with college applications. Currently, a lot is packed into our transcripts—a combination of a traditional-looking transcript to simplify our program and courses, and an intentional sampling of student narratives. Part of our seminar course is for students to identify and reflect on moments of pride in academics, growth as a learner or individual, and paradigm-shifting experiences. From this, students select five to six courses about which they feel most proud, and those narratives are attached to a student’s transcript. In addition to these narratives, our transcripts include all coursework with earned proficiency levels and a GPA. Our conversion from proficiency levels to a GPA is a way to communicate in a conventional way what our students have accomplished and to show their growth over time. GPAs are not a part of our culture until the college process begins, and are helpful for students applying for both merit-based and financial assistance scholarships.
Countless people talk about the desired qualities of college applicants and who is most successful in life beyond high school. The application process to higher education should reflect this. Our head of school, Tim Breen, shares, “The research on college success is clear: students who are curious learners, good communicators, creative and critical thinkers are those who thrive. Unfortunately conventional high school courses and grades often focus more on content retention (which does not correlate with success at college). This is why we need to push change in the system.”
If you have any questions or would like to collaborate on supporting your child with actualizing their ideas for life beyond high school whether you are a prospective or current parent, please reach out.
