High School is a busy time for students and the parents trying to help their children. The two biggest success factors are showing an interest in what the child is doing and being positive about school. You should continue to attend parent-teacher conferences, help with homework and provide a good example. Your child should be able to watch how you handle problems and concerns to learn how to handle problems themselves and whether or not you make the best choices will be instrumental in determining if they make the best choices. They should know you care, that you're watching how they do with all of life's challenges.
High school is where you need to be sure your child is getting ready for a career. That may mean you are helping them learn how to save for college or post-secondary education. It may mean you are filling out financial aid forms. It will mean discussions on the best way to prepare for the challenges to come. You need to start by looking at courses that will help in high school and it is the responsibility of you and your child to be sure that they get as much as they can while they are in school. In some cases, the school provides vocational education classes. In some cases, there is a nearby vocational education program that the school utilizes. Many schools offerr advanced placement classes that are much more rigorous than typical classes but MAY be accepted by some colleges for credit (usually requiring an advanced placement exam that does have minor cost.) Some classes may be offered by virtual schools with in school supervision and costs sometimes picked up by your local districts. Counselors are available to help you find your way through the maze of options and you and your child should make use of their help.
What you need to be very sure of is that your children are setting their sights on a career that they like, that will have jobs available when they are fully prepared and that will offer salaries high enough to make a living and pay off their education debts easily. If you choose a private college, tread very carefully to be sure that the career you are studying for pays enough for you to repay the loans and be sure the school is accredited in the area you seek to study. Also, check to see what their graduation rate is and what their placement rate is. Finally, check to see if there are other faciliities that can provide the same education more cheaply. It has been shown time and again that state universities are generally a more reasonable option than the best private universities in most situations.
The next post will begin to discuss the red flag for education details.
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