College Planning Cohorts

10/13/2025

10/08/2025

After sharing this slide with parents during one of our conversations about parenting, and with students at our cohort meeting, a parent and a group students came together to led our AP Study Ambassadors Program, where one of the initiatives is supporting AP Study Groups. We kicked off our Mon, Wed, Sat AP Study Groups this week and have generated a great deal of enthusiasm for supporting increased enrollment and higher outcomes for AP courses. Our AP Advisers are students who are earning leadership and community service hours by supporting and advising students. They have all earned passing scores on all of their AP exams, with most them earning 4s of 5s. We believe that developing student efficacy is a cornerstone of increasing student achievement.

08/21/2025

After sharing the following slide with our cohort students, their response was to develop an AP Study Group, through which they will share the study skills and learning strategies that have resulted in their scoring 5s on multiple AP exams; providing tutoring for students currently taking AP classes; and engaging in study groups (a high value brain-based learning strategy) with students from various secondary schools and communities.

07/25/2025

One of our students who is now attending Williams College on a full scholarship contrasts his involvement in AVID at his Pinellas County Schools high school and our College Planning Cohort program.

Josiah, who went on to be selected as a QuestBridge College Scholar and College Match Finalist, shares his perspective regarding the contrasts between the co...

07/24/2025

At our Thursday Conversation About College, we are going to continue our conversation about the type of study skills and learning strategies that students should not only be using in school, but when trying to increase SAT and ACT scores.

Over 100 years ago, in 1885, scientist Hermann Ebbinghaus first introduced the concept of the forgetting curve as part of his research into the processes of ...

07/23/2025

In our Tuesday Conversation About College, we discussed why our cohort students generally have much higher SAT/ACT scores than the general student population in their respective schools. Our August focus on study skills and learning strategies prepares our students not only to do well in rigorous classes, but how to use brain-based research to achieve the deep levels of learning required to achieve high standardized test scores.

Richard Feynman was a physicist who received a Nobel prize for his work in quantum electrodynamics. He was notorious for asking others to explain concepts in...

07/19/2025

In preparation for school year success, students in our college planning cohort program are developing a study skills and learning strategies plan. We believe that any student can become a successful learner when armed with brain-based study skills and learning strategies, which are rarely taught in school.

07/14/2025

As we continue our conversations about college and scholarships, we are going to provide insight into how seniors can write great essays and what students in grades 9 - 11 can do to prepare to recount great stories in their future college essays.