This school year CARA expanded to a new state – Tennessee. Chattanooga Preparatory School, an all-boys school, is the newest partner receiving coaching, tailored 9-12 curricula, and capacity-building professional development as part of our whole-school model, College Inquiry. The school is proudly graduating its first senior class and has a new college advisor. CARA is helping to build effective application tracking and data systems while supporting the college advisor with each milestone 12th graders meet. 

At the same time, the school is working to expand the exploration opportunities afforded to their younger students, utilizing class time in every content area. At Chattanooga Prep, students and families have very close relationships with their teachers and are leveraging those relationships to position teachers as informal sources of postsecondary advising. CARA has crafted professional development opportunities for their entire 6-12 staff, in order to grow teachers’ ability to have informal career and college advising conversations over the course of students’ time at the school. 

CARA is thankful to the Charter School Growth Fund both for their support in this three-year partnership, and for identifying and connecting us to regions where our support is needed most.