Ally Levy, CARA’s Senior Director of College Inquiry & Whole School Partnerships recently presented at the National Association for Community and Education Partnership’s (NCCEP) National Gear Up Conference on the critical role of whole-school engagement in effective postsecondary advising. The session “From One to All: Effective Postsecondary Planning is Everyone’s Work,” highlighted the successful collaboration between Honokaa High & Intermediate School and CARA, made possible by generous grant funding from Hawaii P-20.

Ally shared information about how CARA’s whole-school inquiry model has been implemented at Honokaa High & Intermediate School, and how over the past two years, this partnership has shown that effective college and career advising becomes even more powerful with the active participation of the entire school community. By involving CTE teachers, counselors, and staff schoolwide, they have increased awareness of postsecondary pathways and enhanced staff capability to provide accurate, culturally relevant advising. As a result, students have greater access to the information they need to make thoughtful choices about their future.

During the session, participants heard from Big Island teachers Alana Haitsuka-Fernandez and Aaron Tanimoto, learned about the project’s framework and discussed strategies for implementing similar approaches to foster college-going culture at their own sites.

We’re grateful to have been invited by our partners at Hawaii P-20 and Honokaa High & Intermediate School to present on our work and inspire others to think beyond traditional advising methods and consider how engaging the entire school community can lead to more effective and inclusive postsecondary planning.