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Guide Gives Students Tips on Getting into College

Posted on: Thursday, 8 December 2005, 18:00 CST

By AMY L. KOVAC, SPECIAL TO THE RECORD

PATERSON - Dewitt Evering's sixth-period senior English class at John F. Kennedy High School experienced a different kind of lesson Wednesday morning. Instead of learning about Shakespeare, the students talked about college.

All of Evering's 25 students came to class with a copy of "You Can Get There From Here," a college guide produced for and by Paterson students. The students' homework assignment was to read the guide.

The students then discussed what they found surprising or helpful in the 24-page color tabloid, and then asked Evering questions about their education beyond high school.

"Every one of you is going to go on to college," Evering told his class before the discussion began.

About 25 percent of the 848 students who graduated from Paterson high schools in 2005 reported that they planned to attend a four- year college. An additional 43 percent said they were going to a two- year college.

The guide, a $5,000 project paid for by the Paterson Education Fund, was created by 15 Kennedy High School students in the school's Communications Academy last year. Most of them were seniors and have since graduated. A few were juniors and are now applying to colleges.

Included in the guide were timelines for when students should take their PSATs and SATs and when to visit college campuses. The student authors also wrote articles about the achievement gap and their experiences with taking the SATs, the standardized college admissions exam.

One student, Levis Qirjako, wrote about the possibility of joining the military after high school. He included a list of 10 things students should think about enlisting.

In Evering's class, Daniel Scott, an 18-year-old senior who plans to attend Passaic County Community College, said Qirjako's essay made him think.

"Let me get my grades up so I can go to college and not have to go to the military," Scott said.

Several students admitted being surprised by an article on the achievement gap - the difference in academic performance between white and non-white children.

For every 100 white kindergartners, 30 will eventually receive at least a bachelor's degree. But for every 100 African-American kindergartners, 16 will get a degree. The number was lower for Latinos: Six out of every 100 will earn a bachelor's.

"It really shocked me," said Yinet Montesino, 18, a native of the Dominican Republic. "I came to this country for the purpose of going to college."

A group of Kennedy students is working on updating the guide. Their teacher, Lories Nye, said she wants the students to do more research. She has suggested that they find other topics to write about that interest them, and at the same time help future Paterson students navigate their way to higher education.

One student, Sharon Guerrero, 16, said she will write about how doing community service can help students' chances of getting into college. Guerrero, who said she wants to become a nurse, volunteers at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson.

***

E-mail: kovac@northjersey.com

Source: Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.

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