Community Minute: Career Exploration And College Planning For Students In Wards 7 & 8

According to educational research, youth who have an understanding of planning, school achievement, college, careers, and self-advocacy during middle and early high school are significantly more likely to pursue post-secondary education than those who do not.

The mission of College & Career Connections (CCC) is to effect a radical transformation in the aspirations and capacity of youth from Washington, D.C.'s low-income communities to graduate from high school and pursue higher education. CCC works in Wards 7 and 8 of Washington, D.C., communities where high school graduation, college attendance, and college completion rates are the lowest in the city.CCC achieves its mission by offering intensive early career exploration and college planning to hundreds of D.C. youth at partner schools. Through the OnTrack! program, CCC conducts a two-year series of workshops which helps build students’ awareness of their interests, potential future careers, and college options. Throughout the duration of the program, students create a personal portfolio outlining their interests, skills, future plans, and steps for achieving their goals. CCC also supplements the OnTrack! workshop series with a career activity and college field trip for every student.

For more information, contact:
College & Career Connections
4620 Alabama Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20019
(202) 536-4907

*Statistic from the US Department of Education

This Community Minute is part of American Graduate on WAMU 88.5. "American Graduate:  Let’s Make It Happen," a public media initiative supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to help local communities across America address the dropout crisis.