One major concern at many school districts across the country is graduation rates and academic success for high school students overall. This is especially true in light of the recent focus the current administration has put on higher education as a means of remaining competitive in the global marketplace. However, the concerns and needs don’t always match up with the actual data coming out of high schools today – when accurate date can be collected at all. To help schools along the way, Naviance Succeed was created to promote college and career readiness for the high school students who need it most. Is Naviance Succeed working? We’ll take a look at the innovative program and some of the schools that are adopting it to find out.
The Science behind Naviance Succeed
Although most schools have assessment and curriculum systems in place today, most of these programs are designed with the educator in mind. Naviance Succeed is a student-centered approach to secondary education that provides sufficient support and resources to ensure students succeed in the public school system. According to the Naviance website, the program is designed with integrated tools that take the following factors into consideration:
- Success Planning – Naviance Succeed allows for customization of college and career readiness programs at both the school and district level. Programs can be aimed toward specific age groups or other demographics as needed.
- Career Planning – In addition to ensuring students are career ready, Naviance Succeed offers tools to help students find the career that is the perfect fit for them by introducing a wide range of choices.
- Course Planning – A large portion of preparing for a career or college is the right schedule of courses at the secondary level. Naviance Succeed has many tools to help students with their long-range course planning so they can achieve their goals after high school.
- College Planning – Both students and parents can use the tools provided by Naviance Succeed to explore a wide range of postsecondary options and obtain important facts about how the admission process works at most colleges across the country.
Within these four areas of focus, Naviance Succeed employs a range of analytics, communication options and a portal accessible to both students and parents so tracking progress is much easier. When schools and families can keep up with student achievement from early on, the student is more likely to find academic success in high school and beyond.
The program is integrated right into the school district’s technology system, so the transition to Naviance Succeed is virtually seamless for faculty, students and parents. By streamlining assessments, communication and other resources, students receive personalized success plans without additional time and labor on the part of school faculty and administrators.
Who is Using Naviance Succeed?
There are a number of school districts adopting the Naviance Succeed program today. Baltimore City Public Schools are currently implementing the Naviance system at all 50 Baltimore public high schools this year, according to a report at the Sacramento Bee. Baltimore will not be the first school system in the area to adopt the program; currently Naviance is already being used in Fairfax, Montgomery and Loudoun Counties. The program has also delivered stellar results at the postsecondary level, as noted by Baltimore City College and Baltimore Polytechnic Institute.
“The addition of Naviance Succeed to Baltimore City Public Schools will give our school staff and administrators a better collaboration tool which allows them to continuously track and monitor the progress or 23,000 high school students,” Jonathan Brice, the support network officer for the school district, was quoted as saying in the Bee. “The ability to stay engaged is critical for student success.”
Virginia is also hopping onboard the Naviance bandwagon, as Spotsylvania County Schools announces a partnership with Naviance Succeed to bring the program to the District’s five high schools, according to a press release at PR Newswire. The press release explains that prior to the implementation of the automated Naviance system; many school districts relied on paper methods for tracking student progress. The new Naviance program will allow teachers, administrators, students, parents and counselors to have all the information they need to monitor student progress and success right at their fingertips. The Virginia district is especially hopeful that the automated Naviance system will free up valuable time for school counselors that offer a wide range of services to students today.
“Across the country, case loads are increasing and student mental health needs are skyrocketing,” Linda Binion, supervisor of school counseling for Spotsylvania, told The Journal. “Therefore, it is crucial that counselors streamline efforts and work smarter. Naviance has allowed our district counselors to provide a higher level of service to staff, students and their families. Additionally, the data collection tools that Naviance provides have enabled us to work smarter. We now know exactly what areas to focus on when we plan for the upcoming year.”
Currently, Naviance Succeed is used by more than 5,400 schools across the globe to track student success and enhance performance, according to the Sacramento Bee. As school districts like Baltimore have seen from surrounding schools, this program effectively drives up college application and acceptance rates, as well as scholarship awards.
As the United States continues to place an emphasis on the importance of postsecondary education as a competitive edge in the global marketplace, it is possible that more schools across the country will tune into the benefits of programs like Naviance Succeed to help their own students make better choices and enjoy improved academic and career-based outcomes.
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