Schools / * Education news : Parents Get Help in Planning for College

When several parents of Whittier Elementary School students expressed confusion about how to ensure that their children can go to college, Principal Juan de Jesus took the hint. He created a program called “How Does the University Work?”

The goal is to inform the parents about costs and academic requirements for college admission and to encourage them and their children to start planning early.

The parents, most of them Latino, have generally not been to college themselves, de Jesus said, and many are mystified about how to get there and how to pay for it.

The program includes such topics as advanced-placement courses in high school, applying to and being accepted by a university and seeking financial aid.

De Jesus also prepared charts comparing average salaries for high school drop-outs compared to earnings of high school graduates and college graduates.

“Parents need to start thinking about this early on,” de Jesus said. “If they wait until their kids’ junior year in high school, it is already too late.”

“In the Hispanic community, 40% of the children drop out of school,” he said. “When they come to school they are like any other kid. But what happens between kindergarten and 12th grade? Something has gone astray.”