Ramp-Up to Readiness

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The first component of Ramp-Up to Readiness is the Postsecondary Plan, which outlines each student’s goals for education after high school and helps him or her begin to chart a course toward those goals through junior and senior high. Students should write a first draft of their Postsecondary Plans early in their participation in Ramp-Up to Readiness and then update them at least annually as they continue in the program and progress through school. The Postsecondary Plan form provides a listing of the important data that each student's plan should capture.

While the plans should focus on steps that students can and should take in junior and senior high, and also help students develop a vision of the career they hope to have as an adult, it is imperative that the plan include a clear focus on some type of postsecondary educational institution or experience. A common refrain among students who successfully enter and prepare for college is that they were "always told I was going to go.” It is essential that every Ramp-Up student’s Postsecondary Plan communicate the same message.

The Postsecondary Plan is also an important tool for integrating the various components of Ramp-Up to Readiness. On the Plan, the student should record progress through the Ramp-Up Milestones, discuss the results of his or her Readiness Rubric and Personal Readiness Inventory, and reflect upon the need for any On-Ramp Interventions.

Schools can elect to have students create and store their Postsecondary Plans using a web-based platform such as Naviance or their school’s student information system. Alternatively, students can create their Postsecondary Plans on paper and save them in portfolios in which they accumulate their plans over time.

As with all aspects of Ramp-Up to Readiness, it is critical that students have an opportunity to talk with a counselor, adviser, mentor or another caring adult each time he or she updates the Postsecondary Plan. Without this dialogue, the tool loses much, if not all, of its value. Schools may chose to have students update Postsecondary Plans at specific and uniform times, such as each spring as they register for courses the following fall. Alternatively, students can update plans as ideas and interests emerge and circumstances change.

It is strongly advised that schools also design ways to engage parents in reviewing, discussing and perhaps even approving their student’s Postsecondary Plan. Resources for engaging parents in helping students complete and implement Postsecondary Plans and other aspects of Ramp-Up to Readiness will be developed as the rollout of Ramp-Up to Readiness continues.