As the end of the school year approaches, Hidalgo ISD’s Early College High School (HECHS) continues to accommodate to the students’ educational needs by aligning pathways to help them prepare beyond graduation.
HECHS administrators and Gear-Up Facilitator, Jorge Ochoa incorporated a small nook, called The Café College Corner for students, primarily for seniors to obtain college information, and assistance with planning and preparing for their postsecondary credentials.
“At HECHS, we take pride in providing our students with the best resources to prepare them for College,” explained Darren Earhart, principal at Hidalgo Early College High School. “We created a Café College Corner in the cafeteria during the students’ lunch to give them access to any college information that they may need help with.”
The Café College Corner was specifically designed for students to stop by and meet with Ochoa, school counselors and college advisors to guide them in the journey towards college attainment.
“Our college advisors, counselors, and myself provide our students with information on topics like; Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), scholarships, Texas Student Initiative (TSI), College Applications, check up on credits and attendance, work on scholarships, register for college orientation, order cap and gown, and many other college ready topics that students need to know about in our college corner,” Ochoa said.
Hidalgo Early College High School is committed to making every effort to encourage, prepare, and connect all students to a successful post-secondary education.
“Our principal, Mr. Ochoa and the Gear-Up program are constantly checking in with us, making sure we’re on track with all our academic requirements and keeping us updated with any college information,” said senior, Daniella Cobos. “The Café College Corner has definitely been very helpful because we get all the college information that is required for us to have, and work on it during our lunch with the college advisor’s assistance.”
HECHS offers a college preparatory curriculum to ensure students understand the academic requirements for college entry and success.
By creating the College Corner, specifically in the cafeteria, Earhart, and Ochoa’s goal was also to encourage lower grade level students to likewise begin to acquire college information and initiate the necessary preparations for institutions they may be interested in attending.
“We want the availability of educating our students to be college ready accessible in as many sites as possible, throughout our campus,” stated Earhart. “For instance, the college corner starts opening eyes to students outside of the twelve-grade level, which is a plus for us, because students at lower grade levels continue to see and hear topics that will benefit them once they reach their senior year.”
Hidalgo ISD’s Early College High School has taken the initiative to build an educational foundation to prepare students beyond graduation by delivering effective academic strategies to ensure all students are college ready.
