For years, the conversation around undocumented students and college access centered around federal and state policies and tactical information about how the application process differs for this population. It’s time to move the conversation to how to support students earlier and in a more comprehensive way. A liberated and inclusive organizational climate can positively affect undocumented students’ college and career counseling process as well as their post-secondary outcomes. This session will present a novel three-pronged framework for transforming culture to better uplift and prepare students and their families to take an active role in their post-secondary planning approach. It includes family engagement, staff training, and emergency response protocols, as well as the importance of student voice. After a one-year pilot in 2017-2018, this model is the result of a decade of working with students with complex immigration situations and qualitative data showing that it takes much more than passionate educators to ensure sustained post-secondary success for this vulnerable population.
Guiding Questions:
1) How do you begin to advise students and families who are facing immigration concerns? Do you consider yourself an undocu-ally, but would like to expand the ways that you support students and families who may be facing immigration concerns?
2) Are you wondering how to strengthen your college and post-secondary counseling practices for undocumented students or students facing immigration concerns?
3) In a school or educational environment that has a higher undocumented population, how can you implement low-lift but high return on investment school-wide initiatives that can lead to profound shifts in the post-secondary outcomes of these students?