Engaging Students
Students are first challenged to become Texas Scholars when they are in the middle school through a classroom or large group presentation given by a volunteer from business, higher education or a community organization. The presentation is usually given to 8th grade students, but local initiatives may decide to engage students earlier in middle school (7th or even 6th grade) because they are engaged in career exploration activities and also to encourage students to consider taking high school courses, such as Algebra I or Foreign Language, in middle school.
Texas Scholars Website Resources
The Texas Scholars website provides information, resources, and connections to other websites that provide additional information and tools to facilitate and support the planning process. TBEC has replaced the "My Roadmap for Success" planning tool with the TBEC Achieve Texas Education and Career Planning tools and strongly recommends that school districts use this site for establishing web-based lifetime portfolios for each student and for developing customized 4, 6, and 8 year student plans that are web-based that can easily be accessed by students as they transition through different educational settings and locations. (See Creating Student Plans section under the About Scholars Pulldown)
Other Resources
The TBEC Achieve Texas Education and Career Planning site must be purchased by the school district before it can be used by students. The Reality Check website is provided by the Texas Workforce Commission and is free for students and adults to use. The College for All Texans is provided by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and provides a guide for preparing for college. All of the PowerPoint presentations are provided to help school officials and volunteers in implementing the program. Users must register to gain access to the PowerPoint presentations.
NOTE: The Texas Scholars presentation section includes different PowerPoint presentations that can be adapted for local use. The presentations can be scheduled at any time of the school year depending upon how it best fits into the district's program. Traditionally, the presentations are scheduled to take place before students make plans and register for their 9th grade courses. If scheduled this way, the Scholars challenge is helpful because it supports the state requirement that students enter 9th grade with a plan to complete the Recommended High School Program.
Organizing the Presentations
Arranging Texas Scholars presentations for all students in a grade level across the school district requires a cooperative effort between the sponsoring community groups and the district. Each community will develop an organizational structure that is appropriate to its own situation, but the basic activities will be almost the same.
The sponsoring groups are responsible for recruiting, training and equipping volunteers to make the presentations and assigning them to schools. (See Roles and Responsibilities - Sponsoring Organization)
The school district is responsible for scheduling the presentations, making necessary arrangements in the schools, providing necessary technology, showing visible support for the program, and following up with students as appropriate. (See Roles and Responsibilities - School District)