Opportunity cost: Students who don't get proper counseling will lose out on futures.

Fresno Bee 4/7/07

A survey of some Fresno students raises concerns about the level and quality of counseling that they're getting in local high schools. Many students complained that they've not been made aware of course requirements they must satisfy to qualify for admission to four-year universities in California.

Counseling has been a problem in the Fresno Unified School District for years. The district has been trying to hire more counselors, and that's good. But it's just as important that counselors have all the information at hand to give to the students -- and that must begin early in their schooling. It can't wait until they get near graduation.

To gain admission to private universities or the University of California and California State University systems, students in the state must pass various courses in history, English, math, laboratory sciences and foreign languages. The specific courses are labeled A through G.

But many of the students surveyed at three Fresno Unified high schools by the student group Californians for Justice say they haven't been told about the "A-G" courses, and are thus unprepared to seek admission to four-year colleges.

Not every student needs to go to college, and we've been urging greater efforts in vocational education for some time.

But those who are qualified to attend college ought to have that opportunity, and if they're not getting it because they're not being well-informed, that's a terrible waste, for the students and for the community.

It's a special concern when we learn that, while one in three students across the district meet curriculum requirements for college admission, that number drops to 25% among Latino and African American students in Fresno Unified. Both of those groups have been historically underserved by California's system of higher education.

The student group has some good ideas, which its members are preparing to present to the Fresno Unified trustees next month. Among them are "drop-in" hours for students to meet with counselors, presentations each semester to let counselors explain A-G requirements, after-school tutoring or homework centers at each school, better support for students learning English and providing the information in language and media the students are comfortable with.

There's a great deal at stake here. We urge the district and the community to listen to these students, and find ways to give them what they need. They will be the entrepreneurs, teachers, researchers and scientists who create the wealth this nation will need to sustain a bright future