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Middle and Junior High

What Parents of Middle School/Junior High Students Need to Know

It's never too early to talk to children about their futures. By the time they are in middle school/junior high, children need guidance on looking ahead to college and the world of work. Probably the most important thing you, as a parent, need to do is to discuss your own expectations with your son or daughter. How do your expectations align with his/her interests and plans for the future? There are many options, and sound, well-thought-out decisions made in the middle school/junior high years will greatly increase your child's chance of success.

There is a tremendous amount of information available to help you with your planning. The more you learn about the courses offered at your child's school, the types of jobs that require college degrees, the types of colleges, how to pay for college, and the importance of education in the world today, the more you will be able to guide the process. And you don't need to have gone to college yourself to help someone else get ready to go. Ask your child's teacher or guidance counselor for information on mentoring programs in the school or find a mentor on your own-someone who has studied or worked in the same field in which your child is interested and who can provide extra help and advice. Two U.S. Department of Education publications that you should find extremely helpful are Getting Ready for College Early-A Handbook for Parents of Students in the Middle and Junior High School Years (www.ed.gov/pubs/GettingReadyCollegeEarly) and Preparing Your Child for College-A Resource Book for Parents ( www.ed.gov/pubs/Prepare/pt1.html).

Planning for your child's future is a big job that takes the student, the school, and the parents working together to make decisions early and to plan a course of action that will pay off for a lifetime. For a ten step guide to help you with planning for your child's education go to www.mapping-your-future.org/parents/. Don't wait until your child's junior or senior year of high school to begin; do it now. Department of Defense schools have many resources that can help students and their families get started on the right path in the middle school/junior high years. Take advantage of them.

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