Summer Cohort Success

We are delighted to report the success of our Summer Cohort! During this extraordinary time, we achieved a simultaneous in-person and virtual four-week program in one of the most resilient cities in the country. And our students got what they needed. Our program ended up being exactly what our students are about to experience as they start school within the next several days.
 
When we originally envisioned the Cohort in December of 2019, we scoured the academic landscape for outstanding college-readiness models that would help students who learning differently. The programs we found were inadequate: either too diverse in learning profiles addressed, just plain too big or small, or too specifically focused on a single subject or university.
 
Here’s how the Focus Collegiate Cohort filled the college-readiness program gap:

• Increased Awareness – Our students gained a better understanding of themselves and how their learning profile might show up in college life. They learned the foundations of intentional change, how to emphasize their strengths, and how to tackle their areas of development with confidence and a plan. They’ll be able to apply these insights directly to their experience as inbound students and throughout their college career.
• Comfortability and Guidance – The Cohort provided a level of comfort to students and parents while we all worked through uncertainty caused by vacillating college reopening plans. Our team provided a sounding board for decision making in response to these changing plans.
• Parent Support – Our organized parent workshops addressed parent concerns and allowed greater parent participation with the program and with their own peers – fellow parents of inbound college students who learn differently.
• Course Management Systems – Once supplemental to higher education, course management systems are now at the nexus of communication for students, and yet mastering them can be the most difficult aspect of a new student’s adjustment to academic life. We created a simulated course management system that gave our students familiarity and confidence.
• Friends — This cohort came together as a cohesive team. They became friends. 71% of Cohort students are going on to Focus Collegiate enrollment. Working together and supporting one another as a community, they will be the foundation of our Virtual Study Hall, Virtual Hangouts, and other skills groups throughout the coming academic year  
• Fun – Our students had fun, which made learning all the more enjoyable. We held virtual and in-person team scavenger hunts, explored the local community, and had great conversations about upcoming college life. We kayaked, biked, and participated in a high-elements ropes course. In-person and virtual students engaged together in culinary skills development sessions which included meal planning, grocery shopping, money management, and presenting delicious meals to their new friends.

Of course, we provided the requisite masks, hand sanitizers, and head thermometers; we were particularly pleased with our students’ level of compliance with the new culture. We are also grateful to the people of Boston for their compliance which made the perfect venue for a safe and enriching experience.