The Texas OnCourse Educator Blog

Introducing students to pathways they can pursue after high school is no easy task, and we applaud your hard work! We’re here to make college planning even smoother for your high school students. Texas OnCourse has partnered with the Texas Education Agency and College Forward to bring you the College and Career Support guide from Texas College Bridge. This resource comes with five helpful, student-facing modules where students can learn about their interests and passions, different postsecondary paths, how to apply for college, financial aid, and so much more!  

Watch the webinar recording below and download the slides or continue reading for resources and highlights.   

There are lots of resources out there to support students with disabilities. In this webinar, we help you sort through some of the most helpful ones. These resources are meant to help ease postsecondary planning and career exploration and include a module in the Texas OnCourse Academy that’s filled with awesome information on how to best advise this student population. 

Starting in October 2022, the process will be simplified. Students will be able to fill out and submit their application completely electronically, and counselors can easily check completion.   

Some college-bound seniors may be eligible for more financial aid than they were awarded this spring but will need to take steps to correct their information. Your students deserve to receive the full reward amount they’re eligible for. We know they’re going through the financial aid process for the first time and aren’t likely to know how to navigate this challenge.  Don’t worry though, we’ve got the right information to share with your students and their families before school’s out for the summer.

The sun is shining, and the birds are chirping – happy spring, y’all! We’re happy to bring you new resources to use in your classroom. Our guests for this webinar have some incredible free materials that are filled with helpful information on financial literacy and options for life after high school.  

Happy Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month, everyone! We are excited to celebrate and spotlight the numerous CTE programs and resources available to you. In this month’s webinar, we dug into online tools available for your students to peek into what their future could look like.  

Grabbing the attention of parents and guardians comes with its challenges. In this month’s webinar, we introduced our newest tool to help keep your students’ families in the loop with information and resources their child needs to be successful: Tomorrow Ready Texas. Tomorrow Ready Texas delivers parents and guardians trusted information, milestones, and deadlines tailored to their child’s plan for life after high school.  

Helping Texas middle school students prepare to choose an endorsement selection before they enter high school is just one step in career exploration.

View this webinar for an overview of the 2021 Texas education bills passed during the Regular Legislative Session. The webinar also includes a lively discussion full of questions and best practices from your colleagues across the state. To hear what they had to say, be sure to tune into the recording.

One of the biggest hurdles middle school students face before entering ninth grade is planning their courses for high school. Once a student enters high school, they have the opportunity to revisit their course plans, explore work-based learning options, and take courses for college credit.

To graduate high school, Texas students are required to complete 22 credits as part of the Foundation High School Program. Students can customize their high school experience by completing additional requirements and graduating with an endorsement, the Distinguished Level of Achievement, and performance acknowledgments. It’s really important that students understand their options based on their future goals. For example, the Distinguished Level of Achievement is mandatory for students to be eligible for Texas’ Top Ten Percent program.

Texas students face a competitive and ever-evolving job market. Understanding their course options and putting together a strong graduation plan helps ensure that students will graduate from high school with the resources and knowledge they need to succeed in college or their chosen career. 

This article outlines the basics of academic planning for educators. For more in-depth information, including resources, handouts, and tips for implementing this information in the classroom, check out the Academic Planning badge in the Texas OnCourse Academy.