The Texas OnCourse Educator Blog

COVID-19 has been an education game-changer.

COVID-19 has rocked our world as educators. Schools have closed, in-person classes and activities have pivoted to virtual or hybrid, and as we struggle to keep up, we worry about our students falling behind. We are committed to serving the dynamic needs of Texas educators, particularly as it relates to college and career readiness. We provide consistently updated information on COVID-19 resources for Texas educators. We recognize that your students are becoming more independent and tech-savvy during the pandemic and are managing their time and education from home in many cases. Keeping them on track for postsecondary success is a top priority.

With National Scholarship Month just around the corner, we’ve started getting some questions about how COVID-19 will impact scholarships.

When we heard that Texas OnCourse leader fellow alum Holly Moore increased her campus’ FAFSA completion by a whopping 21% in 2017–2018, we had to learn more! We interviewed her about her process and what she did differently than the year before. Holly is now a college counselor at Uplift Grand Preparatory but made this incredible progress while she was at Grand Prairie ISD in 2017. There were approximately 2,400 students at her school, and she worked with approximately 720 seniors each year.

Happy October! You know what the first day of October means: The FAFSA is officially open! Today, we have a couple of important FAFSA and financial aid updates to share with you.

Today, we have two short updates for you. First, a new resource for mental health from the Texas Education Agency (TEA). And second, new information from the Coordinating Board on how COVID-19 has affected dual credit.

School is underway, and it’s looking different in many parts of Texas and the country. While some counselors and educators are delivering in-person support, most are entirely virtual or somewhere in-between, offering hybrid instruction. We decided to talk to six veteran Texas school counselors to collect tips for virtual school counseling during COVID-19.

Financial aid season is quickly approaching. We want to make sure you’re teed up to help your students afford college. This week, we’ll walk you through some new and existing information and resources and review trusted financial aid tips during COVID-19.

2020 has been full of unique challenges for educators and students. Many of you are juggling shifting deadlines, new enrollment processes, and new systems for sending students to college this year. In our September 2020 webinar, we break down how to help students plan for college during COVID-19 and share resources to keep you on track. More resources like those in this webinar can be found in the Texas OnCourse Academy under College Costs, Admissions and Application Process, and Financial Aid Application Process.

Gone are the days when students and their families (or entire classes!) waltzed casually onto college campuses for carefree, in-person visits. While in-person visits haven’t been entirely wiped off the map, many students and families are finding comfort and security in the online college visit process. What’s more, virtual college visits are less cost prohibitive and can be done from the comfort of home with fairly little planning. So let’s talk about Texas college virtual tours – what options major schools are offering, and how your students can get in on the from-home fun!

We are super excited this week for the launch of Future Focused TX, a campaign to help ensure that our students stay on track for college enrollment despite the effects of COVID-19. 

Future Focused TX was created for counselors by leaders in college and career advising and experts in deep student engagement. By signing on to the campaign, you’ll receive monthly digital packages of free, compelling, research-based content to help your students graduate from high school and successfully matriculate into college.