California Schools Need College and Career Services

By Caillou Dasalla

Although California is far from fully funding our public schools, there are many things that I look forward to when we do. One critical resource our students need is in-school college and career services. 

Growing up, my high school was one of few public schools with a dedicated “College and Career Center” (CCC). The CCC served me in not only assisting my goal of attending college, but also helped all my peers by counseling us at individual levels. The CCC’s counselors looked after students in order to encourage our academic and vocational pursuits. In hindsight, those services helped me obtain college application fee forgiveness, scholarships, internships, jobs, and more. 

These programs also provide opportunities for those who do not fit into traditional higher learning. They take students with vocational potential and nurture their skills through career technical programs. In doing so, they service the whole population of a school. Unlike at present, wherein vocationally skilled students are often left behind by the system's one-mindedness toward traditional higher ed. Additionally, this means college and career services are uplifting historically destituted or left-behind students of color and those with learning disabilities.

From my experience, it is clear that college and career services have value in public schools. They help level the playing field for students of all backgrounds and assist those with college aspirations bridge the gap between dream and reality. These programs are a must have for California schools. And someday, when our schools are fully-funded, all Californians will be able to more confidently pursue their ambitions. And in order to achieve that someday, we must demand that the state fund our schools now!