For Allison Grabelle, the search started with a book.
The Evanston Township High School senior borrowed a book on college from the school’s career center to help her decide what to do after she graduates this spring.
Grabelle, who is hoping to go to Humboldt State University in California, is one of more than 750 ETHS students who are planning their next step after high school.
Administrators are doing everything they can to help with that transition, said Jill Meyer, the head of the school’s College Career Center.
But a look at the numbers from other area high schools paints a bleaker picture.
Employees at Winnetka’s New Trier High School, Skokie’s Niles North High School and Lincolnshire’s Adlai Stevenson High School each said between 95 and 98 percent of their graduates go to college.
College was the destination of 71 percent of the ETHS class of 2006, the most recent class where numbers are available, according to a school profile put out by the center.
That number will be pushed higher after students who originally entered the workforce decide they want to go to college, Meyer said.
The college attendance rate is “pretty consistent from year to year,” she added.
Nationally, 66 percent of those who graduated in 2006 attended college, according to numbers from the College Entrance Examination Board.
“We’re actually very high compared to the national rate,” said Superintendent Eric Witherspoon. “We really do prepare students so if they want to go to college, they can.”
ETHS Director of Research, Evaluation and Assessment Judith Levinson said other schools’ numbers are “somewhat inflated” because they use self-reporting. At ETHS, administrators track down the students a year after graduation to find out where they actually went, she said.
Another reason for the discrepancy could be the large difference in the economic statuses of the students, said ETHS senior Daniel Poneman. To go to college, students have to be rich as well as smart, the 17-year-old said.
“Everybody knows that as you go farther north, the college rates are going to be higher because it’s more affluent,” he said. “To compare ETHS to a school like New Trier or even Niles North is absurd.”
According to a 2006 community census, the median income in Evanston is $62,138. In Winnetka, the median income is almost three times as high at $167,458, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. But a 2006 community census said Skokie’s median income was $64,697, just a little higher than Evanston’s.
Apart from financial concerns, college might not figure into the future plans of some.
“I kind of want to go to college, but in a way I don’t,” said ETHS junior Sean Logan, who said he was leaning toward getting a full-time job after college. “I could be out here doing better things.”
Meyer said the school’s low college rate is a problem.
“It’s a concern of mine that there’s a large percentage of students that aren’t going on to higher education,” she said. “I think that’s something we need to address.”
The career center meets with every ETHS junior to discuss post-graduation plans, Meyer said. Counselors also meet with students and families on an individual basis when they request it.
The center also hosts more than 200 college visits each year and puts on evening workshops about college and financial aid.
Poneman called the center “an amazing resource,” but added that it’s only helpful for those students who take the initiative to use it.
“If kids choose to utilize resources, it’s a great place,” said Poneman, who is currently deciding whether to go to college or focus on a basketball scouting business he recently started. “However, for kids that don’t take initiative, those kids aren’t going to go anywhere.”
Meyer acknowledged the system isn’t perfect. But she said the most important thing is providing support to all students, regardless of what they want to do after high school.
The school gives support to students who don’t want to attend college, said Shelley Gates, director of the ETHS Applied Science and Technology Department.
In particular, it has three certification programs for students who want to get a head start on their careers, she said. The programs include a pharmacy technician certificate, in partnership with Walgreens; a certified nursing assistant initiative, in partnership with the Presbyterian Home; and the first level of a Microsoft Office specialist certification.
The school recently received a $100,000 grant from the Owen L. Coon Foundation to develop certification programs in three additional fields: automotive technician, culinary arts and early childhood education. It is also looking into starting a welding certification program, Gates said.
In each profession, the certificate will allow students to see what the career path offers and will also help them to get a good job after college, said Gates, adding that a high school diploma alone “doesn’t mean much anymore.”
“We’re trying to provide students with additional avenues to pursue after graduation,” she said. “It lets them get a leg up on other people.”
