On September 14, 2010, I drove to Windsor High in Sonoma County to visit something I started several years ago when I worked for Brooks Institute. Chris Vetrano, who is the real organizer, calls me the founder. I had an important idea, and I kept asking people to help.
When I found Chris, I guess I became the founder.
I wrote about last year's visit to the fourth annual Sonoma County College Fair, and included a photo gallery also.
This year, I took a few pictures too.
sonoma county college fair 2010 - Images by bryan farley
In Sonoma County, very few schools fund a college adviser. Counselors often have caseloads of 400-600 students. Sonoma schools resemble many California schools in the way they prepare students for college. All California public schools must have a college preparatory curriculum, but nearly all public schools are inadequately prepared to help students find and apply for college.
Budget cuts affect colleges also. College admissions representatives cut staff and travel less. College admissions officers visit fewer individual high schools, especially if a high school has eliminated its college center. As a result, students lose important interpersonal contact.
Sometimes, competition hurts students too, but not the competition one might imagine. Some high school officials do not cooperate with the normal scheduling circuit. College fairs are usually scheduled months in advance. In Northern California, one person schedules them for all the representatives. Unfortunately, a few people want to schedule their own college fairs, which strains college's resources and schedules. There is a large private college fair which caused a conflicts with the Sonoma County College Fair this year. Last year, the private college fair organizer caused a conflict with another fair.
The lack of cooperation ultimately hurts students.
For the most part, educators who participate in college fairs continue working in this field, because they care about young people. Thank you to all who make these fairs possible.
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