During the Holbrook Unified School District No. 3 Governing Board meeting last week, the board approved Grow Arizona as a sole source provider to develop a college and career center at Holbrook High School (HHS).
Grow Arizona co-founders Kathleen Smith and Linda Kor, presented to the board what they plan to provide for high school juniors and seniors at the school. “We at Grow Arizona are dedicated to the development of young people as they prepare for their post-secondary lives,” stated Kor. “We work with students, parents, educators and professionals to assist students in creating a pathway to success whether it be to college, trade school or direct to career.”
According to Smith, in a study done in 2015 by Achieve.org, 84% of parents felt satisfied with high school preparation for students, but the numbers drop sharply as only 56% employers feel the same, as well as 35% of college instructors.
Smith and Kor believe they can provide solutions for this lack of readiness by providing services such as career exploration, interview preparedness, scholarship and FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) assistance, resume building, internships, job shadowing and soft skills development. “What a lot of employers are looking for is soft skills,” stated Smith. “The soft skills, as you know, are those that are harder to quantify. It’s your customer service, your communication abilities.”
Another issue Grow Arizona hopes to address is the lack of information on students after graduation. Included in the agreement will be tracking students’ development through pre and post year surveys and by creating student profiles. Kor added that another way the organization will help students is by providing an industry leaders speaker series. “For this, we will invite successful leaders in the region to come and talk about their stories and what they did to get where they are, discuss obstacles and provide insight to these students.”
Kor and Smith explained this won’t all happen immediately. For Grow Arizona’s first semester, which will begin this week, they have set attainable goals. These include assessing students and establishing a baseline of needs. Grow Arizona will also facilitate alumni tracking, establish communication between employer needs and education skills training, as well as providing employer networking for students.
The board approved the action and members expressed their excitement for the project. Board President Olivia Jaquez voiced her approval stating, “I think our communities definitely need this, we’ve even been talking about this within our board that the businesses within our community here in Holbrook need to start participating and helping students to grow into what they want to become. It’s not just about education, it’s about real-life situations.”
Dr. Robbie Koerperich stated, “This is grassroots, this is as organic as we get,” he said. “We want to build up Holbrook. We want to build up around this. We need leadership in our community and I think we will together, with our team, with NPC (Northland Pioneer College), Navajo County and the Navajo Nation. I think, especially in rural communities, the core of our community is education. It’s the foundation of what we go to. I think this can be a nucleus to really grow our entire community.”
Grow Arizona will provide services at the HHS campus from 1 to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, until the end of the school year. Students and parents are encouraged to take advantage of these free services.
