Ramp-Up to Readiness™ is a school-wide program at Grandview Middle School presented in the Post Secondary Skills course and in Morning Meeting advisory time. Ramp-Up features an engaging and interactive series of activities designed to help all students graduate from high school ready for postsecondary success.

The Ramp-Up outcomes are focused on the five pillars of readiness: academic, admissions, career, financial, and personal and social readiness. Ramp-Up helps students advance toward meeting those standards as they progress through school.

As part of the Ramp Up Curriculum, all students develop an ongoing Postsecondary Plan. The purpose of the Postsecondary Plan is to connect career, postsecondary and academic planning as students move from one grade to the next. The Postsecondary Plan is an individualized learning plan that takes into account all five Readiness Pillars. Students articulate, communicate, and update their plans for life after high school in their Postsecondary Plans. The Postsecondary Plan helps students ask and answer the question, "What do I want to do with my life after high school?"

Twice a year, Grandview students complete the P.R.I.D.E. Rubric, which is used to continuously monitor their progress toward being college ready by the end of high school. The P.R.I.D.E. Rubric asks students to assess their current skill level in the areas of Preparation, Respect, Integrity, Discipline and Effort. Teachers also complete the P.R.I.D.E. Rubric twice a year for each of their students. The rubric helps students ask and answer: What do I need to do to reach my goals?

5th Grade: Students take a learning styles inventory and have their first introduction to Naviance, an accumulative online portfolio for students in grades 5-12 used to discover and document their individual strengths, learning styles and college and career interests.

6th Grade: Students take the Naviance Learning Styles Inventory and participate in a Q & A panel with current college students.

7th Grade: Students complete a career interest assessment and participate in a Q & A with career professionals.

• Encourage post high school education to be part of your child’s consciousness, goals, life plan and future. Talking about high school and college careers and exposing your child to events and activities in those settings will increase the likelihood that it will be a part of their plan for after high school.
• Support your child in her/his studies by creating home expectations that give priority to education. Monitor your child’s progress, seek resources where needed, create a positive home studying environment, require regular school attendance, attend parent/teacher conferences and other informational meetings and celebrate your child’s hard work and accomplishments.
• Start a college savings program. Investigate different ways to save. See www.mnsaves.org for more information
• Follow your child's school on Twitter, Facebook and school and teacher Schoology pages to stay informed

Students graduate college and career ready

Westonka students graduate prepared for postsecondary education and careers in the 21st century workforce. The Mound Westonka High School school counselors use a personalized approach to help each student meet their postsecondary goals.

High school students receive continuous support

Mound Westonka High School students use the Minnesota Career Information System (MCIS), a post-secondary portfolio tool, throughout grades 8-12. The MWHS guidance counselors complete grade-level activities with all students several times each year, focused on postsecondary planning.

• 8th Grade Seminar: designed to assist students with the high school transition and prepare them for academic success and postsecondary readiness
• MCIS: students identify their unique learning styles in order to maximize their learning potential
• Guidance Large Group Meetings: review graduation requirements, transcript, GPA and connect to college admission and career exploration
• Link Crew: peer mentorship program that connects 8th grade students with 11th grade mentors to encourage a positive culture
• Registration Fair to learn about high school course options

• MCIS: learning style inventory and career interest profiler
• Guidance Large group meetings: designed to help students make connections between MCIS results and college and career options
• Link Crew: peer mentorship program that connects 9th grade students with 12th grade students to encourage a positive culture

• PreACT Test: assessment linked to ACT college and career readiness benchmarks
• College Speaker Series: students are exposed to information from 4-year public/private and 2-year public/private college reps during a monthlong series of college speakers
• Parent information on PreACT results provided and ACT Prep Parent video

• College admission testing: PSAT (optional) and State/District ACT (yields a college reportable score)
• Evening ACT Prep Academy
• MCIS: College Search Tool
• Guidance Large Group Meetings: graduation credit check, college research, college admission test info. and college application info.
• Parent Night: Junior Parent Night, including a panel of college reps

• Guidance Large Group Meetings: college application process, financial aid information and local scholarships
• MCIS: College Search, Scholarship Search and Senior/Graduation Survey
• Parent Night: Financial Aid Information Night

• Attend parent information nights and review college and career information with students on a regular basis
• Expose students to college information and environments whenever possible whether through less formal means (campus drive through, attend a college sporting or performing arts event, start conversations with relatives about their college/career path, etc.) or more formal means (official campus visit, attend a college fair, encourage attendance at college rep meetings, etc.)
• As students reach high school, begin to have direct conversations about postsecondary options, individual goals and the plan to pay for college
• Support and be involved in your student’s postsecondary planning process, but remember that the student should be the one taking the lead
• Follow you child's school on Twitter, Facebook and school and teacher Schoology pages to stay informed
• Contact the school counseling team to set up an appointment to talk about your child's postsecondary plans