Life after SKHS

Last Thursday, in conjunction with the South Kingstown Partnership for Prevention, we held a Principal’s Coffee on parenting your child the year after high school. Mark Wood, a professor in the Department of Psychology at URI, and Fred Procopio, the Director of Medical Services at URI, spoke to a few of us about some of the transitional issues students face leaving high school (and home), especially at college. Dr. Wood focused his comments on his research on alcohol-related preventive interventions in college student populations. Dr. Wood discussed the link between alcohol consumption and stress and how students’ inability to handle not only the academic intensity but the pressures of managing their lives (laundry, finances, food, etc) were a contributing factor in acute and chronic alcohol abuse. Dr. Procopio discussed the developmental and behavioral patterns he sees, principally during the freshman year of college; he said that there are an increasingly high number of students who either come to school incredibly fragile because they have been protected for 18 years or are burned out after working so hard during high school. Both provided fascinating observations and longitudinal data to support their contentions. I asked Dr. Procopio about the reluctance of many seniors – and their parents – to consider what our school counselors call a gap year, a year between senior year of high school and freshman year of college. He pointed out that even though there may be options presented to kids both in and out of school other than proceeding immediately to a two or four year school, those alternatives are usually never fully considered. He also spoke of his personal experience, where taking a semester off during his sophomore year of college helped to transform his college years into a much more positive experience.

I met with the school counselors the next day and shared my thoughts with them about the notion of a gap year and they confirmed what Dr. Procopio had said: that the option is presented to do something other than immediately attend college but it is normally not considered. We discussed how the department can structure some of their parent and student presentations during the junior and senior years to provide more weight to the consideration. Whether spending a year in an organization like Americorps volunteering, working or traveling, there are many students who would benefit from a break – and some perspective - from school before beginning another educational journey.

During the presentations we also discussed what we might be able to do as a school to help kids with some of the realities of living away from home for the first time. Next year, I have asked one our business teachers, Scott Rollins, to teach our Life Skills class. I’ve asked him to think about those issues that confront kids as they move away from home, whether into a dormitory or an apartment with friends, and how we can help them as they are required to manage additional responsibilities. The list of new experiences is a long one: getting along with roommates, setting a schedule when previously your schedule has been set for you, personal health and nutrition, finances, the list goes on and on. Dr. Procopio has already offered to explore linking some of the support services at URI with the course including Health Services, Talent Development and student leadership programs. In the process of developing this course and providing kids and parents options to consider, maybe we can help our students make better - or at least more informed - choices as they enter the “real world.”