IT Career Outlook
According to a spokesperson from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, IT is still a fast growing field - with the exception of computer programming. Computer programmers are the lowest paid IT jobs, and because of offshoring, they have the lowest job growth rates.

Career Spotlight – Truck Driver
Truck driver is one of the highest paid jobs for high school grads, and the job outlook is good. Students interested in attending a truck driving school should check with local trucking companies to make sure the school’s training is acceptable.

Admissions Criteria Importance
In a recent survey, colleges were asked to rank admissions criteria by importance. Here are the results:
    1. Grades in college prep courses
    2. Strength of curriculum
    3. Admission test scores
    4. Overall high school GPA
    5. Essay
    6. Class rank

Letters of Recommendation
According to a college admissions officer who spoke at the ‘09 ASCA conference, a teacher’s recommendation should focus on a student’s classroom performance. It should be a spotlight. A counselor’s recommendation should consider the whole student and the environment the student is in - it should be a floodlight.

Idea for High Schools - Invite a local college admissions officer to a faculty meeting to give suggestions on writing letters of recommendation.

College Board to delay 8th grade test
Citing the dire economic condition of many schools and states, the College Board will delay launching ReadiStep, their 8th grade assessment test designed to gauge students’ readiness for college. The test had been scheduled to premiere this fall.
(LA Times May 15, 09)

A "Fun" Way to Introduce New Staff Members
At the beginning of your next faculty meeting, have all new staff members come to the front. Then choose 3 or 4 veteran teachers to be “contestants.” For each new staff member, have a large card with an interesting fact about that person printed on it. (I play the flute, I go kayaking every summer, I love murder mysteries, I am an avid hockey fan, etc.).

Give the first contestant all of the cards and have him/her try to match the card with the person. When every new staff member is holding a card, ask the ones that are holding the correct card to step forward. The 2nd contestant should then try to “rearrange” the cards that were wrong. Continue until all new staff members are holding the correct card. (This activity was presented at the ‘09 ASCA conference)

- Over 80% of the prison population are drop-outs.

- If you are working with a group of students, have a Show and Tell day. Ask students to bring an item that is important to them. Then go around the group and give students an opportunity to tell about the item they’ve brought.

- Math Fun Fact: How much is a billion? The moon is about a billion feet away. A billion hours ago it was the Stone Age. It would take 30 years to count to a billion.
Woodburn Press Careers in Math InfoGuide

- Science Fun Fact: The microwave was invented when a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
Woodburn Press Careers in Science InfoGuide