Innovative Practices 2021 Grant Winner

South Granville High School (Granville County Schools) met students and families where they are—virtual or in-person—across flexible times to facilitate completing the FAFSA.

Key Strategies

Flexibility

• Set up appointments at times that worked best for families, often overnight or on the weekend.
• Remained flexible and patient when issues came up which required counselors to reschedule meetings.

Outstanding Outreach

• Used a variety of methods to reach students and families with FAFSA completion messages, steps, and college and career information.
• Provided families with multiple mediums to connect with advisers: emails, texts, calls, and zoom meetings

Community Partnerships

• Local/Community Colleges, trade-based programs, and Job Corps Scholars hosted general and FAFSA info sessions.
• College Advising Corps hosted virtual community college fairs, and shared resources and strategies.
• School Partners were kept updated on progress.

Demystify the Process

• Focused on helping families decode the FAFSA questions and fill in the information from their tax forms.
• Informed families the FAFSA qualifies students for more than need-based aid, and is worth completing regardless of income-level and postsecondary plan.