From Reviews for Succeeding in High School

New "Handbook" aims to guide students to success

STAFF REPORT

myCentralJersey.com, A GANNET COMPANY

High school can be tough - from the anxiety of social situations to the pressures of college applications, many students find themselves overwhelmed by stress.

Joseph Adegboyega-Edun is a high school counselor who is determined to help students succeed - both emotionally and academically - in the four most important and challenging years of their K-12 education. . . .

While each student's post-high school plan may be different, the single most important credential needed to pursue this goal is still the high school diploma. If students consider the projection that four out of five jobs will require some form of post-secondary education, they'll see the importance of a high school education.

This guide also lets parents know how to advocate for their teen's education and how to keep track of their teen's progress. . . .

-September 4, 2009

Succeeding in High School Reviewed By Wendy Thomas of Bookpleasures.com

Succeeding in High School is a handbook for teens and parents on how to stay the course in the often confusing halls of high school. The book is divided in two parts with part 1 covering important topics and skills used in school like:

-Laying a strong academic foundation in the ninth grade
- Developing good organization skills
-Selecting high school courses to fit your interests and post-graduation plans
-Handling stress
-Developing coping skills for handling emotional challenges and distractions
-Finding appropriate extracurricular activities

Each chapter thoroughly explains a skill using plenty of examples and then concludes with questions for the students to get them thinking about how they can accomplish specific goals, things to do which are action items for the students, and a parents section filled with tips and advice to support their students in school.

This book makes great use of examples (i.e., Calculating Grade Point Average) as the author explains to the students in an authoritative and yet compassionate manner how they can best help themselves to succeed. The chapters are designed to follow the students through the four years with two chapters devoted to the Junior and Senior years having specific advice for those students like taking PSATs, SATs, and Graduation Requirements.

Part 2 of the book is a College Admissions Primer which uses a step-by-step approach to explain the competitive college admissions process. . . .

This section covers what colleges are looking for in students and how you can make sure that you have these requirements while still in high school. It also explains what you can do to make applying to colleges an easier process.

There is a thoughtful and detailed list of questions to ask yourself in the figuring out which college is for you section which may help you to decide what type of college would be best suited for your likes and dislikes. This one list alone may help you narrow down your school choices thus eliminating the need and expense in applying to colleges that are not a good fit.

Finally there is a nice summary of financial aid resources available for helping you get the funds needed to pay for college.

Using clear language that never talks down to the reader, Succeeding in High School does a great job of sorting out what needs to be done by the students and their parents in order for kids to successfully complete high school and then move on to college.

-September 29, 2009