Educational Consultant's are True Navigators When You Have a Child in Crisis

Private independent educational consultants who specialize in at risk students take up where overburdened high school guidance counselors or therapists leave off.

Charging by the hour or offering a package of services, these consultants usually meet multiple times with a student (when applicable) and /or family (either in person or on the phone) to talk about goals regarding the current situation.

Educational Consultants synthesize information from parents, teachers, therapists, medical personnel, read transcripts, tests, evaluations and other information to help create a list of best suited programs and schools that might be a good match.

Then they guide the family through the research process, preparing parents on how to interview the program and keeping everyone informed and organized. Most educational consultants spend about 20 percent of their time visiting program and school campuses and interviewing the staff.

One of my clients was Valerie Norman from Maui, Hawaii. She said, “As a parent looking for help for my son and finding someone like Dore Frances, was a true answer to what I needed. I could have researched it all myself, but it was better for me to work a bit more and keep myself occupied so I did not fall apart. It was worth every penny to pay an expert. Dore's strong reassuring voice almost made me drop to my knees the first time we spoke. She helped me know that I didn't fail as a parent, and I was getting help instead of standing by wondering what to do with my out of control son.”

Another of my clients, who is now 18, said, “I don’t think I could have gotten into the best school for my needs without Dore's help." Anthony is now a freshman at college in California.

“She helped me take what I thought were not very nice things about myself, and show me that I was just off track because of the choices I was making.”

Educational consultants need to be “super detailed and organized.” Part of a consultant’s job is to remind parents and students about their goals and desires when going through this process.

I had a student say, "You tell me the same things as my parents did, but I don’t mind when you say it." (Emi G., Illinois)

Some consultants have specialties — working with students with learning disorders, for example, or with colleges in other countries. Consultants may also specialize in navigating the path to private high schools, elementary schools and even nursery schools. Other consultants specialize in addiction treatment centers, or working with those involved in the juvenile justice system.

According to surveys by the Independent Educational Consultants Association, consultants charge an average hourly rate of $160, though the fee in the largest cities may be in the $300-an-hour range. Most prefer to offer a package of services that carry a student from the beginning to the end of their program for a set fee, averaging $3,700 to $7,700.

Educational consulting often comes as a second or third career for many people. I think you need the life experiences, parenting experiences and perspectives of even first hand experience yourself to help teenagers and their parents find a true match. The most common backgrounds are in education and psychology. Some others have been involved in grief counseling or working in the juvenile justice system.

Because there are no licensing requirements, anyone can hang out a shingle and call themselves and Educational Consultant, however, without professional training courses, updated educational courses in various areas of specialty, annual program and school visits, review of accreditation and licensing of programs or participation in professional associations, their services won’t be as well informed or as in-depth as a parent may need for their child. Be sure to ask about this.

Training to become an educational consultant can be found online through the college counselor certificate program at the University of California, Los Angeles, and also by attending regular professional conferences through different organizations. Professional associations, including the Higher Education Consultants Association, the National Association for College Admission Counseling and the Independent Educational Consultants Association, also offer information.

Most professional organizations also ask members to uphold ethics and standards — for example, by not accepting remuneration from any programs or schools for placing students with them.

But educational consultants’ most valuable contribution may be stress reduction for a family, especially when they are in crisis. Taking an emotionally fraught situation and turning it into a time of shared discovery is absolutely the most valuable and enjoyable thing I do. Even when in crisis, going through the process of getting help for your child needs to be an adventure that families enjoy and learn from together. That being said, no other option than long term results are a part of what I strive for with each and every family.

Dore E. Frances, M.A.
Founder, Horizon Family Solutions

Barack Obama will reform No Child Left Behind - I will be watching closely

• Barack Obama will reform No Child Left Behind:

  Obama and Biden believe teachers should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests and he will improve the assessments used to track student progress to measure readiness for college.

No Child Left Behind Left the Money Behind: The goal of the law was the right one, but unfulfilled funding promises, inadequate implementation by the Education Department and shortcomings in the design of the law itself have limited its effectiveness and undercut its support. As a result, the law has failed to provide high-quality teachers in every classroom and failed to adequately support and pay those teachers.

Support High-Quality Schools and Close Low-Performing Charter Schools:

Barack Obama and Joe Biden will double funding for the Federal Charter School Program to support the creation of more successful charter schools. An Obama-Biden administration will provide this expanded charter school funding only to states that improve accountability for charter schools, allow for interventions in struggling charter schools and have a clear process for closing down chronically under performing charter schools. An Obama-Biden administration will also prioritize supporting states that help the most successful charter schools to expand to serve more students.

Address the Dropout Crisis: Obama and Biden will address the dropout crisis by passing his legislation to provide funding to school districts to invest in intervention strategies in middle school - strategies such as personal academic plans, teaching teams, parent involvement, mentoring, intensive reading and math instruction, and extended learning time.

Support English Language Learners: Obama and Biden support transitional bilingual education and will help Limited English Proficient students get ahead by holding schools accountable for making sure these students complete school.

• Invest in early childhood education:

  The Obama-Biden comprehensive "Zero to Five" plan will provide critical support to young children and their parents. And they will help states move toward voluntary, universal pre-school.

Teacher Retention is a Problem: Thirty percent of new teachers leave within their first five years in the profession.

Make Math and Science Education a National Priority: Obama and Biden will recruit math and science degree graduates to the teaching profession and will support efforts to help these teachers learn from professionals in the field. They will also work to ensure that all children have access to a strong science curriculum at all grade levels.

Expand High-Quality After school Opportunities: Obama and Biden will double funding for the main federal support for after school programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve one million more children.

Recruit Teachers: Obama and Biden will create new Teacher Service Scholarships that will cover four years of undergraduate or two years of graduate teacher education, including high-quality alternative programs for mid-career recruits in exchange for teaching for at least four years in a high-need field or location.

Prepare Teachers: Obama and Biden will require all schools of education to be accredited.

Obama and Biden will also create a voluntary national performance assessment so we can be sure that every new educator is trained and ready to walk into the classroom and start teaching effectively. Obama and Biden will also create Teacher Residency Programs that will supply 30,000 exceptionally well-prepared recruits to high-need schools.

Reward Teachers: Obama and Biden will promote new and innovative ways to increase teacher pay that are developed with teachers, not imposed on them. Districts will be able to design programs that reward accomplished educators who serve as a mentor to new teachers with a salary increase. Districts can reward teachers who work in under served places like rural areas and inner cities. And if teachers consistently excel in the classroom, that work can be valued and rewarded as well.

• Make college affordable to all Americans:

  Obama and Biden will create a new American Opportunity Tax Credit worth $4,000 in exchange for community service. It will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students.

Soaring College Costs: College costs have grown nearly 40 percent in the past five years.

The average graduate leaves college with over $19,000 in debt.

And between 2001 and 2010, 2 million academically qualified students will not go to college because they cannot afford it. Finally, our complicated maze of tax credits and applications leaves too many students unaware of financial aid available to them.

Support College Outreach Programs: Obama and Biden support outreach programs like GEAR UP, TRIO and Upward Bound to encourage more young people from low-income families to consider and prepare for college.

Support College Credit Initiatives: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will create a national "Make College A Reality" initiative that has a bold goal to increase students taking AP or college-level classes nationwide 50 percent by 2016, and will build on Obama's bipartisan proposal in the U.S. Senate to provide grants for students seeking college level credit at community colleges if their school does not provide those resources.

Dore E. Frances, M.A.