Parents & Families

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Families of Middle & High Schoolers

At ACPE, we understand there is a lot of new information coming your way regarding college & career training opportunities for your student. All of this information can be overwhelming and hard to understand. We are here to help support you & your student to successfully prepare for educational opportunities available after high school AND access resources to pay for them! Check out our links below to connect with grade-level tools and resources to simplify the exploration and planning process.

Families of Postsecondary Students

If your student is about to start or already attending a college or career training program, congratulations! Your support of their education and career goals has played a pivotal role in helping them get this far. There may still be many unknowns ahead as to financial aid, continuing education, career opportunities, and graduation. ACPE is here for you and offers a variety of resources and tools to support you and your student in the next phase of their education and career training.

There are many types of funding solutions to help students pay for college or career trainings. Scholarships & Grants are the free kind! Usually scholarships are awarded based on merit (grades) or some type of extracurricular achievement. While Grants are usually awarded based on financial need. Students typically need to apply for school or community-based scholarships & grants. So it is important to start researching opportunities, application requirements, and eligibility early in high school!

It's important to work with a school counselor each year to plan a course schedule and meeting high school graduation requirements. Students should also review the APS Curriculum Requirements to make sure they are taking courses that meet BOTH high school graduation requirements and APS curriculum requirements and potentially earn up to $7,000 a year!

Understanding finances can be a challenge for adults and can certainly be intimidating for middle schoolers. It's important to start learning early about how paying for college & career training works, the funding solutions available, and what it means to pay back a loan (if a student loan is taken out). The earlier students learn about financial planning, grants & scholarships, and how loans work - the better! Check out ACPE's Resource Library to learn more.

From ACPE's Kids2Careers program, middle school students can review important Success Steps to prepare for high school and beyond!

There are many years to go before it's time to complete the FAFSA, but ACPE has resources to prepare and help when the time comes! Check out ACPE's Alaska FAFSA Completion site for more information.

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