Goal-Setting for High School Students

Whether your teen is brand new to high school or beginning his or her senior year, the start of a new school year is a great time to set goals. "Because high school is when most students start thinking more seriously about the future, it is the ideal time for parents to empower their teens to take ownership of their education," says Christopher Tozzo, Executive Director of the Huntington Learning Center of Glendale. "One of the best ways to encourage this is through goal setting." Tozzo suggests that parents and their teens follow these four simple steps when setting goals: Step 1: Define goals. Have your teen write down on a sheet of paper (or on the first page of a "Goals" notebook) as many of his or her dreams that come to mind. These might include short-term goals, such as becoming more organized, or long-term goals, such as owning a business. Goals should be measurable, within your teen’s control and specific enough to work toward. Step 2: Identify the things standing in the way of those goals. Have your teen put each goal at the top of a separate piece of paper and list the obstacles between him or her and achieving that goal. Take Jennifer, for example, whose wants to write for a well-known newspaper or magazine one day. One of Jennifer’s challenges is to earn a bachelor’s degree from a strong journalism school. Step 3: Create an action plan. Once your teen has defined several goals and listed the challenges confronting each, he or she must think about how to tackle those roadblocks one by one. Talk with your teen about what needs to happen in order for him or her to overcome the problems named in Step 2. Our example, Jennifer, has decided that she will apply for the high school newspaper staff, research volunteer writing opportunities within the community and at the local newspaper, and continue to strive for good grades. Step 4: Assign target dates. Your teen should assign a due date to each step in his or her action plan. If short-term, your teen can put a date to his or her overall goal as well, but for far away goals, it is more important to create a specific to-do list for the near-term. Be sure your teen refers to his or her Goals notebook often and crosses off to-dos as completed (alternately, he or she could record action plan steps in his or her a planner). Not only is goal setting an important component of your teen’s education and future success, working together on this process is a great way for parents to open the lines of communication with their teens about college, career possibilities and other important topics. If your teen resists initially, Tozzo says, don’t give up. "Small rewards for each milestone can serve as great motivators," Tozzo says. "Or, make it a family activity. Think about your personal goals and do your own goal setting at the same time. It means a lot to a teen to see that his or her parent genuinely believes in the value of the process."   For more information, please contact Stacey Nottingham at the Glendale Huntington Learning Center at 602-504-9608.   About Huntington Learning Center Founded in 1977, Huntington Learning Center is the nation’s longest-running supplemental education services provider.  Today they continue to be an industry leader providing instruction in reading, writing, spelling, phonics, mathematics and study skills as well as SAT and ACT preparation to tens of thousands of students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Huntington prides itself on its unparalleled programs that help parents, caregivers and educators identify the gaps in skills and knowledge that can limit learning potential. Huntington’s personalized programs of instruction enable children to excel. To learn more or to locate a center near you, call 1-800 CAN LEARN. Documents and/or Photos available for this release: Huntington Learning Center Glendale, 5870 West Thunderbird Road (Safeway Plaza @ 59th Avenue), 602-504-9600 To view supporting documents and/or photos, go to www.enr-corp.com/pressroom and enter Release ID: 221875


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Huntington Learning Center Glendale provides individualized tutoring programs for students in grades K-12 for reading, writing, phonics, vocabulary, math and study & homework skills. We also offer 1-on-1 programs for SAT, ACT & PSAT exam preparation.

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