CHALLENGE

Freehold Regional High School District (FRHSD) serves more than 11,000 students from eight different communities in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Having observed many of its high school graduates struggle with the transition to college, the district wanted to identify areas for additional support services for its students.

SOLUTION

Hanover designed and administered a survey to students and parents across the district to understand students’ concerns about the college transition, their opinions about available district resources, and what other resources might be needed.

IMPACT

Hanover’s survey analysis revealed that FRHSD’s college preparedness offerings addressed many of its students’ concerns about adapting to college, but found two opportunities where students would benefit from improved district support.

Based on Hanover’s findings, FRHSD:

• Presented Hanover’s report to leadership and stakeholders across the district
• Established a college transition and preparedness program with Title I funding
• Offered workshops to address financial aid and other major concerns of its students
• Provided individualized attention to students participating in the program

We deal with a complex web of regulatory and state education requirements that make it challenging at times to best determine funding sources to support our students. What I’ve learned from partnering with Hanover is that when you have hard research that proves a point, everyone benefits from the changes that follow from targeted programming. —Donna Evangelista, Director of Planning, Research, and Evaluation