District 214 is trying to change what exactly “college-ready” and “career-ready” mean with a new campaign that reflects on more than just standardized tests.

Superintendent Dave Schuler was, in his words, “cranked up” when he saw an ACT press release stating that few kids are college ready.

“The reality is, they’re looking at one score,” Schuler said. The program’s roots came from the release.

“We started with this basic premise: you all… learn differently,” Schuler said. “Why shouldn’t you be able to demonstrate readiness in a variety of ways?”

The district analyzed research on readiness to put together what they considered a working definition of readiness.

“[It] allows multiple ways to demonstrate readiness, both [in] college and career,” Schuler said.

Valerie Norris, the assistant principal for student services, appreciates that Redefining Ready includes more than just college.

“It’s not just pushing a four-year college; it’s getting a student ready for what’s right for them after high school and what suits their interests,” Norris said.

The concept has naturally been met with some skepticism.

“Vendors, contractors, professors… they keep saying ‘these standards aren’t high enough,’” Schuler said.

To call them standards, according to Schuler, would be inaccurate.

“These aren’t standards at all,” Schuler said. “This is a multi-metric, research-based approach to defining readiness.”

Among the indicators of readiness, for example, is an A, B or C in an Algebra II class.

“When you look at the research surrounding Algebra II being a gatekeeper course, it is unbelievable,” Schuler said. “How well you do in Algebra II actually predicts how you’re going to do in college-level English classes.”

With No Child Left Behind being succeeded by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Schuler feels that Redefining Ready is a game changer.

“It’s time to change the narrative about public education in this country,” Schuler said. “The beginning of that change is happening right here in District 214.”

The ideas of the campaign are indeed starting to catch on beyond the district.

“We’ve got all kinds of school districts across the country that are talking about it,” Schuler said.

District 214 Board President Alva Kreutzer has acknowledged that the program is not quite as revolutionary as it could be.

“We would love all higher-ed institutions to adopt this, but the reality is they’re probably not going to,” Kreutzer said. “You really still need that ACT [or] SAT score.”

Schuler, nonetheless, has high hopes for the program.

“Not that everybody is going to necessarily adopt this, but it creates a framework, another point for discussion,” Schuler said.

The benefits of such a program are becoming clear.

“I think we’ve already begun to see the impact at Elk Grove,” Assistant Principal for Student Services Valerie Norris said. “We started focusing on… the college [and] career pathways… a couple of years ago.”

Norris believes that such a point of view is helpful for students.

“[It] kind of fits in exactly [with] what our vision is for our school in terms of students taking the most rigorous curriculum [and] starting to discover things that they would like to pursue, or maybe things they would not like to pursue,” Norris said.

Although the program will not change procedures significantly, such a program will make the role of counselors that much more important, according to Norris.

“I think people need to know that as young as 8th grade, they really need to be in communication with their counselor to make sure that they get everything in,” Norris said, “It’s almost like a puzzle in fitting everything in at the right time.”

The program is flexible to fit needs as years pass.

“We want this to be a living, breathing, authentic and appropriate definition of readiness,” Schuler said.

The district is offering two $1,000 scholarships in conjunction with the initial promotional effort; applications are due today.