Paving the Way
By Staff Sgt. Jose Espinoza, USAREC, Mid-Atlantic Battalion
April 10, 2015
For the first time, New Jersey’s North Bergen High School will allow students to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test this year.
Since 2011, I’ve incurred many obstacles in my efforts to convince school officials of the benefits of the test.
One of my first attempts was to talk with Allen Pascual, head of North Bergen’s Guidance Department. He agreed to present the idea to the board of education, explaining he didn’t know how long it would take to get approval.
Throughout the year, administrators were shown the March2Success.com website. I explained how the program provides students with free SAT, ACT, state testing and college entrance exam prep courses.
Still, the school board resisted allowing the ASVAB, concerned it would cattle herd students into military service.
I teamed up with recruiting center NCOs Staff Sgt. Carlos Suarez and Thomas McCord. Together, we approached school administrators multiple times to explain how the ASVAB benefits students and the school.
The New Jersey Department of Education held a statewide conference with all public high schools in June 2014. They discussed transitioning away from the current End-of-Course assessment, which included the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) as a graduation requirement, and replacing HSPA with the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for Colleges and Careers (PARCC) as the the graduation requirement. ASVAB would be accepted as a substitute competency test for students who fail to pass the PARCC.
Last October, the Mid-Atlantic Battalion Education Service Specialist Giovanna Hansen, myself and Suarez and McCord met School Superintendent Dr. George Solter Jr., North Bergen High School principal Paschal Tennaro, and Pascual to discuss the ASVAB Career Exploration Program.
North Bergen administrators agreed to allow their 600 juniors to take the ASVAB this school year, with the goal of ensuring they will meet the new graduation requirements next year.
We are now meeting with administrators from Fort Lee High School and Ridgefield Memorial High School to promote the ASVAB as the main alternative test for the (PARCC).
By Staff Sgt. Jose Espinoza, USAREC, Mid-Atlantic Battalion
April 10, 2015
For the first time, New Jersey’s North Bergen High School will allow students to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test this year.
Since 2011, I’ve incurred many obstacles in my efforts to convince school officials of the benefits of the test.
One of my first attempts was to talk with Allen Pascual, head of North Bergen’s Guidance Department. He agreed to present the idea to the board of education, explaining he didn’t know how long it would take to get approval.
Throughout the year, administrators were shown the March2Success.com website. I explained how the program provides students with free SAT, ACT, state testing and college entrance exam prep courses.
Still, the school board resisted allowing the ASVAB, concerned it would cattle herd students into military service.
I teamed up with recruiting center NCOs Staff Sgt. Carlos Suarez and Thomas McCord. Together, we approached school administrators multiple times to explain how the ASVAB benefits students and the school.
The New Jersey Department of Education held a statewide conference with all public high schools in June 2014. They discussed transitioning away from the current End-of-Course assessment, which included the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) as a graduation requirement, and replacing HSPA with the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for Colleges and Careers (PARCC) as the the graduation requirement. ASVAB would be accepted as a substitute competency test for students who fail to pass the PARCC.
Last October, the Mid-Atlantic Battalion Education Service Specialist Giovanna Hansen, myself and Suarez and McCord met School Superintendent Dr. George Solter Jr., North Bergen High School principal Paschal Tennaro, and Pascual to discuss the ASVAB Career Exploration Program.
North Bergen administrators agreed to allow their 600 juniors to take the ASVAB this school year, with the goal of ensuring they will meet the new graduation requirements next year.
We are now meeting with administrators from Fort Lee High School and Ridgefield Memorial High School to promote the ASVAB as the main alternative test for the (PARCC).