Every school within Atlanta Public Schools is given a signature theme. The Grady Cluster theme is College and Career Preparation while North Atlanta’s is International Baccalaureate (IB).

The North Atlanta Cluster theme is clear to people who are involved with the district, yet Grady’s seems less well known. One of the head volunteers in the Grady College and Career Center (CCC), Anna Winer acknowledged the CCC is a strong program within Grady and having been around for so long has led the center to evolve. The founders “had a vision that was very unusual at the time” because of the parental support.

“I think the CCC is an amazing resource that has been supported by so many committed parent volunteers,”Annie Stern, a parent and ex-volunteer at the CCC, said. “I like that the aim of the center is for students to continue their education after high school in different ways since we have such a diverse group of students at Grady.”

Most APS schools have college and career centers. This is the first year APS has hired multiple college counselors through the College Advising Corps, a non-profit organization striving to help underprivileged students navigate the college and career process. According to Winer, the advisors are valuable because they are recent college graduates on two year assignments. A North Atlanta counselor, Taylor Thomas, was hired through the College Advising Corps and is excited to be working at North Atlanta’s CCC.

“I think it’s great that APS has hired [College Advising Corps graduates] to help,” Stern said. “My guess is that students will get even more out of the CCC with their contributions.”

Winer thinks including two professional college counselors is a “huge step” for the Grady CCC that will improve the dynamic of the center. Three volunteers founded the CCC almost 11 years ago and, until this year, it had remained parent-run. Parents still help students edit their applications and organize college visits during the school day.

Winer started when her first kid was a freshman and has volunteered for six years. “They [the parent volunteers] come in to learn and make it less scary for them because we are just as scared about the college process as the students are,” Winer said.

Winer is getting a certificate for college counseling through an online program. She was inspired by her many years of working in the Grady CCC. She plans to stay at Grady after obtaining her certificate.

“I will stick around Grady as long as they need volunteers,” Winer said.

North Atlanta and Grady both host college fairs. This year, Grady CCC’s kickoff event was on Aug. 12. The Grady CCC offered doughnuts and coffee. The University of Georgia, Georgia State University and Emory University came to talk about the college admissions process. North Atlanta will host a college fair with 180 schools, Army, and gap year programs. In Thomas’s opinion, this is North Atlanta’s most unique event.

“Something cool that we do is the PTSA and CCC put on college fairs and all APS schools can send 20 to 30 kids to it,” Thomas said.

Even if college and career readiness is not their signature theme, many schools have centers similar to the Grady CCC to help their students. Winer believes implementing college and career guidance in the lower, cluster schools will be beneficial to students. While students should not feel pressured, they should know it is an opportunity. For Winer, this is all part of the college growing culture. College is not the right path for everyone but would be good for students to be aware of.

“I think it would be a great idea [to reach out to feeder schools]. It is never too early to start thinking about college,” Winer said. “They shouldn’t worry about test scores, but they can think about their classes and activities.”