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River City students present study: English learners lack financial-aid knowledge, recommend counselor outreach
Summary
A student team from River City High presented countywide research showing many English learners lack confidence about financial aid and prefer learning about aid earlier; they recommended targeted counselor engagement, freshman workshops and follow-up surveys to measure progress.
A student research team from River City High School told Washington Unified trustees on May 22 that many English learners across Yolo County lack the knowledge to navigate financial aid even though they recognize its importance for college.
"The majority of English language learner students in Yolo County did not know enough knowledge about financial aid to successfully apply," said student presenter Bahari Akubi, summarizing survey and focus-group findings. The team conducted focus groups and an anonymous survey across six high schools, gathering 158 respondents and reaching roughly 22% of the county's EL population in the cohort they studied.
Fellow presenter Johnny Lou said Washington Unified returned 31 respondents; among them only one rated their financial-aid knowledge as a 10 on a 1–10 scale, and eight reported they would not feel comfortable asking their school counselors about financial aid. "A majority of students stated they want to learn about financial aid from their school counselors," Johnny Lou said, adding that a quarter of respondents felt uncomfortable approaching counselors.
The students recommended three main steps: increase counselor engagement with EL students (including one-on-one meetings and outreach at open houses), provide educational resources and workshops in freshman year (and post materials on platforms such as Google Classroom and Canvas), and conduct a follow-up project to measure whether interventions improve access and knowledge.
Trustees praised the students' methodology and said they would explore ways to amplify the work through district communications and counselor collaboration. Director-level staff noted the students had already begun interviews with district counselors and planned further outreach.
The board did not take immediate action but directors said they would follow up on implementing the students' recommendations and identifying communication channels to reach families in students' native languages.
