Category: High School Vs College

Essay on College Versus High School: Rookie of the Year Recruiting Plan

Hello, my name is SGT Connor Brave with the Illinois Army National Guard. I currently recruit out of Southern Illinois with November Company in Franklin County, White County, and the North Section of Saline County. Out of those three counties, I have control of ten high schools and one community college. The overall purpose of this paper is to explain the demographics of my area and schools, schools programs, a recruiting and sustainment plan, and to explain my efforts to utilize the Recruiter Zone and School Zone to maximize my individual mission.

Demographics

With controlling three separate counties the population, education, and economy differ. Franklin County is my biggest county as far as population goes, and according to our state marketing, the population is 39,782. My second biggest county is Saline County although I have one school located in this county, the population of the towns and surrounding towns of Eldorado is 15,459. White County is by far my smallest county, with a population of 14,385. The population is important to my overall recruiting plan because it gives me pool of possible applicants. Since the majority of my population is located in rural areas, I believe it gives me an extreme advantage to the rest of the recruiting areas in my state, because I’m capable of connecting with my applicants on a personal basis.

Education is very important to those who look to achieve high-paying jobs and certain job fields in my area. Out of my three counties, White County has the highest post-secondary enrollment rate, followed by Saline County, and then Franklin County. Enrollment rates in my area have climbed in the past five years. The numbers continue to increase each year due to the competition in most career fields. The majority of my population, throughout my counties, has a high school diploma or some type of equivalent accreditation. This is huge because with post-secondary enrollment rates continuing to increase, it allows me to sell the National Guard and the educational benefits it has to offer.

The economy plays a very big part in my overall recruiting plan. Throughout the schools in my recruiting area, the average household income remains around $41,764. I personally believe is a good income for the area considering most jobs are factory positions, mining, and farming. Most high-paying jobs in my area require some sort of associate’s or bachelor’s degree. The mining jobs in my area require a mine certification, which is obtained from Rend Lake Community College. This gives me the opportunity to sell the National Guard’s educational benefits to those students. Although my area produces a lot of jobs a majority of them require secondary employment in order to make a livable wage. The National Guard’s part-time service meets the interest to the majority of people who want to keep their current jobs. The unemployment rate in my area varies from year to year. According to the market share from my state marketing department, the unemployment rate is 5.4%. This give me the advantage to help out those who are seeking to find positions to help out their families financially.

Although I have ten high schools but the ones that stand out to me and continue to produce year after year is Eldorado High School, West Frankfort High School, and Christopher High School. The population of juniors and seniors combined according to the Illinois Board of Education website is 525 students. Each of these schools meet the accordance of AR 601-210 as High School diploma-producing tier-one schools. All these schools have multiple different schools programs including the National Honor Society, college and career classes, technical classes, and more. These programs are important to establishing a reason of how the National Guard will benefit them. Throughout these schools, they all take the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test). The school’s combined average of students that meet or exceeded standards is roughly 35%, according to Illinois Report Card. According to the Illinois Board of Education, the graduation rate for my school is 82%. All these factors are important because it gives me a target demographic to recruit for the Illinois Army National Guard. Obviously, the students that meet or exceed standards are capable of passing the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery).

School Programs

Eldorado High School is located in Saline County, Illinois which is one of the three schools in this county. The current enrollment of juniors and seniors at Eldorado High School is 102 seniors and 83 juniors. The graduation rate of EHS is 87% and the post-secondary enrollment rate is 76%. The schools excel the state standard year after year for SAT testing. Eldorado High School has multiple different clubs and programs such as the National Honor Society, Future Farmers of America, SkillsUSA, Math team, and more. The school staff is very military-friendly and always has an open-door policy. Over the past couple of months, I have built a good rapport with a majority of sport teams and academic teams, along with the teachers and staff.

Although I have a great presence in Eldorado High School, I plan to work on getting a lot more involved with the staff and the students. In October during the first teacher and staff institute, I will be giving a class on why the Illinois Army National Guard is the best option for all students. I will be providing food and drinks for the staff, along with any parents that would like to come. I plan to use this event to my advantage to gain more of a positive rapport within Eldorado High School.

During football season I have planned a military appreciation night to allow all local veterans to be recognized. During the football game, the Illinois Army National Guard will be displaying the colors for the National Anthem. The Eldorado football team will also be where National Guard-branded jerseys. Some more big events I will be a part of is homecoming after the dance, prom after party, and the graduation party throughout the year. All these events are a great way to establish a presence and gain lead generation at the same time. I will be able to also plan more events during the year to establish the leads from the students that don’t attend big events. Eldorado High School produces at least five or six enlistments a year, and that is why Eldorado High School will be a high priority for me.

Recruiting and Sustainment Plan

A recruiting and sustainment plan is extremely important when it comes to being a successful recruiter. Each quarter throughout the year I will be hitting different types of applicants such as high school seniors, high school juniors, high school graduates, college students, and prior service. Throughout the next year, each quarter will have a primary market, secondary market, and tertiary market in accordance with the NGR 601-1.

My first quarter will consist on a primary market of high school seniors, a secondary market of high school graduates, and a tertiary market of prior service members. During the first quarter in order to hit my primary market, I will set up Guard 101 briefs in all my schools. I will conduct these briefs to establish the benefit of the National Guard after high school. With having high school graduates and college students as my secondary market. I will conduct educational benefits briefs at my local community college to remind students of the perks of the National Guard. The inactive ready reserve (IRR) will be my tertiary market to talk to those prior service members who have been out for at least a year. This gives them the opportunity to re-enlist with a hefty bonus.

For the second quarter, my primary market will be high school juniors. Which means I will be eligible to sell the idea of the split training option (STO). The STO allows the juniors to attend basic between their junior and senior year and advanced individual training during after their senior year. This is an advantage above my all other branches because the Army National Guard is the only branch that offers this option. I will plan to reach out to an all-junior class to explain the advantages the National Guard and the STO option. My secondary market is going to be college students. So I will do weekly walk-troughs on my local community college campus and talk to students and staff to establish more of a presence. During the second quarter, my tertiary market is prior service. I will continue to find prior service soldiers in my area and talk about retirement benefits, bonuses, and job security. I will also reach out to unit members for lead generation.

During the third quarter, my primary market will be high school seniors. Since I already established the education benefit to the seniors during the first quarter, I will conduct fun training. Fun training will be anything from meals ready to eat classes, combat dodgeball, physical training classes, and more. It is also important to briefly go over the benefits of the National Guard as a refresher. My secondary market is high school juniors and I will continue to explain the benefits of STO. I will also remind the juniors that this will be the last time for the STO because the training seats will be closing extremely soon. This is a good concept to push these juniors in the direction of the Illinois Army National Guard. In the third market, I will continue to use the IRR to my advantage to recruit qualified prior service leads. I will also reach out to unit members that might have friends that used be in their unit. This will hopefully help generate a good lead base for my tertiary market.

Finally, throughout the fourth quarter, I will primarily reach out to prior service applicants. These prior service leads will be gathered from unit members, IRR, or any possible way to find prior service leads. I will emphasize the bonuses, the capabilities of remaining close to home, job security, and retirement benefits. The secondary market will be high school seniors which were previously high school juniors. It’s important to reconnect to the upcoming seniors that were interested in the Army National Guard but didn’t like the STO. I will sell the idea on enlisting sooner than later for promotion, time in service, and more training opportunities. My tertiary market will be focusing on students who just recently graduated. This is key because a lot of them will begin to struggle while at college or have gone into the workforce. Explain the educational benefits and the benefits that the military as a whole can do.

Recruiter Zone

Throughout the next year recruiter zone and school zone will be a program that I will use on a day-to-day basis. Recruiting zone is essential for recruiters because it allows recruiters to input key data on leads. As a recruiter, you can also input appointments for leads that you schedule. In the recruiter zone you can obtain hot leads, which are interested individuals that reach out and input data into nationalguard.com. This is important to check on a daily basis because it allows to you to reach out to people who are interested in the organization. The recruiter zone is used by my NCOIC on a daily basis, as he tracks to see if we are properly doing our job. With that being said recruiter zone will keep me on top of my game.

In the Recruiter Zone, you also have a school zone. School Zone will beneficial to me because as I plan events with my schools, I can utilize school zone to keep track of those events. With SZ I can input data about the school that might be key to building a rapport with my schools. As a recruiter, I think it is extremely important to keep track of school staff which can be beneficial. With SZ it allows me to input the staff and any interest they might have. SZ allows me to also keep track of valuable school events such as the ASVAB, sport events, dances, graduation, and more. SZ will be essential for me as an upcoming recruiter because it allows me to stay productive throughout my schools.

Conclusion

In the next year a rookie recruiter, I plan to utilize this plan to my advantage. This plan is key because it includes the demographics of my area and schools, school programs I plan to do, thorough recruiting and sustainment plans, and how I plan to use the recruiter zone and school zone. All these sections will be important to my next year of recruiting to generate the most leads as possible. The purpose of this plan is not only important to the mission but also important to my goal which is being the Illinois Army National Guard rookie recruiter of the year.

References

1. Brave, C. A. (2019) Illinois Army National Guard Target Market Analysis
2. Bates, A. M. (2019). Frankfort Community High School: School Snapshot. Retrieved from https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/School.aspx?schoolid=210281680260001
3. Anderson, R. P. (2019). Eldorado High School: School Snapshot. Retrieved from https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/School.aspx?schoolId=200830040260001
4. Newell, J. R. (2019). Carmi-White County High School: School Snapshot. Retrieved from https://www.illlinoisreportcard.com/School.aspx?schoolId=200910050260001
5. National Guard Bureau (1 January 2019). NGR PAM 601-1. Department of Defense, Arlington, VA.

Virginia’s Northern Neck Yearly Recruiting Plan: College Versus High School

Successful recruiting for the Army National Guard can be achieved by knowing your territory, taking a “team” approach with the area schools and their leadership, and utilizing the skills and software shared through mentorship. Being persistent in reaching out to those prime candidates will exemplify the ideals of an Army National Guardsman. The purpose of this paper is to formulate a recruiting plan for the Northern Neck of Virginia. This area is the northernmost peninsula that separates Maryland and Virginia by the Potomac River. The Northern Neck is divided up into four counties for a total of 986 square miles. Lancaster County, Northumberland County, Richmond County, and Westmorland County. Due to the proximity of two local public high schools near the Northern Neck, Caroline County (537 square miles) and Essex County (286 square miles) were added to my recruiting area within Area 6 of the Virginia Army National Guard. This gives me alone a recruiting area of 1,809 square miles, with a driving distance of over 45 minutes to reach six out of eight public high schools and one community college. Listed are the following schools of my area of assignment: Caroline High School, Washington and Lee High School, Essex High School, King George High School, Rappahannock High School, Northumberland High School, Colonial Beach High School, Lancaster High School, and Rappahannock Community College. I will focus my efforts on building the most positive school program at Caroline High School and divide up my remaining time at each of the seven remaining public high schools and community colleges.

The United States Census Bureau conducted its last report in 2010 of the Northern Neck in Virginia. A total population was 50,429 resides in this region. The ethnicity is fairly diverse throughout the counties: 34,292 Caucasian; 14,002 Black or African American; 149 American Indian or Alaska Native; 241 Asian; 951 Other and 785 Multiple Races. The qualifying ages for the Army National Guard are as follows: Ages 15 to 19 years 2,694, 20 to 24 years 2,318, 25 to 29 years 2,357, and 30 to 34 years 2,289. The largest industry in the area is food service and accommodations, followed by construction jobs. However, the Northern Neck of Virginia is most notably known for it’s fishing and crabbing communities followed by Agriculture (farming) forestry, hunting, waste management health care and social assistance. With regards to the educational attainment of the population of persons over the age of 18 5% have an 8th-grade education or less; 10% have some high school education; 35% are high school graduates/GED; 23% have some college education; 7% have an Associate’s degree; 12% have a Bachelor’s degree and 8 % have a Graduate or Professional degree.

• High School
• Type
• Student Pop.
• Sr.
• Jr.
• ROTC Program
• Sr. / Jr.
• SASVAB
• Graduation Rate
• Washington & Lee H.S.
• Public

1. 477
2. 127
3. 133

• No ROTC

1. 8
2. 93%

• Essex H.S.
• Public

1. 456
2. 123
3. 98

• No ROTC

1. 86%

• Colonial Beach H.S.
• Public

1. 221
2. 40
3. 44

• No ROTC

1. 5
2. 96%

• Rappahannock H.S.
• Public

1. 473
2. 80
3. 98

• ROTC

1. 21
2. 95%

• King George H.S.
• Public

1. 1313
2. 230
3. 307

• ROTC

1. 94%

• Caroline H.S.

Public

1. 1211
2. 247
3. 284

• ROTC

1. 121
2. 87%

• Northumberland H.S.
• Public

1. 449
2. 114
3. 128

• ROTC

1. N/A
2. 96%

• Lancaster H.S.
• Public

1. 393
2. 92
3. 102

• ROTC

1. N/A

87%

• Rappahannock Community College
• Public

1. 4,321
2. N/A
3. N/A

• No ROTC

1. N/A
2. 28%

School Program

I have chosen to select Caroline High School to be my primary High School for the remainder of FY2020. Caroline High School is the only public high school located in Milford, Virginia of Caroline County. It has a total student population of 1211 students; 247 seniors; 284 juniors. The graduation rate is 92% of its high school seniors. Last fiscal year the year-to-date completion of students taking the SASVAB are 134 seniors and 86 juniors as of 11/19/2018. Another ASVAB testing will be scheduled for the remainder of the year. The School Board along with the entire administrative staff at the high school fully supports the Virginia Army National Guard. Lead-generating ideas will consist of setting up static displays at football, baseball, and basketball games and including lunchroom displays. To build upon my school program, I will start a “Flag Detail” among the student body with the Principals approval. The initiation of this program is one example of my instilling the Army Values to the student population. This program places them in charge of raising and lowering the American and State Flags before and after school. I will also meet with the student volunteers to educate them on the American Flag, folding the flag, and the history of the flag.

Last year during Washington and Lee High School‘s homecoming football game, I had a formal presentation of the Virginia Army National Guard’s Transfer of Responsibility to the students of Washington and Lee High School on the 50-yard line, in the middle of the field as a part of the half-time performance. The ceremony consisted of eight volunteer students, six soldiers from the local Combat Engineer Unit, myself and the Athletic Director Mr. Lewis (in the absence of the school principal). While marching onto the middle of the field, I had the announcer read a script of the ‘Transfer of Responsibility” from the Virginia Army National Guard to the students of Washington and Lee High School. It explained to the spectators what we were doing and the significance behind the ceremony in front of the Student Body, Parents, Faculty and Staff. All eight students were taught the proper way of folding the United States American Flag. I purchased both flags and donated them to the school and students on behalf of the Virginia Army National Guard. Student members of “Flag Detail” are now on a rotating roster from week to week accepting the responsibility of the care of the flags.

Explain why you chose the school

Caroline High School is the most geographically accessible location for me to build a successful school program that is closest to the National Guard Armory. After introducing myself to the faculty and staff, I concluded this school is the most supportive of the National Guard Mission and allows me to have full access any day, any time to talk to their students. Upon my return to Virginia after completing SQI4, I will first introduce myself to the Principal of Caroline High School, Mr. Joshua Just, and his staff, I let them know that I was not like any of the other recruiters that visit their school. I expressed to them that not only do I live in the same county as the high school but as a member of the community and a father of three high school graduates, I understand the importance of implementing core values into our young adults to prepare them for a successful future beyond high school. As a Sergeant First Class in the Virginia Army National Guard, I can join their team as a role model to help instill the values of Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Respect within the student body. The ROTC Commander, CW4 John Marsh is a retired Army National Guard Blackhawk helicopter pilot. I have already met with him and he is going to allow me to assist in administering physical training with his JROTC student as well as getting in front of his classes to present School Entry Vehicles (SEV) such as Adventure, Resiliency, Goal Setting, How to pay for College, Benefits of the National Guard, The American Flag, History of the National Guard, ROTC/SMP’s Military Traditions and Educational Benefits, Army Values, Leadership Training, Fitness and Nutrition, Sense of Belonging, Pay Entitlements and Enlistment Bonuses, Diversity, National Security and Service to Country and Community to name a few.

Explain the plan to establish the presence

Prior to setting up any recruiting activities or events at Caroline High School, I set up an appointment to meet with the Principal, four Assistant Principals, Counselors, Athletic Director and JROTC Staff and introduced myself as a Virginia National Guard Recruiter for their school. During this meeting, I discussed with them my plan to assist their faculty and staff in getting their graduating students to continue their education with the use of National Guard college benefits. As a face for the National Guard, I have made the decision to wear dress ACUs to every high school for at least 6 months until all of the facility, staff, and students have gotten to know me as their school’s own professional National Guard Recruiter. After I have made my presence known and I feel that everyone feels comfortable with my military presence in the school, will I then begin wearing my other uniforms (OCP, APFU, and Soft Sell) during the recruiting day. My determination of which uniform to wear at school will be based on the activity or event that has been planned at the school for that day. For example, when I set up static displays during football games, I would wear OCPs. I have also worn OCPs during an Honor Guard Presentation of the Westmoreland County School Board Meeting. When assisting the Physical Education Instructors or the Athletic Director, Mr. Paul Heizer with physical activities for the students during school, I will wear my Army Physical Fitness Uniform (APFU) to exercise along with the students.

Recruiting and Sustainment Plan

Fisherman all over the world uses different types of bait to lure different types of fish into biting their hooks. The most successful fishermen select their bait wisely to take into consideration what type of fish they want to catch and in the waters of which they are fishing. Bait such as worms, minnows, insects, dough balls and clams are but a few of the lures that attract select fish during different weather conditions, temperatures and times of the year. Different types of fish live in different bodies of water all over the world such as lakes, streams, ponds, oceans, and seas. Since the dawn of time, fishermen have been passing down their successes with each other to maximize their knowledge base to help each other improve their fishing accomplishments.

Maximizing, my efforts by mirroring recruiting practices from successful recruiters that are mentoring me is the crux of my Recruiting and Sustainment Plan. At the beginning of the fiscal year, the First Quarter of my Primary Market is going to be focused on high school seniors at all of my assigned schools within the Northern Neck. I will coordinate at least one lunchroom display every school day at a different school during the months of October, November, and December. My Secondary Market will consist of sending out a mailing to high school graduates from the previous year and setting up static displays at the Rappahannock Community College to try and capture the more serious students in the evening. During this season my Tertiary Market will consist of trying to reach out to prior service soldiers through different activities in the community.

When the Second Quarter starts, I will refocus my efforts with my Primary Market being set on all of the high school juniors at all of my assigned schools within the Northern Neck. I will coordinate the setting up of a lunchroom display every school day at a different school during the months of January, February and March. I will also coordinate with the school counselors to give school presentations on the same day as the lunchroom display. Students at the local community college will be my Secondary Market during this time and the Tertiary Market will consist of reaching out to service members within the Inactive National Guard (ING). I will also contact the Readiness NCO (SFC Jonathan Warren) of Company B, 229th BEB, the local National Guard unit in my area and try and contact any discharged soldiers from the past three years to see if they are interested in putting on the uniform again.

As the seasons change and the Third Quarter starts, I will refocus my efforts back on all seniors of my assigned high schools within the Northern Neck within the months of April, May, and June. As graduation draws closer to the end of the school year, this becomes a prime time for undecided seniors to start looking for opportunities beyond high school. For college-bound seniors, I will be stressing the importance of having the plan to pay for college and how the educational benefits from the National Guard are a way to pay for their tuition. I will continue with the coordination of at least one lunchroom display every school day at a different school during the months listed above. I will contact any leads that I have contacted throughout the school year. My secondary Market will be high school juniors to be followed by my Tertiary Market of soldiers in the IRR who are wishing to return to active drilling status.

Lastly, the Fourth Quarter is the most difficult quarter due to high schools being on summer break from July through August. Throughout the summer I will stay in contact with the faculty and staff for the schools to assist with any summer programs or workshops. My Primary Market will be focused on prior service members from any component to join the National Guard. With the juniors returning as seniors in September, I will make them my Secondary Market. I will contact the previous year’s Leads I collected from juniors to follow up with their intent. I will continue coordinating with school counselors to set up at least one lunchroom display every school day at a different school. Reconnecting with high school seniors from the previous year will be my Tertiary Market of the Fourth Quarter; this will target the non-college-bound graduates still looking for employment opportunities. I will also seek out graduates looking to take advantage of the delayed entry or OSUT program to be able to start their second semester later than expected.

Recruiter Zone

Recruiter Zone and School Zone are by far the two most informative programs that I am going to utilize as a recruiting and retention NCO. As an operator with these programs, I will be able to better track leads, applicants and recruits throughout their process in joining the Virginia Army National Guard. Other tools that can be found in RZ that I will utilize are Route Map, Hot Leads, Current Leads, My Work Zone/My View and People Overview to increase my productivity as an RRNCO. RZ has a multitude of actions and areas that I am looking forward to learning from my Area NCOIC and R&R Training NCO when I get back to my home state.

Conclusion

Recruiting in the Northern Neck of Virginia is going to have its challenges due to the great distances between assigned schools, the level of poverty within the community, and low test scores from the potential applicants in the surrounding counties. However, being taught a sound foundation of the basic principles of utilizing Recruiter Zone and School Zone, it has given me the confidence and the tools to be a successful Recruiter for the remainder of the fiscal year and my recruiting career. It is my intention to use this recruiting and sustainment plan as a building block to complete my mission from year to year. The programs within RZ and SZ and my willingness to remain flexible in adjusting my strategies as I gain more experience in the field as a Recruiting and Retention Non-Commissioned Officer will aid me in helping young adults achieve their goals of becoming Army National Guardsmen.

Bibliography

1. Department of the Army and the Air Force National Guard Bureau (2006). Army National Guard Strength Maintenance Program: National Guard Regulation 601-1, 6-15
2. Great Schools.org (1996-2019) https://www.greatschools.org/
3. Public School Review. (2003-2019) Washington and Lee High School, New York, NY
4. https://www.publicschoolreview.com/washington-lee-high-school
5. Rappahannock Community College (2019) Student Enrollment (Warsaw, Virginia) https://www.rappahannock.edu/about/institutional-effectiveness/quick-facts/
6. Recruiter Zone – iKROme. (2019) School Zone (Army National Guard) U.S. Army http://ikrome.usaac.army.mil/group/RecruiterZone
7. U.S. Department of Education. (2016) Virginia Community Profile, Northern Neck PDC (Virginia Employment Commission). Richmond, VA http://virginialmi.com