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Explore New Options
There's more than one path to success.
Champion Your Teen
Discover what works for your student.
Get a Path Forward
Tools to evaluate + map out next steps.
Get Your Teen Excited About Their Next Step
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Most parents aren't sure how to help their teens figure out their next steps after high school. College Is Not Mandatory gives parents the tools to introduce and discuss the available options so their teen can step confidently into their future.
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Author Stephanie Haynes is an education coach and consultant, specializing in guiding educators, parents, and students through seasons of transition. A mom of two grown children, she's personally walked this path. Now, she's giving parents much-needed tools and resources so they too can help their teen build a solid plan for life after high school.
Be sure to join the College Is Not Mandatory Facebook group!
Does your home feel like a pressure cooker right now?
Your teen has hit their sophomore year of high school and the "What are you going to do with your life?" question is looming large.
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You aren't sure how to best help them figure out what's next. Your teen dodges your questions, and conversations dissolve into arguments, or worse, your teen shuts down completely. You're fed up and exhausted by the entire process.
It's time to end the madness of post-high school planning.
There is a better way.
Lisa Lynch,
4-Year College Parent
Words cannot express the feeling I have after having my son work with Stephanie and this process. Feeling overwhelmed and letting your child down is huge. Her help exceed expectations and gave my son life-long tools that have prepared him for his journey.
Ali Bradley
Gap Season Parent
Our daughter had no plan for life after high school. Stephanie's LIFE CHANGING process gave our daughter a clear path that we both felt comfortable with. She helped our daughter to really focus on solving the problem and dive deep into what would make her happy.
Stacy Phalen
Community College Parent
I wanted help in seeing my son in a way that didn't revolve around getting better grades in order to succeed after high school. Working with Stephanie helped me see a different direction we could both be excited about. My son now knows exactly what he wants to do and has a step-by-step pathway to achieve his dreams.
Ready to Help Your Student Feel Confident About Their Plans?
Don't waste these last years you have with your teen.
Buy the book.
Get your copy of College Is Not Mandatory and read through it before beginning any discussions with your teen.
Carve out time for conversations.
Share the options laid out in the book with your teen. Give them time to review the reflective questions. Listen, ask questions, and then let them come to their own conclusions.
Celebrate the outcome.
Your teen's decision may not be the one you expected (or wanted). But you should feel confident you helped them see all the possibilities, enabling them to make the very best choice.
Discover Tools for Talking to Your Teen About Their Future
(no yelling required!)
You and your teen shouldn’t fight over what happens after high school graduation. As a parent, you shouldn’t struggle to guide your student through the available options.
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This should be an exciting time of exploring possibilities for the future.
Get the tools you need in the book College Is Not Mandatory, a parent's guide to navigating the options available to their kids after high school.
What Makes This Book Different
When you're a new parent, the resources are limitless. But no one tells you how to navigate the teen years. Until now. College Is Not Mandatory is a practical guide for helping your teen choose a post-high school path.
Explore 5 Pathways
Understand the available options: Community college, apprenticeships, military, gap seasons, and four-year college (including collegiate athletics).
Identify Values + Passions
Help your teen align their interests with potential careers so they can narrow down their choices.
Review Multiple Case Studies
Parents and students share how they made successful post-high school plans.
Unpack the Next Steps Guide
Specific reflective questions and research options give you talking points for discussions with your teen.
Could your teen benefit from talking with a coach about their next steps after high school? Someone who can ask challenging questions and help them arrive at the answers for themselves. Someone who isn't their parent.
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Stephanie Haynes provides one-on-one coaching for teens, helping them overcome indecision and chart a solid plan for their future.
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We all want our students to develop into responsible adults; helping them identify this next stage of their lives and allowing them to claim the rewards and experience the consequences is a great way to do this.
Celebrate a Bright Future
For our students to truly be successful in life they need to own their decisions about their future. The parent's job is to help them identify and evaluate their choices so they make the best decision possible.
College Is Not Mandatory is the guide to help you do that.
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Stop fighting over the future and instead enjoy these last precious years together.
