Counselling

North Kansas City Schools Adopts New College Preparation Platform

• By Michael Hart
• 10/26/16

The North Kansas City School District will deploy a new mobile- and web-based platform to help its 6,000 students prepare for and find the right two- and four-year colleges.

NextTier Education's cloud-based platform supplies information on every two- and four-year college in the United States and is designed to provide each student an application plan featuring a to-do list with tasks for specific schools, step-by-step guidance and deadlines. The platform is designed to make it possible for students, parents and counselors to collaborate in the process.

It also offers information on more than 20,000 grants and scholarships along with tools to help match students with appropriate financial support.

The platform will be administered by North Kansas City District faculty members at four high schools. Guidance counselors will be able to follow each student's plan, coach and track activity to maximize the chances of acceptance at a higher education institution of the student's choice.

"North Kansas City Schools believes in the power of equipping all students to have a successful postsecondary experience," said District Superintendent Daniel Clemens.

NextTier Education was founded in 2014 and spent a year in beta testing that involved more than 100,000 students.

"The complexities of preparing and applying for college acceptance can easily bog down students, their parents and even school counselors who are often hampered by high student-to-counselor ratios," said NextTier Education Founder and CEO Justin Shiffman. "North Kansas City can now simplify and manage the entire workflow and provide centralized communication that allows students, educators and parents to stay informed and participate throughout the process."