New website designed to help Monroe County teens plan their futures

The coalition, which is made up of Monroe County and Richland-Bean Blossom community school corporation administrators, social service and local government leaders, and representatives from Ivy Tech and Indiana University, determined over several years that local high school drop-out rates were higher than expected because many students did not have the resources needed to complete school with a plan for future work opportunities or post-secondary education.

The Roadmap to Success, managed by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Monroe County, is an interactive website that aims to guide users to reliable resources for information regarding graduation readiness, the college application process, home life problems and more.

“Having a purposeful plan will make a huge difference,” said Barry Lessow, executive director of United Way. “Together, we have this little journey we can start taking.”

Students, teachers, education administrators and nonprofit leaders took the Roadmap for a test drive Tuesday at Ivy Tech Community College’s Bloomington campus. The site, monroe.roadmaptosuccess.org, follows the route of a little red car, which stops at various checkpoints to ask a user about their current situation and career trajectory to better understand their needs, whether that’s attending a two- or four-year college, joining the military or going directly into the workforce.

“We just want students to have a plan,” Hughes said. “Just to know, hey, if I want a good job, what are my options?”

After answering two to three questions, the user is provided with links to relevant websites on a national, state and local level. Students who need direction to prepare for college-entrance exams such as the SAT or ACT, for example, are referred to the exam websites, as well as to tutoring services through the Monroe County Public Library.