In Alabama, the ratio of high school guidance counselors to students is a disturbing one to 491.
And, said Birmingham entrepreneur Duwan Walker, these counselors are spending so much time making sure the nearly 500 students on their caseload are on track to graduate that their primary function – providing guidance, counseling and emotional support to students – is pushed to the background and no longer able to be the priority.
So Walker created a first-of-its-kind software program, Hi-Ed, to tackle this problem. Hi-Ed uses technology to apply high school students’ transcripts to Alabama graduation requirements, showing students what classes are needed to earn their high school diploma and be admitted into the state’s two- and four-year colleges and universities.
This gives students power over their academic progression and connects the dots between educational institutions across the state at every level, said Walker.
“This is a virtual tool to assist counselors so that they can get back to what they’re really supposed to do – meeting the emotional needs and welfare of our students,” he said.
Walker, a former defensive coordinator under University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) football coach Bill Clark, made sure the app included athletic requirements for NCAA eligibility, streamlining another process so counselors can focus on the emotional well-being of students. The app also includes money management tools for students, teaching them how to budget and learn financial literacy skills.
The Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) has worked with Hi-Ed on its growth for over a year, said the BBA’s Vice President of Innovation and Technology Jon Nugent.
“Hi-Ed represents the best kind of entrepreneurship in Birmingham,” Nugent said. “The company is dedicated to improving student outcomes across the board and helping those most in need. We are very happy that this dynamic company decided to locate here in Birmingham.”
Hi-Ed – which stands for “Hyper-Individualized Educational Design” and is located in incubator Innovation Depot – was founded in 2017 and currently employs eight people. The technology is currently in 24 K-12 schools across Alabama and growing, and the company will soon launch a pilot program in two-year colleges. Eventually, Walker wants to expand the reach of the app to four-year colleges and universities, with the hope of transitioning these students from higher education into the workforce.
“As much as we are doing virtually, we now need a virtual tool in place for guidance management,” Walker said. “Counselors wear so many hats in a run of a day, this tool will help them counsel students virtually and traditionally. We also want to help parents understand they now have a tool that builds transparency from school to home. Parents can help track [students’ progress] and know exactly where students are.”