Children living in poverty face challenges progressing through the educational system prepared adequately for college and/or career (ACT, 2015; Newell, 2013). With momentum gained through national movements, such as the First Lady Michele Obama's 2014 Reach Higher initiative, and state initiatives on college and career readiness, a call has been made to close the existing gap between children from poverty and their peers. The author proposes the use of the CARE model (Foss, Generali, & Kress, 2011) for school counselors to address the disparity between the college and career preparation of students from poverty and their middle and upper class peers.