Preparing Career Ready Graduates

Engaging Programs Workgroup

CART High School

Attendees:

• Dick K.
• Randy D.
• Joel R.
• John Forbes

Discussion Topics:

• Students who understand the relevance of school and are prepared to make choices about their academic pathway in school and career choices after high school       
• Individual Career Plan:  Interest and aptitude testing, continually updated resume of skills and abilities, digitally stored career folder, reviewed by student with teachers and parents annually, aptitude tests, specialized test scores, notes and details regarding career thoughts & selections, semester's grades to be posted, student's selected career path, make this a comprehensive portfolio that not only prompts career options, but also records a student's entire high school agenda, including grades, extra-curricular activities, key papers, reports or examples of work, etc, and connects to a local business database for students to be able to connect with local companies to take tours, job shadow, etc.
• Supportive adult relationships for all students on campus
• Home room, mentoring               
• High quality programs, effective implementation of new programs, regular assessment and review of current programs                                                                      
• Specific policies and procedures as well as performance standards for all programs to ensure quality, annual review of program processes and outcomes, dashboard items to measure process targets (student career plans completed, student meetings held with counselors each month, career exploration event attendance, # of students completing PBL courses).  Annually review program offerings in relation to student interest and build into School Site Plan to make annual program decisions.                                                  
• Flexibility to meet the individual needs of students when for example only 2 or 3 or 4 students at a school are interested in taking a particular career pathway course                                                                                                                              
• Online classes                                          
• Engaged business partners and growing portfolio of business partners for the district                                      
• Positive press and recognition for businesses who volunteer resources to FUSD schools                                 
• Hold adults accountable for delivering high quality programs to students                                                                              
• Prepared Career Ready Graduates
• Every school could offer PBL to students, or every student must complete a PBL prior to advancement to next school.  (Consider offering stipends to teachers who voluntarily collaborate to create a PBL at their school and develop the curriculum during the summer prior to school year.  Consider offering scholarships to students who complete Career Pathway successfully in FUSD schools.  Guarantee these teachers certain class sizes, professional learning support, and resources needed to achieve program goals.                                                                                                                       
• Choice is a powerful motivator in education.  When students choose to be in school, when teachers choose to teach, and when parents choose to be involved in their children’s education then students learn more.  Find ways to build more choices into school system….choice programs, contracts for students to attend choice programs, teachers choosing others to collaborate with and which pathways they want to work in…etc.                                                                           
• Career Pathways for all students – thematic learning opportunities based on career fields such as medicine or technology, which offer all possible types of careers from blue collar to white collar, from basic training program to advanced college degrees.                                                    
• Create business commission/committee/coalition that will be available to mentor students, teach lessons, give tours, etc. to interested kids                                  
• Integrate 9^th grade English and Algebra 1 with other courses as interdisciplinary courses for all schools…pick other benchmark courses to do the same at each grade level.