Academic and Career Planning
Counselors support students as they begin their journey of academic and career planning. In middle school, students spend time during their science block to focus on Who Am I” , create connections between self-awareness and career awareness and explore potential paths towards their future dreams. The following document illustrates the main targets that are focused on during the academic and career planning process. It is important to understand that middle school students are not encouraged to make final decisions during this stage of their planning. There are many years ahead of them to learn, formulate plans and revise those plans. Middle school is about exploration.
Who Am I?
Personal Exploration and Development
Understanding yourself well can help you make educated decisions for your future. Middle school is a time of drastic personal change. By taking time to reflect on your interests, talents, skills, values, and personality, self-confidence can improve, leading to healthy growth and development.
Where Am I Going?
Career Exploration and Development
Students will use XELLO and other resources to explore career interests and learn about careers that match their interests, personality and skills. Stay tuned for a direct link to your child's XELLO account.
How Do I Get There?
High School and Post-Secondary Exploration & Planning
Students will use XELLO and other resources to learn more about post-secondary options and preparation.
There are many post-secondary options available to fit the many needs of students while meeting the degree requirements for specific jobs. By gaining awareness of all of the options, students are more likely to make educated choices in their future, allowing them to pick the option that best fits their individual needs and interests. This will hopefully allow them to save money and time as well. Click HERE for a brief summary of Post-Secondary Options.
Middle School is not too early to start preparing for life after high school. Click HERE for ideas on actions that middle school students can do now to open doors to their educational future.
As the cost of college continues to rise, planning for how to finance college is important. Click HERE for information on how to pay for college.
What Can I Do Now?
Goal Setting
Students have many opportunities to set short term goals around their academic performance, personal development and future planning, to move forward to their future dreams.