Academic and Career Planning Opportunities
Welcome to Academic & Career Planning (ACP) at MHASD. It is an exciting time as students discover the many educational and extra-curricular opportunities available to them. Students will explore career options that match their personalities, skills, interests, and values. They will identify goals and use information learned in Xello to help determine the education pathway that can lead to success in middle school, high school, and beyond.
Students will:
- Start thinking about future career possibilities.
- Explore different occupations that match their interests.
- Start exploring high school classes that match their desired career
- Explore post-secondary options to obtain their goals.
- Learn more about themselves through interest inventories on Xello
- Communicate with parents about future career goals.
To assist students on the ACP journey students and staff are utilizing Xello. Xello is an engaging online program that helps students build the skills, knowledge, and plans to be future-ready. The program uses an investigative, discovery-based learning process. Students better understand themselves, their future career options, and the 21st-century skills they’ll need to succeed.
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Students will learn the following skills within the program:
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Build Self-knowledge
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Define their interests, skills, preferences, and aspirations so they can explore the opportunities right for them.
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Create a Plan
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Create dynamic actionable plans that outline the steps needed to achieve school, career, and life goals.
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Explore Options
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Learn about career possibilities and educational pathways by exploring rich, engaging content and lessons
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Provided the ability to Learn & Reassess
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Interactive lessons help your child develop skills and knowledge for success in school and beyond
Intended outcomes with the use of Xello include:
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Improvement in academics (attendance, test scores, participation, behavior)
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Students’ exploration of academics, social/ emotional skills and career readiness
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Provide community support and partnership opportunities based on education and career goals
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Caregiver support/communication through collaboration
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Goals/objectives related to both education and career outcomes
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To best understand how students will engage in academic and career planning at each high school grade level at Mount Horeb Area School District, please expand the following headlines.
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During ninth grade, students will get to know their interests, skills, and strengths. Students will continue to use Xello to explore and research different post-secondary options. Students are encouraged to enroll in a variety of classes to help them explore their interests. Some of the ACP activities they will be exposed to will include co-curricular activities, career research projects, scheduling Expo, continued Xello assessments, and reassessments.
10th-grade students will begin to have the opportunity to take more classes in their own areas of interest. Our more advanced related pathway-focused and academic classes are available as well as those classes they may have missed Freshman year.
Sophomores will revisit assessments completed on Xello, and participate in assessments to determine academic abilities and to reassess their career pathway.
Junior year is when students can really begin to realize the possibilities. Students will then start exploring possibilities through job shadows, career research, college visits, and trade externships. They will set goals, choose courses, join activities, fill out applications, and write resumes.
Senior year is the time for students to solidify their plans. Through rigorous academic and related career cluster classes, students will discover more about themselves. Students are all in different spots on their career pathways, and senior year is when they can go back and re-experience different opportunities and maybe even pursue new ones.
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Visualizing and Preparing Your Academic and Career Plan
To support students in their Academic and Career planning, we have created ACP Blueprints to serve as guides to aid students in their course selection based on their career pathway(s) and post-secondary educational pathways. Please expand the following headlines to learn more.
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The career cluster blueprint provides a sequential path for students to take a career interest and develop it into job potential. Students will be able to learn about multiple careers within each pathway and choose a program of study available in their school, which will be developed through the ACP process! The blueprint(s) becomes a foundation for each student’s Academic and Career Plan, in preparation for post-secondary education or the workforce.
Career Clusters are broad occupational groupings based on a set of common knowledge and skills required for a broad group of careers. Wisconsin has adopted the National 16 Career Clusters which also serve as a tool for organizing curriculum and instruction. Career clusters provide opportunities for all students regardless of their career goals and interests. They are a tool for a seamless educational system that blends rigorous academic/technical preparation, provides career development, offers options for students to experience all aspects of a business or industry, and facilitates/assists students and educators with ongoing transitions.
Career Pathways are a sub-grouping of careers used as an organizing tool for curriculum design and instruction. Similar to career clusters, career pathways are grouped based on their requirements for a set of core and similar knowledge and skills for career success. Each pathway highlights a specific part of each cluster. An easy example of this can be seen in the Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources cluster. Seven different pathways, from Animal to Plant Systems highlight the variety of interests that each cluster holds for students. Career Pathways are critical to 21st Century schools and learners. Each pathway is grounded in a set of four guiding principles:
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Career Pathways prepare students for post-secondary education and careers. A Pathway is always about both objectives; it is never a choice between one or the other.
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Career Pathways connect academics to real-world applications. Each Pathway integrates challenging academics with a demanding career and technical educational curriculum. Pathways alter how core academic subjects are taught; they do not lower expectations about what is taught.
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Career Pathways lead to the full range of post-secondary opportunities. Pathways prepare students for all the avenues they might pursue following high school graduation—two- and four-year college, certification programs, apprenticeships, formal job training, and military service. Each Pathway represents a broad industry theme that can appeal to and engage a student regardless of prior academic achievement and post-secondary aspirations.
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Career Pathways improve student achievement. Pathways and Programs of Study are based on accountability. They are designed to produce higher levels of achievement in a number of measurable arenas, including academic and technical scores, high school completion, post-secondary transitions to career and education, and attainment of a formal post-secondary credential.
Post-Secondary Education Pathways Recommendations serve as an opportunity for students to match their career interests with recommended post-high school education pathways, including:
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Direct to Job Market or Apprenticeship programs
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2-year Technical or Junior College
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4-year college or university
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Selective* 4-year college or university
*The term "selective" is used to describe college and universities that have a low acceptance rate based on number of applicants
Students can change Blueprints or Pathways at ANYTIME, based on their changing career and academic interests. Both Blueprints and Pathways serve as guiding information to help students, caregivers, and faculty best prepare students for courses in and life after high school.
Wisconsin’s Early College Credit Program or Madison College Start College Now; courses that provide Transcripted Credit/Advanced Standing, and Advanced Placement coursework, as well as Career Experience and Service Learning credit, to begin some of their post-secondary education while still in high school.
Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship is a unique opportunity for juniors and seniors to start preparing for a career while still in high school. This program provides the opportunity for work-based learning, occupational instruction, and academic education. As a youth apprentice, students will earn an hourly wage while learning from skilled professionals. Upon successful completion of the program, students will be awarded a Certificate of Occupational Proficiency from the Department of Workforce Development. Students are required to provide their own transportation to class and the worksite during the day/evening.
The International Baccalaureate Career-Related Program was specifically designed for students who wish to engage in career-related learning, paired with 2 or more college preparatory classes.
The IB Career-related Program provides students with both an academic and practical foundation to support post-secondary education and specialized career training. Students choose a career program of study in one of the Mount Horeb High School Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways, and a minimum of 2 IB courses. The IBCP features rigorous academics, applied knowledge, critical thinking, communication, and cross-cultural engagement. Additionally, IBCP students complete the IBCP Core, which consists of the Personal and Professional Skills (PPS) course; a Reflective Project, service learning requirements, and a language development portfolio.
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