Myra Pannell
Research and Curriculum Unit
Mississippi State University
 Assist
students in selecting their appropriate
graduation pathway
 Increase attendance rates, high school GPA,
and scores on statewide tests in secondary
schools
 Increase enrollment in dual-credit courses
 Higher rates of postsecondary (PS)
enrollment and completion
 Decrease remediation at the PS level
 Higher skilled employees in the workforce
See this
handout
on
Mississippi
Students’
Pathway
to Success.
Employment: Career Advancement
Continuing education and lifelong learning
Post-secondary: Career Preparation
Achieving credentials: college, certification, military
9–12: Career Preparation
Academics and Career and Technical education courses, intensive guidance,
individual Career and Academic Plans
8: Individual Career and Academic Plan
Choosing a career cluster and career pathway(can change easily at any time)
6–8: Career Exploration
Discovering areas of career interests and aptitudes
K–5: Career Awareness
Introduction to the world of careers
 Career
Clusters are groupings of similar
occupations and industries.
 Mississippi
 Example:
uses the 16 national clusters.
 Are
broad groups of careers that share
similar characteristics within a career cluster
Example: Early Childhood Education is a career
pathway in the Human Services cluster.
 Prepare
today's students for tomorrow’s jobs
 Connect
students with knowledge and skills
for success in college and career
 Motivate
students to enroll in more rigorous
and relevant courses
 Guide
students from high school into career
 District-developed,
sequential set of courses

Includes academic core courses
 Coherent, challenging and relevant to
real-world situations
 Aligned to common core standards

Includes elective courses
 Logical and challenging
 Aligned to industry-recognized standards
 Aligned to College Readiness Standards

Leads to multiple exit points
 Associate’s or bachelor’s degree
 Certificate at the postsecondary level
 Industry-recognized credential

Aligns to
 Articulated credit opportunities
 Dual enrollment opportunities

A student’s guide that helps him or her establish and
achieve career and academic goals for success after
high school

Provides mentoring and guidance to assist students
in career pathway planning

Helps identify correct graduation pathway options

Supports changes to meet student needs and
ambitions

Transitions into a profession or postsecondary
educational major

Students will be introduced to career options in the
6th-7th grades.

Spring pre-registration
 All 8th grade public school students in Mississippi
 Should select a program of study (major).
 Develop an iCAP based on this major with input
from counselors, mentor teachers, and parents.

In the following years, iCAP will be developed for all
incoming 8th graders.

Students will revise iCAP each year in grades 9-12.
Multiple pathway options to a standard diploma
Career Pathway Option
(21 Credits LAW) (MS Code 37-16-17)
Or
Traditional Pathway Option
(24 Credits minimum)
Or
District Pathway Option
(21 Credits minimum)
Or
MS Early Exit Exam Option
Applies only to students in a State Board of Education (SBE)
approved
Innovative Program
(17.5 Credits minimum)
See Handout on Graduation Pathways
 Innovative






High School Models
Traditional high school route
Excellence for All
Career Academies
Dual Credit/Dual Enrollment
Early College High School (ECHS)
MS Works

Open to all high school students
May include a cohort of students
 May include all students at school

Students may exit after successful completion of
lower division OR
 Students may continue the high school
experience in the upper division
 Locations






Corinth (Cambridge)
Clarksdale (Cambridge)
Lamar County (ACT)
Columbia (ACT)
Gulfport (ACT Innovations)

Open to all high school students




May be a cohort of students (pocket academies)
May include all students (wall-to-wall academies)
Students exit the Career Academy in the typical four
years required for high school
Locations









Rankin County
Meridian
Gulfport
Madison County
Lamar County
Clinton
Lincoln County
George County
Hattiesburg
 Open
to all high school students who meet
entrance criteria established by college
 Dual credit/dual enrollment does not impact
exit time unless combined with another
option
 Locations


Many schools offer opportunities for dual
credit/dual enrollment
2012-2013, 42 MS school districts awarded dual
credit
 At-risk
students or recent dropouts
 Students must be between ages 16 and 21
 Students exit the MS Works program at the
point they earn their high school diploma or
at age 21
 All community colleges must implement
 MS Works Task Force recommendations ready
by Fall 2013
 Locations


Hinds CC/Rankin-Pearl
Copiah-Lincoln CC/Lincoln County

Open to all students in school

Targets at-risk or first-generation college students

Implementation involves a cohort group meeting specified criteria

A new small high school usually located on a college campus

Students enter in 9th grade after selection based on specified
criteria and application

Last two years are almost all dual-credit college courses

High school and college provide extensive student support
services for success in college courses

Support available through the Early College High School Initiative

Students enter the ECHS in 9th grade; programs are designed to
complete high school and AA/AAS degree in four to five years

Locations

In planning stage
For information concerning Pathways to
Success or MS Innovative High School Models,
please contact:
Myra Pannell
Research and Curriculum Unit
Mississippi State University
myra.pannell@rcu.msstate.edu
662.325.3305