Career Action Planning
Best Practices
Module 2
Benefits, Buy-in and Communication
BENEFITS OF A CAP PROGRAM
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Counselor Benefits
Teacher Benefits
Administrator Benefits
Parent Benefits
Student Benefits
Community Benefits
ADMINISTRATION BENEFITS
– Provides better image/public relations for the school
– Improves communication between administration, faculty and parents
– Helps with scheduling
• Facilitates school start
• Allows schedule to be built around firm data from pre-enrollment
– Can be implemented with little or no money for sustainability
COUNSELOR BENEFITS
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Shortens time spent on paperwork
Cuts down on number of schedule changes
Allows more time with students and guidance program
Organizes career development into a manageable time frame
Improves teacher knowledge of all programs available to
students to quickly answer student questions
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TEACHER BENEFITS
– Reduces scheduling changes
– Provides more appropriate placement
– Makes class selection more relevant
– Encourages a more personal relationship with students
– Allows broader understanding of the total curriculum
– Allows broader knowledge of graduation requirements
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STUDENT BENEFITS
– Allows students to be active players in their own career
planning
– Teaches responsibility for own career plan and
educational goals
– Increases awareness of career and educational
opportunities
– Provides improved access to career advisors
– Builds personal relationship with advisor
PARENT BENEFITS
– Increases involvement in child’s educational and career
planning
– Promotes positive interaction with school staff and faculty
– Increases understanding of child through interests surveys,
aptitude assessments, and criterion testing
– Increases knowledge of school and school system
– Increases knowledge of different options for student’s
education with programs of study in career and technical
education and college preparation
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COMMUNITY/EMPLOYER BENEFITS
– Provides better prepared workforce
– Improves graduation rates with meaningful education
– Provides better placement of graduates
– Improves relationship between community/employer and
school
– Builds awareness of career opportunities within the
community
– Aids in the development of a “Work Ready Community”
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Career Action Planning Buy-in
WHY SHOULD WE HAVE CAP?
• Organizes career development into a manageable
time frame with team effort
• Provides opportunity for shared responsibility for
personal education and career development by
including parents, students, teachers, counselors,
Career Coaches and Career Development
Facilitators
Reasons for a CAP Program
• Enables students to gain information and skills
necessary to make good educational and career
decisions
• Encourages students to set educational goals and
construct a plan to meet those goals.
• Improves relations between school faculty, parents,
business, industry, and other community members.
Successful Schools
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Maintain high expectations
Use the state’s standards
Engage students in learning
Provide extra help
Develop guidance relationships by an
Advisor/Advisee program known CAPS
Lake Hamilton program is named PACK.
“Providing Academic and Career Knowledge”
Career Planning
Three Areas of Concern that can be improved with better
career planning:
• High school expectations and graduation
• College entrance and completion
• Job satisfaction and retention
Relationships
Schools are teaching the 3 R’s, reading, writing and
arithmetic and
schools are implementing, rigor, relevance, and
reliability but
some schools are missing on the key concept of
relationships.
Drop-outs Statistics
At the Arkansas Greater Graduation Summit Planning session, the following
statistics were presented:
Every 26 seconds a student in this country drops out of school about their success
in school.
This equals over 3.8 million young people leaving the educational system before
receiving a high school diploma.
High school dropouts account for almost of the heads households on welfare and
75% of the population in state prisons.
Ensure Strong Adult-Student Relationships
within the School
Only sixty-five percent of the drop-outs said there was
a staff member or teacher who cared about their
success.
That leaves thirty-five of the drop-outs who felt that
no one cared.
More stats
• When surveyed, the majority of high school dropouts say
they began to “disconnect” in middle school or earlier.
• Few middle schools adequately address the career
development of students despite evidence to indicate that it
enhances academic performance, facilitates high school
completion, and encourages postsecondary education.”
Schools with a CAP program
• Improved in 2007-2008
– CTE Skill Attainment by 2.37%
– Graduation Rage by 1.21%
– Placement after graduation by .99%
– Completer Status by 1.13%
Successful Positive Employment comes
from consistent and continuous:
• Career guidance, exploration, preparation and
planning
• Self discovery and assessment
• Career employability training
• Rigorous education in the SMART Core Curriculum
• Career portfolio development
Results from Lapan, Gysbers, and Sun concluded
students in Missouri:
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Make better grades
Have more college and career information
Believe their school has a positive climate
Feel middle school is safer
Have a better relationship with their teachers
Are more satisfied with their education
A HSTW study concluded:
• Students who completed a 4-year high school plan
increased math test scores
• Students spent more time talking with counselors
• Math, science and reading scores improved
• Career guidance increased college-prep math and
science classes
The Institute of Education and the
Economy Concluded:
• Many different types of career guidance
interventions are effective
• Career development activities positively influence
school attendance and completion
• Simple planning will help students connect their
goals and steps to reach them
Career Guidance Goals
• Help students master the art of career planning and
development
• Help students set goals and monitor their progress
toward those goals
• Give students a chance to develop a meaningful
guidance relationship with a caring adult.
Communication
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Superintendent and Administration
CAP Steering Committee
Teacher Advisors
Students
Parents
Community
Administration
Communicate
• Vision of an ideal career guidance system
• Leadership and guidance on a continual basis
• Evaluation of program
• Goals with strategies to meet them and results
• Praise to the steering committee and advisors
• Purpose and reasoning
Steering Committee
Communicate
• Calendar of Events—
– schedules and time requirements
• Objectives for teacher/advisor training
• Activities that fulfill the strategies outlined by admin
• Communication to students and parents
Teacher Advisors
Communicate
• Why it is important for students to plan for the
future
• Why it is important for parents to be active
participants in the career decision-making process
• What the activities are and how they fit into Career
Development Portfolio
Student Certifications
and Recognitions
• Arkansas Career Readiness Certificate
• Business and Industry Certifications where available
(Perkins approvable)
• Program of Study Certificates of Completion
• Completion awards (Seals, Cords, Certificates)
Conclusion
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Benefits outweigh time and expense
Communication is greatly improved
Trusting relationships are developed
Students make better decisions