Career Action Planning
Best Practices
Module 1
CAP Components
CAP Organization Components
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Definition
Administrative Support
CAP Steering Committee
Parental Involvement
Teacher/Advisor Training
Advisory Sessions and CAP Conference
Evaluation
COMPONENTS OF A CAP PROGRAM
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Promotion and buy-in
Planning
Calendar
Advisory Activities
Advisor Time
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Teacher Training
CAP Conferences
Communication
Evaluation
Collaboration
CAP Definition
A cooperative way to help students make plans
for their future and prepare them
to meet those goals
Career Action Planning
• Provides an advisor to every student with time to devote to making
concrete personal, education and career plans and set attainable
goals
• Provide career planning for all students with parental involvement
• Provides career decision-making skills from middle school up through
high school
A CAPS PROGRAM
• Establishes written goals & a plan of action for each student
• Records each student’s growth in achieving the education/skills
needed to succeed
• Provides follow-up and evaluation for parents and students
• Informs students of job availability, job duties & responsibilities,
education and training required, pay & growth potential, availability of
secondary and post-secondary education/training.
Career “Action” Planning includes:
– Continuous and consistent career guidance and development
with regular self-awareness assessments, high school planning,
post-secondary planning, and decision making.
– An important component is the annual parent/student/advisor
conference to review the career with all parties together.
CAPS MISSION
To ensure that each student receives
individualized, comprehensive, and continuing
career and educational counseling that
enhances their ability to ultimately achieve
career satisfaction.
IT’S THE LAW!
Federally funded programs are required to provide
“…a coherent sequence of courses to ensure learning
in the core academic, and vocational and technical
subjects…” (H.R. 1853-40)
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Improving College and Career
Readiness Indicators
Improve graduation rates
Increase nontraditional placement
Raise college entrance rates
Improve positive postsecondary placement
Increase program of study completers
Reduce necessity for remediation
Improve parental involvement
Arkansas Career Planning
• To meet ADE standards, every student must have a four-year plan.
• To meet ACE standards for program approval, every student must have
a four-year plan (recommended six-year), which is revisited each year
for necessary adjustments.
• To meet the requirements of ACT 1949, every student services
program must include career advisement and a career development
process.
How to Start
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Administrative Decisions
Steering Committee
Career Guidance Coordinator/Chair
Schedule planning & preparation meetings
Define roles and responsibilities
Provide training
Curriculum activities to obtain goals
Administrative Support
Superintendents, principals, counselors must be on
board with a strategic plan for CAPs
– Regular semi-annual meetings should be scheduled
– A committee should be chaired by an administrator
– Setting school goals to raising Indicators
– Active participants in teacher training and CAP
Conference Day
Decisions to be Made
by Administration
Set and Improve school goals
Graduation rates
College readiness (ACT) and entrance rates
Plan or program of study placement for students
Positive postsecondary placement
Taking higher level math, science and English classes
Decisions to be made by:
Coordinator and Steering Committee
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How much time is needed for advisory classes
Best time and how often should advisory groups meet
Group size and make up
Grade levels—what grade level to begin CAPs
Progression—plan for development w/o repetition
Advisors—who to include and training
Pull-outs—special needs considerations
Implementation—promotion
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Improve High School
Student Environment
Engaging students in their education and training
Increase nontraditional placement
Increase program of study completers
Reduce necessity for remediation
Improve parental involvement
Improve level of student satisfaction with education
and career planning
Improve the quality of career planning
interventions provided to help students
• Meet personal goals
• Successfully transition through the educational
system smoothly and efficiently
• Graduate successfully
• Become employable with employability skills and
industry certifications
• Successfully reach career goals to become
productive citizens
CAP Steering Committee
• Counselors for all grades selected
• Career Guidance Teachers
• Administrator
– Beginning with Superintendent
– Followed up with building principals or their assistants
• Career Development Facilitator or Career Coach
Steering Committee Review
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School goals
CAP guidelines
School calendar
Personnel
Activities
Training opportunities/necessities
Career Guidance Training
Administration, coordinator, steering committee, and
counselors attend training.
Teachers by trained by coordinator/chair and steering
committee.
Career Guidance Providers
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Administrators
Counselors
Teacher/advisors
Career Development Facilitators/Career Coaches
Community leaders
Business partners
Post-secondary school recruiters
Advisor’s Role
• Advisor’s responsibilities
• Know the student
• Understand and value career development and
planning
• Knowledgeable of the educational system
• Meet regularly with students for advising
Advisor Training
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Kuder Navigator
Graduation & college entrance requirements
Scholarships and grants
Education and training plans
Forms and parent conversations
CAP time frame
Session activities
Training
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Introduction and Welcome
Graduation Requirements
ACT Explore (8th grade)
Explore Results (9th grade only)
ACT Plan Results (10th grade only)
Review Student Resumes
Registration Sheet and Signed
Business & Industry Certifications
Advisor Handout
College Entrance Requirements
Portfolio Folder Update
Education Plan Update
Education Opportunities
Extended Learning Opportunities
Evaluation Forms
Parent Communication
Class or Group Assignments
• Teacher Advisors
– Assign by grade level
– Assign randomly or by program of study (preferred)
– Assign by special needs
– Assign by class schedule
Recommendations
• Advisors work with fewer than 20 students
• Advisors meet at least 8 times per year with their
students
• Advisors meet with all advisee parents at least once
per year in the spring
• Scheduled Career Planning Time
– Weekly or Monthly leading up to CAP Conference
– CAP Registration Conference March-April
Conferences are held to meet with parents
and students to review:
• Student’s records—classes, grades, and assessments
• Goals and progress
• Education opportunities
– Tech centers, concurrent or articulated credit
• Career opportunities
• Four-year education plan
• Education and training plan beyond high school
What Advisors Should Know
• STUDENTS
• How to communicate with parents
• What is expected from advisory and conference
sessions
• How to use and record information in the students’
Career Portfolios
• Calendar of events
Calendar
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July
Steering Committee Meetings
August New Teacher/Advisor Training
February CAP Preparation:
Early March: Parent Letter Completed & Mailed
Mid March:
All CAP Conference Appointments Made
Late March:
Senior High School Orientation for ninth grade parents/students
Early April:
Junior High School CAP Conferences (Example: April 1, 2:00 p.m. –
8:00 p.m.) One Day Only
Senior High School CAP Conferences (Example: April 2 & 3, 2:00 p.m. – 6:00
p.m.) Two Days
Mid April:
Registration sheets due at senior high school
Late April:
Registration
What everyone should know
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Graduation Requirements
Smart Core/College requirements
Scholarships available
Programs of Study and courses offered at the school or tech center
Postsecondary articulation and concurrent opportunities
Advanced Placement Opportunities
Special Needs Resources
How to assist with labor market research for job opportunities
Extended learning opportunities
Non-academics
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Clubs and Organizations.
Athletics
Non-school opportunities
Internship/apprenticeship opportunities
Credit and non-credit electives
Programs of Study and Completer Status
Military-Reserve Officer Training Core (JROTC)
Additional Options
• Secondary Area Vocational Training Centers
Career & Technical Education
Completer Status
• Complete three Carnegie Units of Credit in a
Program of Study
• Electives:
– Workplace Readiness (.5 credit)
– Workforce Technology (1 credit)
– Internship (1 Credit)
– JAG (1 Unit)
High School Interventions
• Keystone (9th grade transition elective)
• Workplace Readiness
• 11th-12th grade elective using KeyTrain to prepare
students for ACT WorkKeys)
• Work-based Learning
• (JAG, Internship & Youth Apprenticeship electives)
• Extended Learning Opportunities
• Job Shadowing, B & I Tours, CTSO’s, Mentoring/Interning
Components of a Portfolio
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Career Portfolio Development (electronic or hard copy)
A 4-Year Education Plan (High school and beyond)
Long term career plans (Career Ladder)
Academic records
Self-awareness Assessments
Resume
Kuder and Explore results
Financial aid
Scholarship information and applications
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Parental Involvement
• Improve communication between parents and
schools. Approximately 70 percent of those
surveyed said better communication between
school and parents and increased parental
involvement in their child’s education are essential
to keeping students in school.
– Council for Exceptional Children
When Parents are Involved
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Higher grades and test scores
Long term academic achievement
Positive attitudes and behavior
More successful programs of study
More effective schools
– Univ of Illinois
Engage Students in School
• Make school more relevant and engaging and
enhance the connection between school and work
with a Career Action Plan
• Ensure strong adult-student relationships in the
school with advisors. The respondents craved and
appreciated attention from teachers… 70% said better
communication between school and parents and increased
parental involvement in their child’s education are essential to
keeping students in school.
• Council for Exceptional Children
Career Exploration and Planning
Interventions in
Middle and Junior High Schools
Career Orientation
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Exploration of the world of work
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Self-Discovery
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Self-Assessment resulting in career pathways
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Career Development Portfolio
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Occupational Research
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Education and Training Research
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Goal Setting, Decision-making and Planning
Successful Positive Employment comes
from consistent and continuous:
• Self assessment and discovery
• Career guidance, exploration, preparation and
planning
• Career employability training
• Rigorous education in the SMART Core Curriculum
• Career portfolio development
Follow-through not just Follow-up
• Time to visit periodically with a career coach,
counselor, or advisor
• A place for college and career research
– (Career Center)
• Continued development of a personal career
portfolio
• Opportunities for job shadowing and B & I tours
• Local and current labor market information
CAP Conferences
• CAP conferences are held once each year, generally
in early April. CAP conferences involve the teacheradvisor, parents, and student. Letters announcing
the appointment date are mailed to parents at least
one month in advance. The teacher-advisor follows
up with a phone call to confirm the appointment
date.
Program Evaluation
• Program Evaluation
– Program Steering Committee Summer Vision Retreat
• Evaluate each grade level
– Successes and failures
• Re-establish goals
• Review schedule for the coming year
• Review curriculum activities for advisory classes
Parent & Teacher Evaluation
• Parent evaluation
• Teacher/Advisor evaluation
Sum of all the Parts
• Time with an advisor to discuss the future
• Continuous education and career planning and
development
• Parental involvement
• Make the future realistic with individualized career
plans that meet student needs