Academic & Career Planning

Beaver Dam High SchoolStephanie Buss, A-G School CounselorJackee Hill, H-O School CounselorNate Wilke, P-Z School CounselorRebecca Droessler, School to Work Coordinator

Demographics● Population: 16,345 ● Dodge County

○ Largest city in county

● 1,042 students● 43.9% FRRL● 13.5% Special Education● 80+ teaching staff

Student Profile (Wisedash 2015-2016)● 79.6% White● 15.9% Hispanic● 1.8% Black● 1.1% Asian● 1.5% Two or more

Agenda

● Where we’ve been…● The Migration● Career Advisor Management System (CAMS) Course Planner● CAMS Advisors● CAMS ACP Options● BDHS ACP Requirements● Career Cruising - Student● Inspire Madison Region● Recommendations

Where we’ve been...○ Safe Schools, Healthy Students Grant (2007)

■ Every day advisories and portfolio binders were implemented ● Create relationships between staff & students● Advisory Committee provided curriculum for advisory time

■ Graduation Requirement: All students grades 9-12 are required to complete an Academic & Career Plan (ACP) ● Staff would spend a ½ day inservice checking the binder for completion

■ Challenges: cost of binders, transparencies, storage, lesson delivery (another prep?),

time (30 minutes), computer lab space

The Migration● Awarded Federal School Counseling Grant

○ 1.0 FTE K-12 Career Counselor■ Job duties included organizing and overseeing Career Cruising activities K-12

● In 2012-2013, the Career Counselor migrated the binder portfolio to Career Cruising online ACP for grades 9-11○ 1st & 2nd Year - ran through Enrichment (i.e. advisory) (3x’s per week - 30 minutes)

○ Each enrichment teacher monitors 15-18 students■ Requirements are put into Skyward; points are assigned to each required activity (1 or 0)■ Enrichment teachers check each student for completion and enter points■ Completion is tracked on the transcript each semester:

● “S” = Portfolio Complete● “N” = Portfolio Incomplete

○ Challenges: computer lab space, accountability, quality of content, making the connection,

selecting courses in Course Planner, tracking from year to year

The Migration○ 3rd & 4th Year

■ Required items put into courses (i.e. Health, English 9, 10 & 11, Personal Finance, etc.)● Teachers assign activities as part of their curriculum

■ Enrichments became “intervention-focused” instead of relationship building focused■ Requirements are put into Skyward; points are assigned to each activity (1 or 0)■ NEW: Enrichment teachers perform an “annual review” to check students for completion ■ Completion is tracked on the transcript at the end of the year

● “S” = Portfolio Complete● “N” = Portfolio Incomplete

■ Challenges: staff responsibility, advisory to enrichment shift, accountability: enrichment

teachers v.s. school counselors tracking progress

CAMS - Course Planner

● Career Cruising enters Course Master based on course description book the first year.○ Approximately 10 hours of phone

meetings over the course of a few

months.

● School staff needs to update each year when changes are necessary.

Course Planner

● Course Master○ Matches Skyward○ Set Pre-Reqs○ Set Notices

Course Planner

Course Planner Completion Summary

● Scheduling information is presented in a large group format to 9th-11th grade students.

● Students update their four-year plans each January to match their postsecondary plans.

Course Request Sign-Off Sheet

● Students currently print on their own, sign and return to student services office.

Features● Mass print options

● Linked to student management for scheduling purposes

CAMS - Counselor/Advisor Website

CAMS - Assigning/Updating Advisors

CAMS - Advisors (Completion/View Portfolio)

CAMS - Links

● Portfolio Homepage files & links are available to students on their screen when they log in.○ Files help guide them

through ACP requirements

○ Links are helpful websites

they can visit

CAMS - ACP Options & Completion StandardsChoose which sections you want your students to see & what criteria you want them to complete and/or confirm completion at which grade level.

Freshmen Requirements

Sophomore Requirements

Junior Requirements

Seniors● Difficulty with tracking completion

○ Difficult to accomplish year to year

■ Completion reports are available in Career Cruising, not helpful to track assignments &

activities that are uploaded

● All assignments are lumped together as one so there is no way to tell what is

missing unless you look at each individual student

● New → “Reflect & Confirm” option to check completion of requirements○ Enrichment teachers will complete an annual review to verify

● Goal is to have seniors complete any missing requirements of the ACP○ “Consequences” if requirements are not complete

■ Not approved for “Senior Release”■ Not allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony

Career Cruising - Student Side

My Plan

Career Cruising - Reflect & Confirm Option

Optional activity to help track progress after students complete requirements.

Inspire Madison Region

○ Dane County and 7 adjacent counties○ Connects students to local employers○ Job shadows, company tours, guest speakers, career fairs, etc.

Inspire Madison Region

Inspire Madison Region

Inspire Madison Region

Recommendations for ACP Success

- Administrative Support- Request dedicated ACP time set aside throughout the year

- Teacher/Advisor and Student Buy-In- Present ACP requirements, Career Cruising website training & navigation

at faculty meetings- Offer additional training for staff in small groups or one-on-one

- Encourage advisors to take ownership over their students’ ACP- Encourage Parent/Teacher Conference Visits

- Counselor review ACP with students during planning conferencing

Thank you for your attention!

Any questions?