(Back to the index) (Back to the beginning of this issue) © 2009 CORD	With high school drop-out rates on the rise—about 30 percent nationwide—coupled with an anticipated severe workforce shortage as baby boomers retire, now is the time to engage our future workers. We must encourage high school students to finish their education and explore career paths. Our students will fuel the economic development pipeline with well-educated, skilled workers who are ready to fill high-quality, high-paying jobs in industries such as health care, manufacturing, technology, and engineering with companies in the suburban Kansas City area and nationwide. The Lee's Summit R-7 School District is implementing employability transcripts along with focused learning as part of the school district's career initiative. Employability transcripts help high school students compete for jobs, apply for scholarships, and prepare for the transition from school to career. The employability transcripts will help students demonstrate: Career preparedness through selection of an area of focus. Dependability through record of attendance in school. Career-ready academic skills through ACT's WorkKeys scores. Supervised internship programs through completion of one of the seven internship programs available to students. Technical skills attainment through national certifications earned or assessments passed. The program was developed as part of the district's emphasis on connecting all students to their futures and the Economic Development Council's plea for a skilled workforce. High schools will also continue to offer academic transcripts, which are used when students apply to colleges and universities. To further emphasize career preparedness, the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District is implementing the focused learning initiative. Focused learning is a plan of study that helps students combine regular coursework with targeted electives to make their high school experience more rewarding and relevant. Through this emphasis on focused learning, each student will complete four related units of study in a career cluster. Each career path has several focus areas that help students select their elective courses around more specific career paths. Students can complete coursework in more than one focus area or take additional coursework within a focus area to deepen their knowledge in their chosen career paths. Students can also change their focus areas if they find new areas of interest. Career grade level suggestions are as follows. 8th grade: Administer ACT EXPLORE Interest Inventory Begin compiling student's career information/portfolio folder to follow student into 9th grade Start 4-year career plan using Missouri Connections electronic planning system Introduce students and parents to focused learning 9th grade: Utilize 8th-grade career information/portfolio folder Complete "Do What You Are" personality inventory Consistent delivery of career research in Communication Arts classrooms with district career exploration instructors 10th grade: Administer ACT PLAN assessment Review information/portfolio contents with each student Each student declares an area of focus and completes the area of focus declaration form. Complete course selections 11th grade: Administer aptitude assessments such as Missouri Connections and ASVAB Administer ACT WorkKeys to all students in Personal Finance course Review and/or revise area of focus worksheet Encourage participation in job shadowing and field experiences Complete a resume and cover letter in junior Communication Arts course and file a copy in portfolio 12th grade: Revise resume and file a final copy in information/portfolio folder Possible "exit conference" to include parent and school staff Provide internship opportunities Submit a petition to add area of focus form to appear on employability transcript Focused learning was developed using the career clusters model and current courses available to Lee's Summit R-7 students. Students will complete area of focus declaration forms by indicating which electives they have taken or plan to take in one of the thirty-seven specified areas of focus. Major career paths include arts and communications; business, management, and technology; health services; human services; industrial and engineering technology; and natural resources. The thirty-seven areas of focus are monitored by the Career Pathways Advisory Team. Working closely with the Career Pathways Advisory Team, students and educators are connected with industry experts, creating an ongoing dialogue to discuss industry trends and the training and skills necessary to address long-term labor needs. This program also enhances the classroom connection by fostering a relationship with local businesses to augment the students' and teachers' knowledge in the six career paths. Back to the index     © 2009 CORD	Tawni Boman is district career exploration instructor and Elaine Metcalf is district career coordinator at Lee's Summit R-7 School District, Lee's Summit, Missouri. For more information, contact Tawni at tawni.boman @leesummit.k12.mo.us or Elaine at elaine.metcalf @leesummit.k12.mo.us.