NEWS RELEASE
April 6, 2010
Students Urged to Look Ahead
— Far Ahead — When Choosing Classes
In schools across the state, students in grades 8-11 are now working with their counselors, teachers, and parents to plan their schedules for next year.
State education officials, however, are urging students to take a longer-range approach to planning their academic and occupational futures. They recommend that every student, with involvement from their parents, develop a flexible “personal plan of study” that can guide them through high school — and beyond.
“Every student should have a multi-year plan to guide their course choices during high school and to make sure they are on track to achieve their education and career goals,” said Commissioner of Education Chris L. Nicastro. “The plan should go beyond high school, so that students are thinking about higher education and what comes after they earn a diploma.
“Planning for the next semester is not enough,” she continued. “Students need to base their course selections and school activities on a long-term plan that will help them be college- and career-ready for lifetime success,” she said.
While all Missouri students are encouraged to develop a personal plan of study as they enter high school, it is just a formality in many cases. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is working with schools to make the education plans true working plans so that students and parents get more benefit from them.
“When you’re doing individual planning well, students should be able to talk about their plans, their options, and what they are doing to get where they’re going,” said Bragg Stanley, director of guidance and counseling at DESE.
A well-developed personal plan of study will map out the courses a student should take in high school, as well as extracurricular activities, possible internships, job shadowing opportunities and other experiences that can help the student explore and prepare for a postsecondary goal: a particular college degree, for example, or high-skilled technical training and certifications. By getting students to look ahead, a personal plan of study helps smooth their transitions out of high school, Stanley said.
“Students who base their course decisions on a plan that’s taking them toward a career goal tend to transition better to higher education and to careers than students who pick classes based on their friends’ schedules, a preferred lunch shift or how much homework certain teachers give,” he said.
Missouri students work with school counselors and teachers to develop their personal plans of study using the national Career Clusters framework. This framework encompasses virtually all occupations from entry through professional levels and divides careers into 16 “clusters.” Each cluster includes a range of careers requiring similar knowledge and skills.
A great strength of the Career Clusters framework is that it helps students organize and make sense of the world of work, Stanley said.
“Instead of asking students to choose from 40,000 different jobs — some of which won’t be around when the student is ready for them — the Career Clusters framework introduces students to occupations in a broader context, allowing them to prepare for a wide range of occupations, including ones that don’t exist yet,” he said.
Students in grades 7 to 16 can explore the Career Clusters on the DESE-sponsored MissouriConnections.org. The online education and career planning system lets them take interest assessments, build portfolios and résumés, and create their personal plans of study.
Tawni Boman, career exploration teacher for the Lee’s Summit School District, said students find the site easy-to-use and parents like its accessibility.
“One of the best features of the online personal plan of study is the ability to review results immediately,” Boman said. “Parents are informed via newsletters and postcards with directions for accessing their child’s plan.”
She added that being able to see all four years of a tentative high school schedule on one screen makes it easier for students and parents to make strategic choices for getting the most out of high school.
Stanley noted that it’s important that students review their plans of study each year with a counselor or teacher advisor, who can ensure the plans include a core of general education classes and are flexible enough to accommodate a change of interest.
The result of proper planning, Stanley said, is not just students who are better prepared for life after high school but also students who are more engaged now.
“Students who have a reason to be in school tend to do better than students who don’t see the relevance,” Stanley said. “A personal plan of study lets students see how their choices and work now matter for goals far in their futures. It answers that question of, ‘Why do I need to take this?’ and motivates them to care more about school.”