Academic and Career Planning
Students & Families
ACP Purpose
The aim of Academic and Career Planning (ACP) in middle school is to provide students with a foundation that enables them to explore future options as they progress through their three years here and beyond into high school. The ACP process is designed to help students develop a future academic and career plan that is personal to them by establishing short and long-term goals.
Throughout the ACP process, students focus on three key questions: Who Am I?, Where am I Going?, and How do I Get There? By exploring these questions, students gain a clear understanding of their strengths, interests, potential career pathways, and post-secondary education options.
Answering the question "Who Am I?" helps students take stock of their strengths, skills, and interests. This step helps students figure out what they enjoy and excel at. Answering the question "Where am I Going?" encourages students to explore various career pathways and post-secondary education options that align with their strengths and interests. This step helps them identify potential career opportunities that they may want to pursue in the future. Finally, by answering the question "How do I Get There?", students develop a roadmap for achieving their short and long-term goals. This may involve taking particular courses in school, participating in extracurricular activities, or seeking out internships or volunteer opportunities to gain experience in their areas of interest.
Throughout the ACP process, students focus on three questions: Who Am I?, Where am I Going?, and How do I Get There? Exploring these questions assists students in understanding their strengths, interests, potential career pathways, and potential post secondary education options.
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How can parents get involved with ACP?
To be involved in ACP parents can:
- Discuss how your child is performing on standardized tests and in all of their classes
- Attend Parent-Teacher Conferences
- Look over your child's Xello Account with them
- Engage in discussions with your child about their strengths and interests, and how these connect to different classes and careers
- Know the goals that your child has set
For 8th grade:
- Participate in your child's ACP Conference with their school counselor
- Explore the Course Description Guide together to discuss elective offerings for High School
Here are some tips on how to open the door to critical college and career conversations with your children:
- Share some of the following aspects of your journey and career choice(s) with your children:
- What careers did you consider when you were growing up? Who were your role models?
- What were the critical points in your journey? When did you take risks, and try new endeavors? What were your turning points?
- How did you determine what interests are best served in a hobby versus a career?
- What do you like about your job? What do you find fulfilling? What do you dislike about your job, and how do you deal with that?
- Talk about times when you were faced with challenges and worked hard to overcome them.
- It can be overwhelming for youth (and parents) to face innumerable career and college options. Sometimes it is easier to start by asking "What DON'T you want?"
- Listen & Watch. When you notice a strength or interest within your child, let them know. Not only will this help build them up, but it will help them develop greater self-awareness of where their strengths and interests lie. When talking about their journey after high school, reference these!
- Don't focus only on one post-secondary path (such as college). For youth to be successful in their future endeavors, they need to be engaged. Military, technical schools, and apprenticeship programs are noble and valuable post-secondary paths.
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