Some adults went through their middle school years with little discussion about future career options.
Oak Park Elementary School District 97 is remedying that with its Career Exploration Planning initiative, which is designed to connect middle schoolers’ academic experiences with real-world applications.
In this program, the word exploration is operant for both students and their parents. The district will launch in November, at the end of Trimester 1, the online SchooLinks career readiness curriculum, which is also used by Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200. When students first log on to SchooLinks, they will be asked 25 questions about their interests. They can then explore different careers that align with those interests.
Parents will be able to see their child’s SchooLinks profile, so they will be aware of what career choices might be in the offing – which should engender discussions at home.
“With human beings, we change over time,” said Dr. Luis De Leon, assistant superintendent of middle schools. “It’s discovering yourself through the process and projecting yourself into the future. And you have to revisit yourself multiple times in the process.”
In 2022, Illinois mandated that students in grades six through 12 participate in career exploration. To that end, the PaCE Framework (Postsecondary Career Exploration) was adopted by the Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Board of Higher Education, Illinois Community College Board and the Illinois Student Assistance Commission for benchmarking key points in the college and career planning process for students.
“The state provided the what, and the schools have the autonomy to work it out,” De Leon said, adding that PaCE is merely a starting point. “You can add to it, adjust it, build it up so it makes sense to the community.”
Career Exploration is also tied directly into the Career Explorer dimension of the district’s Portrait of an Oak Park 8th Grade Graduate. The dimension emphasizes that graduates will explore a wide range of careers and their qualifications, including both college and non-college and trade pathways.
To that end, Julian Middle School associate principal Adrienne Court and De Leon are part of a committee consisting of district- and building-level administrators and 13 teachers across all content areas that are preparing the Career Exploration Planning initiative launch. The committee had its first meeting Sept. 30, Court said, with the next slated for Oct. 14.
“It has been studied that middle school is a critical point in students’ lives,” Court said. “Focusing on Career Exploration, we’re increasing student engagement and fostering future planning.
“They don’t necessarily know what they want to do, (so) when they go to high school they are able to make more purposeful decisions about what they want to do for a career,” she said. “Really being intentional about increasing engagement and opportunity and exposure will lead to positive outcomes in high school and beyond.”
Coming in the spring at Brooks and Julian middle schools will be a robust Career Day, where professionals from a wide variety of careers will meet with students to discuss their work. Julian has had a Career Day for the past three school years and Brooks had one last year for eighth graders.
De Leon said the Career Day gives “students the opportunities to think about careers from professionals from the fields, so they can connect their learning.”
Court said it’s exciting how many paths a student could take, which is why Career Day is such an important event.
“There is so much out there in the world, so it’s a really nice opportunity to learn what’s possible,” she said. “What does someone in this work do, what experience do they need and is it something I would be interested in?”
But it’s important to note that while the state’s PaCE Framework and the district’s Career Exploration Planning interpretation of the framework is one thing, there is another key, and that is parent participation in their student’s learning.
“I feel as a parent, it’s important to partner up with the schools and supporting what is happening with our students,” De Leon said. “They can take that into dinner table conversations … ‘What are your thoughts on this?’”
Court agreed.
“I think the importance of having conversations at the dinner table, ‘What was your key takeaway today?’” she said. “Really focusing on the transferrable skills and as students express interest in content, how can parents (foster that)? Is there an extracurricular program in the community?”