Marshalltown Community School District (MCSD) takes pride in preparing students for life after high school. Making sure our students are prepared for the future became more focused in 2016 when the State of Iowa began to require school districts to have an Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP) for each student in grades 8-12. At MCSD, we went beyond what was required and developed our district plan to encompass preschool through twelfth grade. This well thought out plan is designed to provide quality career guidance opportunities through meaningful career and academic planning. The plan is reviewed annually and revised to align with the student’s career and academic goals.

At MCSD, the work of preparing students for their future is supported by the career information system Xello, a computer-based program that helps students create their unique roadmap for future success. The students begin exploration and planning based on their personal interest in 3rd grade. Students continue to prepare for academic, career, and future success through age appropriate lessons that help students develop the skills and knowledge needed to succeed. The activities and learning for college and career readiness focus on five Essential Components: Self-Understanding, Career Information, Career Exploration Experiences, Postsecondary Exploration, and Career and Postsecondary Decision, which are detailed below.

Essential Component 1: Self-Understanding focuses on who the students are, what they like to do, and what their learning style is. Career information is embedded into subject area curriculum relating to specific career areas such as engineering during Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) activities; astronauts, scientist, researchers, doctors, farming, and agriculture during reading time; community helper careers in social studies; and many more careers highlighted in our Junior Achievement (JA) Curriculum. Self-understanding around college and career readiness continues on through Grades 5 and 6 at Lenihan Intermediate School through Xello, JA, and classroom activities.

Essential Component 2: Career Information encourages students to take a deeper dive researching careers based on their personal self-understanding results and engaging in meaningful reflection. At the elementary level, students participate in activities through Junior Achievement (JA), Xello, and content specific curriculum. At Lenihan, activities are embedded in Xello, JA, and Defined Learning for a more in-depth look at a variety of careers. For grades 7 and 8 at Miller Middle School, students dig deeper into career research by comparing wages, employment outlook, training and education requirements. By the end of their eighth grade year, students identify a career cluster preference that helps guide their choice in classes they will take in high school. The dive goes even further in high school where the students use Career Trees and the work from Mark Perna to look at different career clusters and jobs that are available with varying levels of postsecondary education. Throughout their high school careers, students have the opportunity to participate in a Financial Literacy Fair, college fairs and visits, and many different organized and independent work-based learning opportunities.

Essential Component 3: Career Exploration engages students in activities that highlight the connections between the instruction they receive in school, career clusters, and the world of work. Students are also guided to engage in meaningful reflection. Component three comes more into play as students are finishing their time at Lenihan and transition to Miller. Middle school students have the opportunity to engage in more in-depth lessons in Xello and begin career exploration in Modular Tech and the JA programs, It’s My Future and Finance Park. Students at Miller explore Project Lead the Way modules centered on engineering, computer science, and biomedical science.

Essential Component 4: Postsecondary Exploration engages students in activities in which they explore postsecondary education and training options relevant to the career interests they have. These activities and the exploration is focused on students in the upper levels. High school students may visit job sites, participate in campus visits, attend college fairs, do postsecondary research through platforms including Xello, and/or visit with recruiters or representatives from different colleges, training centers, and military recruiters.

Essential Component 5: Career and Postsecondary Decision guides students through activities that help them meet their postsecondary goals. This component is supported mostly at the high school level with activities such as completion of admissions or placement exams, completion of entrance applications and documents, writing resumes and cover letters, completing job applications, and the completion of financial aid and scholarship applications. Support in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is also provided to the students.

MCSD takes great pride in providing work-based learning (WBL) opportunities to students at all levels. WBL is the link between the career awareness and exploration part of the ICAP with the academic skills and knowledge learned in the classroom. This leads to the final piece that ties all 13 years of the ICAP together, the training and preparation part of WBL. MCSD provides students with the opportunity to begin their education in career academies by partnering with Marshalltown Community College, internships for future engineers, and pre-apprenticeships like the Teacher and Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship Program.

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Jenny Allen is the Curriculum and Professional Development Teacher Leader for Marshalltown Schools.