Hi OHS Students, Families and Staff,
One of our major responsibilities at OHS is to help students prepare for a career that makes them happy and allows them to live out their dreams and find meaning in their contribution to society. At OHS, we have taken many steps to help students identify career interests and develop a pathway to help them reach their goals, including helping them find the perfect college, training program or job. The National School Superintendents Association has recently defined key indicators that would signal that a high school student is on track to be “career ready” upon graduation. The organization suggests that each high school graduate has an identified career and meets at least two or more of the following benchmarks:
One of our major responsibilities at OHS is to help students prepare for a career that makes them happy and allows them to live out their dreams and find meaning in their contribution to society. At OHS, we have taken many steps to help students identify career interests and develop a pathway to help them reach their goals, including helping them find the perfect college, training program or job. The National School Superintendents Association has recently defined key indicators that would signal that a high school student is on track to be “career ready” upon graduation. The organization suggests that each high school graduate has an identified career and meets at least two or more of the following benchmarks:
- 90%
attendance
- 25
hours of community service
- Workplace
learning experiences
- Industry
credentials
- Two
or more organized co-curricular activities
- For
students considering military service, passing scores on the Armed Service
Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) for each branch
Our personal goal at OHS is to ensure all of our graduates meet
these expectations. This past summer, we had the opportunity to promote
long-time business education teacher, Kyla Stefan, to the position of School to
Career Coordinator. Her primary responsibilities are to help students identify
a career and build a path to become marketable in that sector. I have asked her
to share a few ways that OHS is working to support students in this transition.
Please see Kyla’s note below outlining the opportunities that
exist for everyone at OHS, and please don’t hesitate to reach out to her at StefanK@oasd.org or to
myself at CurtisJ@oasd.org if you
have any questions.
Have a great day!
Jason
I am excited to be stepping into the role of School to Career
Coordinator after 13 years in the business education classroom. This position
will allow me to continue my passion of helping students develop life and
career skills while also having more time to devote to making valuable
community connections that will benefit our entire staff and student body.
Here’s a little more about what my new role looks like and how I can best
support your child at OHS.
One key aspect of my role is to make valuable connections with the
community. There are many ways these connections are being utilized by students
and staff such as guest speakers (or mock interviewers), mentors, providing
authentic projects for students, allowing students workplace experiences, and
helping continue to promote and support our many classroom projects and
initiatives. We are always looking to expand our community connections so
please don’t hesitate to contact me at stefank@oasd.org if you or your company would like to
share their expertise with our learning community.
Another key focus of my role is to help facilitate workplace
opportunities for students. Some of these workplace options include our Career
Internship course available to students after successfully taking the Career
Portfolio class. The Career Internship course is tied to an employability
certificate from the state and allows students work release to gain on-the-job
skills and experiences while still in high school. Another growing opportunity
is the Youth Apprenticeship (YA) program offered through the department
of workforce development. Youth Apprenticeship (YA) integrates school-based and
work-based learning to instruct students in employability and occupational
skills defined by Wisconsin industries. Students are simultaneously enrolled in
academic classes to meet high school graduation requirements, in courses that
support their Youth Apprenticeship pathway, and are employed by a participating
employer under the supervision of a skilled mentor. Students who complete
this program earn a state industry certification that can help distinguish them
from their peers on their resumes and when applying for scholarships, schooling,
or future jobs.
Besides offering direct work experiences, we look to offer
students experiences to expose them to opportunities and careers in various
industries. Some examples of this include the Schools2Skills Expo
for both manufacturing and healthcare offered through the Waukesha County
Business Alliance and the MADE Expo for the
skilled trades. We encourage students to take advantage of these learning
experiences and will continue to communicate these opportunities via career
cruising and email when they become available.
I look forward to providing opportunities and experiences that
will help all students develop their life skills and help guide them to be
career ready when they leave Oconomowoc High School.
Thanks!
Kyla
