Create a Positive School Culture that Stresses Personalization in Planning and Decision-making

THIS ARTICLE IS THE SECOND IN A YEARLONG SERIES THAT WILL MORE CLOSELY EXAMINE THE RECOMMENDATIONS MADE IN ACTE'S HIGH SCHOOL REFORM POSITION STATEMENT, REINVENTING THE AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE 21ST CENTURY, AND HIGHLIGHT BEST PRACTICES FOR IMPLEMENTING EACH OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS.

THE SECOND

RECOMMENDATION IN ACTE'S high school reform position statement is to create a positive school culture that stresses personalization in planning and decision-making. Today's high school students face a broad array of education and career choices and they need the information and guidance necessary to ensure that they meet their goals.

At a minimum, every student should be led through a process of academic and career awareness, exploration and planning. This should include learning about the economy and career options; self assessment for areas of interest; deeper exploration of how personal interests relate to career opportunities and gaining education and career decision-making skills; and knowledge and understanding of local, state and national educational, occupational and labor market opportunities, needs and trends.

Policies must be in place to ensure that career development and postsecondary planning are core activities within a comprehensive guidance program. Each student, and his or her parents or guardians, should develop an individualized plan for graduation and beyond that will guide the high school experience.

Around the country, many career and technical education programs and schools are beginning to implement these types of policies and plans.

Utah's Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance Program

Since 1984, the Utah State Board of Education has required secondary schools to assist every student in preparing an individual Student Education Occupation Plan (SHOP). Utah's 1992 State Public Education Strategic Plan envisions a system that personalizes education for each student with 100 percent of Utah's students achieving the objectives of their individually developed Student Education Plan (SEP) in grades K-6 and SEOP in grades 7-12.

"Utah's Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance Program, which includes SEPs and SEOPs, has been highly successful. It is found in virtually all secondary schools in the state. Across the state, students know that college and career readiness is what school is about," says Judy Whitaker, ACTE Guidance and Career Development Vice President and CTE counselor at Taylorsville High School.

As the individual planning mechanism of the state's guidance program, the SEOP-a primary strategy for recognizing each students' accomplishments and strengths for planning, monitoring and managing education and career development-involves activities directed by school counselors that assist students in planning and managing their learning, personal development and career development.

Through an ongoing partnership involving students, parents, school counselors, and other school personnel, students in grades 7-12 develop their SEOP in collaboration with their parents or guardians, and the secondary school educator. The SEOP is directed by student education needs and requirements; however, the planning process also includes information on the student's interests, talents, achievements and goals to assist students in establishing education and personal/life goals and to connect students to activities that will help them achieve their goals. A record of the planning process is kept in a personal portfolio or SHOP planning document, which is reviewed at least annually in SHOP conferences with students, their parents or guardians and a counselor (or other key educator).

Common elements of a successful SHOP include:

* coordinated guidance curriculum activities-sequenced by grade level-in areas of self-knowledge, education and occupation exploration and career planning;

* individual aptitude, interest and/or achievement assessment;

* parental involvement through an annual conference with the student and counselor;

* well-defined goals; and

* a student education and career planning document that includes evidence of school-to-work, education and career goals; a written four-year plan that includes graduation requirements; evidence of student, parent and counselor participation in the planning process; and a record of SHOP process activities.

Utah's effort to implement the state model for guidance and counseling has proved to be successful. A1995 study by Kimball, Gardner and Ellison found that 74 percent of all Utah high schools reported parents and students were involved in the SHOP and 100 percent of schools reported that students complete or review their SHOP plans in the 10th grade. The study compared a sample of nearly 100 low- and high-implementation schools and found that 79 percent of students in high implementation schools felt that they were adequately or better prepared to enter the workforce compared to 75 percent of students in low-implementation schools. Furthermore, 88 percent of students in high-performing schools compared to 75 percent of students in low-implementation schools felt that school prepared them to continue their education.

A New Low in South Carolina

In 2005, the South Carolina General Assembly passed the Education and Economic Development Act to provide for the development of curriculum organized around a system of career clusters to provide students with both strong academics and real-world problem-solving skills.

The law states, "Students must be provided individualized educational, academic and career-oriented choices and greater exposure to career information and opportunities. This system must promote the involvement and cooperative effort of parents, teachers and school counselors in assisting students in making these choices, in setting career goals, and in developing individual graduation plans to achieve these goals."

This landmark legislation presents a timeline to school districts across the state for developing and implementing enhanced comprehensive guidance and counseling programs, including individual graduation plans. Some of the activities specified in the law include professional development for career guidance professionals, career awareness activities throughout the educational system, and intensive planning with eighth graders.

A key element of the law and of South Carolina's comprehensive guidance program is the development of individual graduation plans (IGP's) for each student. The plans are based on seven key characteristics. In South Carolina, an individual graduation plan must:

* align career goals and a student's course of study;

* be based on the student's selected cluster of study and an academic focus within that cluster;

* include core academic subjects, which must include, but are not limited to, English, math, science and social studies to ensure that requirements for graduation will be met;

* include experience-based, career-oriented learning experiences including, but not limited to, internships, apprenticeships, mentoring, co-op education and service-learning;

* be flexible to allow change in the course of study but be sufficiently structured to meet graduation requirements and admission to postsecondary education;

* incorporate provisions of a student's individual education plan, when appropriate; and

* be approved by a certified school guidance counselor and the student's parents, guardians or individuals appointed by the parents or guardians to serve as their designee.

According to Ray Davis, Career Guidance Education Associate in South Carolina's Office of Career and Technology Education, "The IGP's will involve the school counselor, the students, and the family representative with the all important task of selecting the right courses, planning for post-secondary years, and focusing early on career cluster and career options in a highly competitive global job market. Pilot sites in South Carolina report an overwhelmingly positive response to this IGP document and process by students, parents, and school counselors."

These statewide programs in both Utah and South Carolina help put students on the path to further education and successful careers. Other states have also recognized the importance of personalized planning and decision-making by students. This year, Florida also passed a law requiring similar individual plans for all students, and more school districts are taking advantage of electronic systems that help students and their parents plan for the future. Comprehensive counseling and planning provides students with a roadmap for success-and is a critical element of reinventing the American high school for the 21st century.