JRG Middle School Career Planning
What does Career Planning look like at our Middle School?
Throughout their time at J.R. Gerritts Middle School, students will have a variety of opportunities to thoughtfully consider who they are as people and how that relates to future career options.
Students will utilize Xello each Tuesday during TLC (homeroom) to engage in career-related exploration. Students will complete interest inventories, career research, set academic and personal goals and do reflections with the support of their TLC teacher.
Students will be exposed to a variety of hands-on experiences to help them begin narrowing the focus of possible career options.
Questions about your child's Career Planning experiences? Contact your child's TLC teacher or school counselor.
Below you will find the Career Planning experiences for students in 7th & 8th grade.
Click on each experience to learn more about what students will learn, who will be teaching it and how parents can support their learning at home.
7th Grade
- Students will hear from speakers within the Fox Valley about jobs related to all 16 career clusters
- Students will have the ability to ask questions to further explore the career cluster
- Prior to the presentations, the counselors will provide a framework for the speakers to follow in order to maximize student learning
- Parents can ask their child…
- What job did you hear about that was interesting?
- What job can you see yourself doing someday?
- What class in high school might you be able to take to learn more about an interesting career?
- Students will identify 1 Extracurricular Activity and 1 Hobby and Interest in the “My Activities and Experiences” section of Xello
- Each student will identify 2 life skills they have learned from each activity they identified
- Counselors will facilitate this process through lesson held in Language Arts and help them to understand its significance for post-secondary education
- Parents can ask their child…
- What more could you be getting involved in at JRG?
- How are the skills you are learning now during clubs/activities going to help you as an adult?
- Is there a club that can help you learn more about a career cluster of interest?
- Students will learn about the types of information provided in career clusters (career types, academic requirements, what the career involves) and how to use that information in Xello.
- The school counselors will help make a connection between the students interests and the career clusters that are presented.
- Parents can ask their child...
- What kinds of things can you find in Xello about the career clusters you are interested in?
- What did you learn about your career clusters?
- Students will be able to identify two clusters of significant interest, two of no interest, and two they would like to research further.
- Students will gain experience and exposure in a variety of career clusters.
- During a counselor led lesson held in Language Arts, students will review career cluster information and reflect on the clusters in which they have interest, have no interest, or would like to learn more about.
- Parents ask your child:
- What are your two career clusters?
- What makes you interested in them?
- What kinds of things are you good at that would make you good at careers in this cluster?
- Visit Xello to see the clusters your child has selected.
- Teachers will:
- Structure Several Mini-Courses around student interest and skills to allow exposure and exploration that could lead to future career interests.
- Guide students through a post-Mini Course reflection relating their experiences to their future career plans.
- Students will be able to explain and provide evidence showing how their strengths, interests, and skills relate to a specific career cluster.
- Each year teachers will support students as they set academic, personal and/or soft skills goals.
- The school counselor will build a foundation on how to set academic, personal and soft skills goals and how their goals will relate to their future.
- Parents can ask your child…
- What are your goals and how are you going to reach them?
- What interests do you have and how can they be connected to a career clusters?
- What skills do you have that will help you in school as well as a job someday?
8th Grade
- Students will hear from speakers within the Fox Valley about jobs related to all 16 career clusters
- Students will have the ability to ask questions to further explore the career cluster
- Prior to the presentations, the counselors will provide a framework for the speakers to follow in order to maximize student learning
- Parents can ask their child…
- What job did you hear about that was interesting?
- What job can you see yourself doing someday?
- What class in high school might you be able to take to learn more about an interesting career?
- Students will identify 1 Extracurricular Activity, 1 Hobby and Interest, and 3 Skills and Abilities in the “My Activities and Experiences” section of Xello
- For Extracurricular Activities and Hobbies and Interests, each student will identify 2 life skills they have learned from each activity they identified
- For Skills and Abilities, each student will need to identify how their skills will translate to the world of work
- Counselors will facilitate this process through lesson held in Language Arts and prepare Xello for 8th Grade Individual Conferences and to help them to understand its significance for post-secondary education
- Parents can ask their child…
- What clubs might you want to explore at the high school?
- How are the skills you are learning now during clubs/activities going to help you as an adult?
- Is there a club that can help you learn more about a career cluster of interest both at JRG and at KHS?
- Students will reflect on their prior career planning experiences and choose 2 career clusters that are most relevant to their interest and abilities
- For each of the chosen career clusters, students will identify why they chose the career cluster and what job they might be interested in from within that cluster
- Counselors will facilitate this process through lesson held in Language Arts and prepare career planning for 8th Grade Individual Conferences and to help them to understand how this reflection will help them further explore careers through classes taken at KHS
- Parents can ask their child…
- What is it about your career clusters that is most interesting to you?
- How do your skills and abilities fit with your chosen career clusters?
- What classes could you take at KHS that relate to your chosen career clusters?
- Students will learn about the types of information provided in career clusters (career types, academic requirements, what the career involves) and how to use that information in Xello.
- The school counselors will help make a connection between the students interests and the career clusters that are presented.
- Parents can ask their child...
- What kinds of things can you find in Xello about the career clusters you are interested in?
- What did you learn about your career clusters?
- Teachers will:
- Structure Several Mini-Courses around student interest and skills to allow exposure and exploration that could lead to future career interests.
- Guide students through a post-Mini Course reflection relating their experiences to their future career plans.
- Parents can ask their child…
- Did you like your mini-course experience?
- What did you learn during your mini-course experience?
- Could you see yourself doing something like that in the future?
- The students will be introduced to the classes available to them in high school.
- The students will reflect on their interests to better inform their course selection.
- The school counselor will introduce elective classes that are available at the high school.
- The school counselor will guide elective course selection based on student interests.
- Parents can ask their child…
- What types of courses do you have an interest in?
- Can you describe a tentative course plan?
- Students will be able to explain and provide evidence showing how their strengths, interests, and skills relate to a specific career cluster.
- During TLC, teachers will support students as they set academic, personal and/or soft skills goals.
- During TLC, teachers will monitor student progress on their academic, personal and/or soft skills goals.
- Language Arts teachers will assist students in the creation of a personal statement that relates to strengths, challenges, interests, and skills.
- The school counselor will build a foundation on how to set academic, personal and soft skills goals and how their goals will relate to their future.
- Parents can ask your child…
- What are your goals and how are you going to reach them?
- What interests do you have and how can they be connected to a career clusters?
- What skills do you have that will help you in school as well as a job someday?