ACP GENERAL INFORMATION

What is an Academic & Career Plan?  (ACP)

An Academic & Career Plan is a personalized plan to help guide a student’s middle/high school learning experiences to support the goals a student sets for him/herself.

What’s included in an Academic & Career Plan?

A student’s ACP includes his/her unique:

• Course Plan: Course Selections, grades 7 – 12
• Co-Curricular Activities (Clubs, Athletics, Arts)
• Career/Work Based Learning Experiences (Jobs, Co-ops, Internships, Youth Apprenticeships)
• Service Learning Experiences (Community Service, Volunteer Efforts)
• Assessment Results (WKCE, Aspire, PSAT, ACT, WorkKeys, AP)
• Career Clusters and Career Pathways of Interest
• Credentials
• Learning Styles
• Personality Traits
• Work Values & Work Skills
• Potential post-high school education options (tech school 2-year college, 4-year college, specialty school, apprenticeship, work, military)

How does planning help a student?

Planning:

• Teaches a student to develop and implement a plan for goal attainment – a critical life skill
• Exposes students to a variety of opportunities for consideration
• Helps inform a student’s investment in post high-school education
• Helps students understand how to plan when they decide to make changes

How is Academic & Career Plan related to College & Career Readiness?

Developing an ACP ensures that a student is ready for college and career.

College Ready: Effectively able to navigate the world of higher education. It means a student:

• Is beyond “college-content” ready
• Is able to effectively evaluate post-secondary options
• Understands expectations for completing a post-secondary credential with value in the projected economy.

Career Ready: Effectively able to navigate the world of work (employability). It means a student:

• Has identified the skills and interests they would like to leverage in a career
• Has a general understanding of the industries they could work in someday
• Understands how to identify the value of specific careers in projected economy
• Is able to apply what they have learned in a service/work setting
• Is able to effectively evaluate potential work environments
• Understands expectations to find and sustain employment

To be both college and career ready – a student requires:

• Demonstrated academic knowledge and skills (gained from core and elective coursework)
• Life Skills: Productive self-concept, ability to advocate, perseverance
• Demonstrated self-management
• Effective organizational and social behavior

Are other school districts having their students create an Academic & Career Plan?

The Academic & Career Plan is a state wide initiative related to college and career readiness, but each district maintains local control over their Academic & Career Planning program for students. The School District of New Berlin has implemented the process ahead of the state mandate (2017) because it believes, for reasons listed above, that planning is best for all students.

When does a student begin developing his/her Academic & Career Plan?

A student begins developing a plan in 6^th grade when he/she makes course selections.
View activities that for students in each grade level related to Academic & Career Planning.

What about learning for learning’s sake? Does my child have to have a career plan in middle and high school?

An Academic & Career Plan does not require a student to declare any career path in middle/high school. Students should use the planning process to select learning opportunities that will help them decide what they like and don’t like. Some students will, however, have a path they’ve identified and they will be able to directly align their learning to that path. Other students will use the planning process to explore.

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SUPPORT VIA SCHOOL RESOURCES & THE PARENT’S ROLE

What tools does the student have to help him/her developing an Academic & Career Plan?

• All of the opportunities listed in this Academic & Career Planning Guide (Programs of Study, Course Offerings, Career & Service Learning Program) are meant to give students experiences that will help them develop, monitor and revise their Academic & Career Plan
• Xello, an online learning platform, helps students to understand their learning style, career cluster interests etc. Each student has a unique login and password.

Who at school works with students on their Academic & Career Plans?

Advisory teachers and counselors work to ensure students are continuously developing and updating their plans. Advisory teachers are guided by counselors in lessons related to Academic & Career Planning. (Parents – your child’s Advisory teacher can be found in Infinite Campus.)

Are students given time in school to work on their ACP?

Yes, students are given designated time in Advisory period to develop their ACP.

How do I get access to my child’s Academic & Career Plan?

A student’s plan is housed on the School District of New Berlin network on their individual home drive. Ask your child to share his/her plan with you. The School District of New Berlin is working to ensure that parents receive a report of the child’s ACP each year in the fall and spring.

What is the parent’s role in this process?

Parents are encouraged to sit down their child, review their child’s plan, and help them select learning opportunities that align with their goals.  There are reflective questions at the beginning of the Academic & Career Planning Guide that may be answered with your child, to assist with the planning process.

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COURSE SELECTIONS

How important are student’s course selections early in their middle/high school career?

Courses chosen earlier in a student’s middle/high school career will impact courses they can take later due to pre-requisites. It is important to look ahead at future years and create a multi-year course plan as part of the Academic & Career Planning process.

How often can a student change his/her plan?

Students can, and are encouraged to, modify their plans at any time. A student’s goals and plans may change several times as they gain experiences during middle/high school. There are no “mistakes” in the planning process, only redirections if a student changes his/her mind on what learning experiences to pursue. It’s all about exploring!

If I want to know a specific course progression for my child to enter a specific career, where do I find that?

As the SDNB continues to develop its Programs of Study, sample course progressions will be provided. Each student’s goals are different, therefore their ACP and course selections will be unique to their situation.  It is best to seek guidance from your child’s counselor on specific course progressions.

How do I find out the credit requirements my child needs?

Graduation Requirements for the School District of New Berlin are located in the Academic & Career Planning Guide. Students and parents are strongly encouraged to look at requirements for the post high-school institution they may be considering to ensure they are taking courses required for that institution or type of institution a student is considering. The Academic & Career Planning Guide lists requirements for UW-Madison and WCTC as an example, but each institution may require something different. Requirements for all Wisconsin institutions are located in Career Locker. If looking outside of Wisconsin, the post high-school institution’s “admissions” section of their website may be a place to start.

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PROGRAMS OF STUDY

Part of the Academic & Career Planning process encourages students to explore Programs of Study. What is a Program of Study?

Please see the Programs of Study overview.

Does a student need to declare a Program of Study?

No, Programs of Study are meant to provide exposure to students, so students can see the relevance in coursework and connect it to potential careers. Students may choose learning experiences for one or several Programs of Study.

What is a “Pathway” within a Program of Study?

The pathways listed in the Program of Study guide are examples of different types of careers that are within a particular career cluster. These are examples – the career types listed in each Program of Study are not exhaustive.

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