The School to Careers (STC) program exposes students from our component districts to school-to-career opportunities within the greater Mohawk Valley and beyond. Developed through partnerships with both local and regional businesses and industries, STC provides real-world connections for students to experience meaningful preparation of 21st century workplace skills through a diversified approach to career awareness and exploration.
STC SERVICES DESCRIPTION
Regional Events (coordinated by STC and available for the “Greater Mohawk Valley”)
STC works closely with many agencies, departments, colleges, neighboring BOCES collaborations, and chambers of commerce to facilitate, plan, host, coordinate, and lead regional activities. STC will provide for information, registration, guidelines, conduit of communication, process, procedure, feedback, survey, and liaison type activities associate with these events. These events include but are not limited to Manufacturing Expo, Mohawk Valley Career Construction Day, Seventh Grade Skilled Trades Day, Streams to Success, Farming Your Future and more.
Regional Events (developed by STC and specific for our region)
STC has worked closely with many of our component school districts, colleges, business/industry partners and leaders to create experiences for students with a wide canvas approach. The goal is to expose as many students as possible to the various career clusters and link them to both the local native pipeline and the global career marketplace. These events include but are not limited to Career Inspirational Experiences, Journey from 8 to Great, regional career fairs and more.
Career Days
In coordination with district staff, the School to Careers team will plan and implement career days. These career awareness and exploration opportunities are focused on the needs and goals of the individual district. They can be grade-level specific, school-wide or district-wide.
Business Tours
With approximately 300 business and industry partners across the 16 career clusters, STC is able to establish very targeted tours. Individualized to the unique interest of each student, STC conducts career interest inventories/surveys with your selected students. STC then processes the results and creates a student profile. That student profile lays the foundation for selecting the most appropriate business tour that will align with your student interests. These tours bring a rich sense of reality and connect the demonstrated interest to the “real-world” application.
Career Seminars
STC expands this delivery and targets the 16 career clusters, bringing to life the aspects of being in the field. STC collaborates with business/industry partners and local/regional leaders to create an exceptional experience. Districts indicate a desired career cluster and STC works closely and collaboratively with district to select various guest speakers from those clusters. STC will make all necessary connections and handle all communication, student and speaker materials, support, and facilitation of the seminar. Typically districts select these in a monthly rotation.
Job Shadowing Experience
Students are identified by school counselors in accordance to the district's policies. Using results of previous and/or current career inventories/surveys STC provides for a full service for job shadowing experiences.
Utilizing district coordinated transportation, students will receive up to two shadow experiences. STC coordinates all aspects of the Job Shadowing Tool Kit, including, all paperwork, parental permissions, business contacts, and assisting students with a reflective essay, evaluation form, and business thank you letter.
Junior Career Journeys
Junior Career Journeys is exclusive to juniors. Juniors are identified by chool counselors in accordance to the district's “good academic standing & attendance” policies. Using results of previous and/or current career inventories/surveys, STC provides job shadowing experiences. With up to ten job shadowing experiences and spread throughout the school year students will obtain valuable insight to support their college and career direction. Students can earn WBL hours. Transportation is coordinated and provided by the district.
Rising Seniors
Rising Seniors is for students who have just completed their junior year and are headed into the summer. This services’ flexible design has the ability to work around student schedules for the best possible approach to obtaining and completing a summer internship. Full placement of the student(s) includes but not limited to the following; Pre and post meetings with business/industry partner, coordination with district point person to ensure proper scheduling & communication throughout the internship experience, parent/guardian authorizations/release forms, partner/host consent forms, student & teacher contracts, host & student evaluation forms, student reflective essays, monitor and report student attendance, and student thank you letters. Students are responsible for their own transportation. Permission forms and/or riding permission forms can be obtained.
Basic Internship Placements
Basic Internships prepare students for both the career and college stage of their lives. Students are identified by school counselors in accordance to the district's “good academic standing & attendance” policies. Using results of previous and/or current career inventories/surveys & previous job shadowing experiences STC provides for a full service internship experiences. STC will work closely with each student and the district counselor to ensure the right internship placement is found. Internship placements are typically up to 15 hours and students can earn WBL hours.
Advanced Career Immersion Experience (ACIE)
This is the most comprehensive internship service offered by STC. Students are provided an experience that can help them to determine their life plan. Students are able to forge lasting relationships within their own student cohorts, neighboring district students, colleges, mentors, and business leaders. ACIE is designed for seniors that are self-motivated, curious, determined, and talented. ACIE students are identified by their school counselors as academically talented and/or whose curiosity expands beyond the traditional classroom. Once student are identified STC will meet with district team members, provide an overview of the program to the students, and schedule mock student interviews. STC will work with each student and district guidance/school counselor to ensure the proper internship placement for each student. Once accepted into ACIE, students are responsible for their own transportation, to maintain “good academic standing & attendance” in accordance to the district policies, submit monthly reflection logs, timesheets, to participate in group discussions, attend the mandatory orientation session, maintain excellent attendance at the internship site, abide by all rules, regulations, and expectations set forth by the internship site, and maintain positive reports from mentors. The flexible design model allows for student to be placed in a 6, 12 or 24 week experience (one or two placements) totaling 72 hours of internship experience. Kicking off in September with a mandatory parent/student orientation session, the ACIE program officially begins in October and is on-going through mid-April. Throughout the Advanced Career Immersion Experience students are provided career counseling and coaching coupled with various career/college skill building workshops. The ACIE program closes with a formal recognition ceremony. ACIE students can earn WBL hours and transferable validated internship hours.
CDOS Credentialing and Work Based Learning (WBL) Hours
Led by the certified WBL coordinator, STC will provide full support and work closely with the district personnel to identified district students that would be eligible for the CDOS credential. STC WBL Coordinator will identify potential approved WBL hours and will collaborate with district personnel to schedule opportunities to achieve the required WBL hours. STC retains and shares all records with district to create the portfolio/transcript (CDOS Solutions Platform). STC manages the CDOS Solutions Platform and student needs provided by the district. The district receives CDOS Solutions Platform access to students and will be able to note on-going progress. Additionally services maybe requested and planned accordingly; assistance in the development of a career plan and review it annually (information may be used to support student transition planning) with students and district personnel, employability profile development, student exit summary completion, support evidence to demonstrate attainment of CDOS Learning Standards (WBL opportunities scheduled with STC will be included), and STC can provide a connection to ACCES-VR and/or OPWDD to counselors and eligibility services.
Workshops
This service allows for a customized and tailored approach to a full workshop delivery. STC will work directly with district personnel to identify the needs, create a workshop plan, discussion and gain feedback, secure appropriate professionals and deliver the workshop in conjunction with selected individuals. Workshop topics including Resume Rescue, Interview Prep, HR Roundtable and Daneli Partnership Strengths Based Leadership Initiative.
Specific District Career Planning (Comprehensive School Counseling Plan Support)
New York State Education Department (SED) has progressively created regulations that relate to the development and requirements associated with district school counseling. STC can work collaboratively with district personnel to support the development of a comprehensive career plan.
Educational Crosswalks
STC provides for faculty, staff, and or administration the opportunity to select from any of the 16 career clusters and partake in a job shadow learning and connecting experience. The overarching goal is to be able to provide educators and team members a platform in which they can experience firsthand how their instruction and careers connect.
And more...
The STC team also provides critical training and professional mentoring to the component districts in areas that affect career readiness. Included in this are regional training events such as Educating the Whole Child and Mental Health Awareness Days.