Career Advising

This policy on career advising is in compliance with the Ohio Department of Education career advising recommendations and meets Ohio law that requires all districts to adopt a local policy on career advising beginning the 2015-2016 school year. The policy is scheduled for review at least once every two years and made available to students, parents, guardians and custodians, local post-secondary institutions and district residents. The policy is posted in a prominent location on the Madison Local Schools website.

The district’s plan for career advising includes providing:

1. Grade-level examples that link students’ schoolwork:
2. In grades K-5 to the world of work by creating awareness of the variety of career options available and focusing on skills and knowledge and work ethic required with no career advising toward specific careers.
3. In grades 6-12 to one or more career fields by implementing grade and course-of-study specific Career Connections Learning Strategies offered by the Ohio Department of Education.
4. Career advising to students in grades 6-12, which includes:
5. Meeting with each individual 6th grader at least once to discuss exploration of academic and career pathway opportunities.
6. Meeting with each individual 7-8th grader at least once each semester to discuss exploration of academic and career pathway opportunities.
7. Meeting with each individual 9-12th grade student in Connect twice each semester to discuss progress and planning toward academic and career pathway opportunities and to suggest follow-up.
8. Additional interventions and career advising for students who are identified as at risk of dropping out of school. These include:
9. Identifying students who are at risk of dropping out of school using grades, attendance, test scores, and career planning progress with input from teachers, school counselors and other appropriate school staff.
10. Developing a Student Success Plan for each at-risk student that addresses both the student’s academic and career pathway to successful graduation and the role of career-technical education, competency-based education and experiential learning, when appropriate.
    1.    Before a district develops a pupil’s Student Success Plan, district staff will invite the student’s parent, guardian or custodian to assist. If that adult does not participate in the plan development, the district will provide the adult a copy of the plan, a statement of the importance of a high school diploma and a listing of the pathways to graduation available to the student.
11. Training for employees on how to advise students on career pathways, including use of the tools available in OhioMeansJobs K-12, PathSource, provided by Butler Technology and Career Development Schools and other online sources provided by the district, for example, Naviance.
12. Multiple academic and career pathways through high school that students may choose to earn a high school diploma, including opportunities for post-secondary course credit and opportunities to earn industry-recognized credentials through Butler Technology and Career Development Schools.
13. Information on courses that can award students both traditional academic and career-technical credit made available through the school website, student planners, course-of-study guides, and counseling services.
14. Progress Book commentary twice each semester for each student in 9-12 Connect and published for parent, guardian or custodian to review.  Commentary reviews career planning progress including which schools the student may attend in the future. Students answer the questions:  Who am I?, Where am I going?, and What am I doing to get there? Grade-specific interviews will prompt students toward effective career planning.
15. The supports necessary for students to transition successfully from high school to their post-secondary destinations, including interventions and services necessary for students who need remediation in mathematics and English language arts.