In 2013, I was involved in a Leadership Custer County class with other business leaders and we were asked to complete a group project that would benefit Custer County. I had an idea and wanted to help the students of Sargent High School and was backed by the other four members of that group. I feel passionate about career opportunities for our students and I think that if they can go visit professionals or tour businesses they will learn so much more than sitting in the classroom. However, I know that some core teachers get angry every time they hear students are going to be gone again... so I thought if we can get 20-30 career professionals into our school for a day, everyone could be happy. See this cartoon I made for the Shark Tank competition at NCE Conference to help you picture this.
We worked with the administration at the school to pick a day that could be dedicated to the career day, which was the last day of school before Christmas break. As a result of the hard work of that leadership team and the staff and administration of Sargent Schools, we had an extremely successful Career Exploration Day. This is now an annual event that hosts over 100 students from Sargent and Loup County 7-12th grade students. In an effort to expand the success of the program, I have put together this resource guide for others to use when developing a career day for their school. I have presented this day at the NRCSA conference and also at BMIT meetings.
If you have any questions about the information or you would like copies of the graphics, PPTS or videos used in the career day please feel free to contact me at [email protected] .
FIRST: PICK A DATE
We found success having the day on our last school day before Christmas break. This day was following semester tests and when core teachers were done teaching new material before break. College recruiters found the days before Christmas break allowed them to come as students were already gone but they were still working. Schools just need to find a time that works for the students, staff, and administration.
SECOND: STUDENTS
Next, it is important to decide what age of students you want to be affected by this day. We chose to include 7-12th grade students.
THIRD: CAREERS/SPEAKERS
It is important to know the careers your students are interested in before you start contacting speakers. We made a google form (survey) approximately a month before our date to collect interests from our students. See survey from 2015. This initial survey was used by looking at the Nebraska Career Education Model and listing clusters for students to choose from.
I enlisted the help of our school counselor, LuAnn Schauda, and Jenny Fox, the Custer Capable representative following this survey for a planning meeting and a google spreadsheet was made with the top careers chosen from our first survey. Names of professionals were listed on the spreadsheet that we felt would be positive role models to speak to our students. Calls were made to schedule speakers and the spreadsheet was updated with their name, address, email address, and phone number. A main speaker to start the day also needed to be determined. The first year we had a local entrepreneur and previous economic development director that focused on coming back to the area and all of the opportunities available here. The second year we had a manager of a machinery/diesel business talk about the importance of preparing for a career through good grades, involvement, a good resume, and interviewing skills. This last year's speaker talked about following your dreams. At the planning meeting, LuAnn also said she would again contact colleges and/or businesses that might like a table in the gym. We added a session this year with a recent alumni panel to discuss college.
Once we had speakers committed to our day, we sent the students from both schools a second survey with the careers and names of those actually represented where they will pick 4-5. See an example of this survey here. We sent each speaker a letter by email thanking them for taking time away from work to speak to the students and also giving them some possible topics of discussion. An example of one of the letters is below:
We worked with the administration at the school to pick a day that could be dedicated to the career day, which was the last day of school before Christmas break. As a result of the hard work of that leadership team and the staff and administration of Sargent Schools, we had an extremely successful Career Exploration Day. This is now an annual event that hosts over 100 students from Sargent and Loup County 7-12th grade students. In an effort to expand the success of the program, I have put together this resource guide for others to use when developing a career day for their school. I have presented this day at the NRCSA conference and also at BMIT meetings.
If you have any questions about the information or you would like copies of the graphics, PPTS or videos used in the career day please feel free to contact me at [email protected] .
FIRST: PICK A DATE
We found success having the day on our last school day before Christmas break. This day was following semester tests and when core teachers were done teaching new material before break. College recruiters found the days before Christmas break allowed them to come as students were already gone but they were still working. Schools just need to find a time that works for the students, staff, and administration.
SECOND: STUDENTS
Next, it is important to decide what age of students you want to be affected by this day. We chose to include 7-12th grade students.
THIRD: CAREERS/SPEAKERS
It is important to know the careers your students are interested in before you start contacting speakers. We made a google form (survey) approximately a month before our date to collect interests from our students. See survey from 2015. This initial survey was used by looking at the Nebraska Career Education Model and listing clusters for students to choose from.
I enlisted the help of our school counselor, LuAnn Schauda, and Jenny Fox, the Custer Capable representative following this survey for a planning meeting and a google spreadsheet was made with the top careers chosen from our first survey. Names of professionals were listed on the spreadsheet that we felt would be positive role models to speak to our students. Calls were made to schedule speakers and the spreadsheet was updated with their name, address, email address, and phone number. A main speaker to start the day also needed to be determined. The first year we had a local entrepreneur and previous economic development director that focused on coming back to the area and all of the opportunities available here. The second year we had a manager of a machinery/diesel business talk about the importance of preparing for a career through good grades, involvement, a good resume, and interviewing skills. This last year's speaker talked about following your dreams. At the planning meeting, LuAnn also said she would again contact colleges and/or businesses that might like a table in the gym. We added a session this year with a recent alumni panel to discuss college.
Once we had speakers committed to our day, we sent the students from both schools a second survey with the careers and names of those actually represented where they will pick 4-5. See an example of this survey here. We sent each speaker a letter by email thanking them for taking time away from work to speak to the students and also giving them some possible topics of discussion. An example of one of the letters is below:
FOURTH - SCHEDULE
The second student survey results are printed to determine how many sessions some speakers will need to have based on interest. We try to have 20 or less students in a session. I make up a possible schedule and make necessary changes as I start placing students in a time slot. I try to make sure a career cluster is spread out over the three hour time frame knowing some students will be very focused on a certain cluster. Speakers are set up in 30 minute sessions. Here are pictures of schedules from 2013, 2014, and 2015:
The second student survey results are printed to determine how many sessions some speakers will need to have based on interest. We try to have 20 or less students in a session. I make up a possible schedule and make necessary changes as I start placing students in a time slot. I try to make sure a career cluster is spread out over the three hour time frame knowing some students will be very focused on a certain cluster. Speakers are set up in 30 minute sessions. Here are pictures of schedules from 2013, 2014, and 2015:
Once the schedule for the day is complete, another email is sent to the speakers to let them know what time their session will be and to find out if they need a projector and if they will be staying for lunch. We added a lunch after the first year to give the students time to engage with professionals during the meal and we had another presentation following lunch.
We used eight classrooms for the speakers and made signs outside the classrooms with the schedule for that room and a poster in the gym showing the colleges/businesses in attendance. We also gave each student their schedule first thing that morning. Some examples are below:
We used eight classrooms for the speakers and made signs outside the classrooms with the schedule for that room and a poster in the gym showing the colleges/businesses in attendance. We also gave each student their schedule first thing that morning. Some examples are below:
The college representatives and businesses in the gym also were scheduled into the student's schedule so that they could go around and talk to all of them. The first two years our counselor came up with a scavenger hunt or a quiz that they had to talk to each vendor and fill in information. The student would then turn in the sheet for a chance to win a prize at the end of the day. The last year, we simply made a card with each business and they needed to be initialed to win a prize.
FIFTH - COMMUNICATION
We made a press release that went to our local papers before and then an article following was written up with pictures to inform of our day. We also made a survey at the end of the day for all students to fill in so we knew their thoughts about the day and if we should make any changes for the following year. You can see that here:
FIFTH - COMMUNICATION
We made a press release that went to our local papers before and then an article following was written up with pictures to inform of our day. We also made a survey at the end of the day for all students to fill in so we knew their thoughts about the day and if we should make any changes for the following year. You can see that here:
Below is a PowerPoint presentation I made that also shows the process we went through to make the Career Exporation day happen!