Public schools tackle career planning

At the end of the 201920 school year, high school graduates will leave Oklahoma public schools with a diploma and a plan.

All Oklahoma public schools will implement Individual Career Academic Planning to help students establish career goals and a path to meet them. After two years in a pilot phase, the ICAP process is opening to students statewide this school year.

“We can help them be successful if provided the appropriate opportunities to plan for life after high school,” state schools Superintendent Joy H of meister said .“We want them to have goals, and we want them to be able to achieve t hem. Oklahoma's future depends on students who are prepared today for the specialized workforce of tomorrow.”

The process begins with teaching career readiness, even at the elementary stage, by developing interpersonal skills, problem solving and ideas for career fields. Students who progress through ICAP in middle and high school will complete career and college interest surveys, write postsecondary and workforce goals, and take courses that advance them toward their goals.

ICAP programs also place students in internships, mentorships and job shadowing opportunities.

The goal, Hofmeister said, is to advance students beyond a high school diploma toward college or vocational schools.

By 2028, nearly 70% of Oklahoma j obs will require more than a high-school diploma, according to the Oklahoma Office of Workforce Development. In 2018, 46% of adults in the state had a highschool diploma or less.

“If we don't change course now, right now, Oklahoma's workforce will not meet the needs of our job market in just nine years,” Hofmeister said. “And where does that leave our kids?”

Hofmeister spent the summer educating teachers and school leaders about the ICAP process. In her latest speaking engagement, Hofmeister addressed hundreds of Oklahoma school board members at the Education Leadership Conference at the Cox Convention Center.

The annual conference from the Oklahoma State School Boards Association hosted Hofmeister and Gov. Kevin Stitt on Friday as keynote speakers.

H of meister' s morning address centered on inspiring hope among Oklahoma students.

She encouraged school boards to adopt trauma-sensitive policies as Oklahoma reckons with the highest levels of childhood trauma and adverse childhood experiences in the nation.

Helping students develop a viable future through ICAP is another way to inspire hope, she said.

Hundreds of thousands of students have already experienced ICAP through its first two pilot years. Becky Gooch has seen ICAP implemented in Putnam City Public Schools, where she has served on the district school board for 12 years.

Applying for college or other higher education is complicated enough in a stable household, Gooch said. It's an even greater barrier for students from more challenging backgrounds.

“It's crucial helping them figure out what that looks like,” Gooch said. “I think it's terribly exciting that we can help them find what they're passionate about.”