Kentucky is taking part in the Middle School Career Impact and Learning Network, a new national funding initiative that will help set the benchmark for what career exploration in middle school should look like.
With assistance from Education Strategy Group, a mission-driven organization dedicated to boosting educational attainment and promoting economic mobility, the program is administered by American Student Assistance, a nationwide nonprofit that assists students in learning about careers and preparing for their futures. Based on the recently released study paper, Extending the Runway: A 50-State Analysis of Middle School Career Exploration, these organizations established an impact and learning network.
One of the five original member states named a leading state in the report is Kentucky. Arizona, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and Washington are the other states.
Since their leadership shows a dedication to middle school career exploration and has a solid policy framework and infrastructure to develop upon, these top states were selected to join the network.
In addition to creating tools and tactics to spur work throughout the area, the learning network aims to progress and expedite the efforts of specific governments. A stipend will be given to participating states to help them attend and participate in network activities and meetings.
According to Beth Hargis, associate commissioner in the Office of job and Technical Education at the Kentucky Department of Education, it’s critical that students consider their job alternatives early in their academic careers.
As we prepare students for their future occupations, career exploration in middle school is becoming more and more important, according to Hargis. Kentucky is committed to creating tools and assistance to close the gap between career education in middle and high school, and is honored to be a part of this network.
American Student Assistance (ASA) and the Education Strategy Group (ESG) looked at middle school career exploration nationwide in their Extending the Runway report. According to the report’s findings, students who embark on a lengthier career exploration journey are better equipped to make choices that will lead to both personal fulfillment and long-term financial success.
ASA concluded that it is no longer sufficient to begin planning for career ambitions during a student’s junior or even freshman year of high school due to the increased need for skilled labor and the ongoing educational effects of the COVID-19 epidemic.
The report makes suggestions for state and local officials to think about assisting middle school kids in investigating their career prospects.
According to ASA Executive Vice President Julie Lammers, the field as a whole is still in its infancy in creating robust systems to offer fair career exploration for younger students, even though the results of our collaborative study indicate promise in states’ commitment to prioritizing and scaling high-quality middle school career exploration. As an advocacy group, ASA is spending money to create an impact and learning network by uniting the leading states that were highlighted in Extending the Runway. This network’s objective is to create a unified vision for the area and model policies that will motivate this activity nationwide.
The network’s participating state teams have pledged to focus on the following areas:
Put together a group of cross-agency partners from throughout the state, including but not limited to the state chamber of commerce, a regional employer organization, the state’s principal and/or school counselor association, an intermediary organization, and a state education agency.
Engage in active participation in monthly virtual cross-state network meetings that focus on exchanging best practices, working together to solve challenges, and picking up knowledge from subject matter experts and other participants.Discuss robust policies, new best practices, and resources required to progress the field with and learn from other member states.
Through monthly coaching meetings that offer individualized help, troubleshoot difficulties, and offer feedback on network engagement, middle school career exploration efforts can be strengthened.
Create a three-year collaboration plan outlining the state’s middle school career exploration system’s improvement objectives. Through the creation of strategies and action items spanning policy and infrastructure, the plan will oversee the ongoing cooperation between the state education agency and intermediate advocacy groups.
Participate in the creation of all materials aimed at the general public, such as the joint commitment statement, resource repository, and model policy set.
As appropriate, call a meeting of the state team members outside of these scheduled meetings to continue planning, discussing, and working together to construct the partnership strategy.
According to Hargis, Kentucky is dedicated to the learning network’s objectives.
“This work will be very beneficial to our middle school students,” she said. We are thrilled to work with other states through the initiative and are honored to be included in the Extending the Runway report on a national level. By assisting our middle school students in discovering their professional passions, our state and local officials are dedicated to bringing this goal to life.
Department of Education in Kentucky
