Transition policy and procedures are integral for districts promoting students with disabilities to successful post school outcomes in career or in higher education. School districts are given a set of standards that must be addressed in their curriculum but are not clearly delineated by state and national organizations. Additionally, transition…

This Special Report outlines state-level policy components that help ensure work-based learning opportunities for high school students are well-coordinated, broadly accessible, aligned to state or regional workforce demands, and of high quality.

This article describes efforts undertaken to design, deliver, and evaluate a college and career readiness (CCR) unit for fifth-grade students. Preliminary findings from the school counselor-developed and -delivered intervention, Operation Occupation, supported interdisciplinary efforts between counselors and classroom teachers. Pre- and…

In this article we describe the new opportunities for postsecondary education available to students with intellectual disabilities (ID) through the Higher Education Opportunities Act of 2008. We also identify the importance of these opportunities for students with ID, and key strategies for ensuring that their college experience is an important…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of Cheering in the Classroom, a four day program designed purposefully to increase female awareness and perceptions of technology fields. The camp included discipline-based activities from the 13 different programs of study based in technology. The camp targeted high school cheerleaders and…

This is the fourth in a series of eight newsletters highlighting best practices presented at the 2009 HSTW Staff Development Conference in Atlanta. These newsletters contain information about successful actions schools across the nation are taking to join hands-on and heads-on learning in ways that increase student motivation and achievement. This…

This newsletter of best practices describes steps that schools have taken to establish a guidance and advisement system that helps students plan for and succeed in students high school, further study and careers. Articles in this issue include: (1) Advisory Program Boosts Achievement and Career Planning; (2) District-Wide Guidance Program Assists…

One of the most pressing challenges in public education today is the recruitment and retention of high quality teachers for America's schools. Research shows teacher shortages exist nationwide but vary by geographic area, content area, demographics, and individual schools. In a recent study of the Future Educators Association[R] (FEA) initiative…

One of several booklets focusing on the development of different components of a career education program, this guide is intended to direct personnel in local school systems in the development of a summer career education exploration for seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students. In a question/answer format, the document defines the program,…

In order to offer students guidance about the rapidly increasing field of communications, Apollo High School developed a cooperative radio and television communication program to be added to the English curriculum. The objectives of the project were (1) to utilize the expertise of the staff and the resources of Apollo High School, the Daviess…

A study of 1,800 Kentucky high school students revealed working students demonstrate a remarkable diversity of work experience and uses of earning while not differing markedly from nonworking students in school experience. The data, both quantitative and qualitative, suggest conventional wisdom is not sufficient to capture fully the current…

Four schools in Kentucky were chosen as sites for EBCE (Experience-Based Career Education) program implementation for eleventh and twelfth graders. School staff and over 300 community resource contacts in businesses were given inservice education, students were recruited, and bias-free materials and resources were made available. Credit was…

Written in a simple question/answer format, this manual is designed to assist educators in locating information on how to develop and implement a career education program in a rural area. Chapter I gives a historical overview of the career education program in the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative area. Chapter II details the various…

Designed for ninth grade disadvantaged and educable mentally handicapped students for occupational orientation and exploration, this revised curriculum guide consists of eight sections, five of which incorporate simulation units to provide hands-on experience. The sections are: Orientation to the School; Orientation to Self in Relation to the…

A six-month study of the Kentucky State Department of Education programs in practical arts education (career exploration) in junior high schools was done in two parts. In the first part a questionnaire was given to teachers, counselors, students, and principals from twenty schools during the 1976-77 school year. The questionnaire was designed to…