Career & College Readiness - Find Your Future

District 51 has many ways for high school students to learn about themselves, explore careers, engage in career readiness, and prepare for next steps after graduation.

ICAP & Naviance

What is ICAP?

ICAP Stands for Individual Career and Academic Plan! Basically, it’s a process where students own and track their learning around career pathways. Want to know more? Please check out the pdfs below to see the current 8-12th grade curriculum, and ICAP quality indicators (competencies) that we grow in students. This year, we are building curriculum for 6th and 7th grade students, as well as working with our elementary counselors on a K-5 curriculum!

What is Naviance?

Want to do more with it? Naviance is the tool our students use to start their research! Each school has their own Naviance account. Students use their school district username and password to log in. It is web-based, so you can hop on Naviance any time! Questions? Talk to your school counselor!

Central HS: https://student.naviance.com/chsmesa

Fruita Monument HS: https://student.naviance.com/fruita

Grand Junction HS: https://student.naviance.com/gjhs

Palisade HS: https://student.naviance.com/palisade

R-5 HS: https://student.naviance.com/r5hs

Helpful Videos

Check out these videos to here about our current workforce needs and why career exploration planning is so important before deciding on a post-secondary education pathway:

Career & Technical Education

What is CTE?

The overall goal of Career & Technical Education is to provide quality educational programs emphasizing core academic content, Postsecondary & Workforce Readiness (PWR) competencies, technical skills, and seamless transition to further education or employment and better prepare students, including special populations to meet challenges of the workforce, economic development, and emerging occupations.

What does that mean for middle school students?

Middle School CTE Vision

With Career Education in mind, Middle School CTE programs are exploratory in nature, focused on connection to career possibilities and assist students to obtain connection to self, while experiencing an all encompassing ‘wheel’ of career cluster exposure.

Middle School CTE Mission

To introduce students to their interests, resulting in obtaining relevance for learning with an increase in their engagement which in turn supports High School program recruitment and retention, inevitably increasing graduation rates and Postsecondary enrollment rates.

Benefits of Middle School CTE

What does CTE look like in D51?

More About CTE!

Watch the following videos to learn more about CTE.

Looking for leadership opportunities?

Get involved in a Career & Technical Student Organization! They are a fun way to grow your PWR skills and meet new friends!

CTSO

Here are a couple examples of our programs at the local high schools that you can get involved in:

http://west.mesa.k12.co.us/s_t_e_m

http://scienceforstudents.edublogs.org/mesa-2/

Check out College Greenlight! They connect first generation and underrepresented students to caring colleges, generous scholarships, and life-changing counselors and mentors!

https://www.collegegreenlight.com/

Other District Partnerships

SWAP is an innovative program designed to:

Assist young adults ages 16-25 with mild to moderate barriers in becoming involved in their communities.
Enhance the employability of SWAP clients.
Involve area buisnesses in community partnership.
Support career developement that enhances independence and personal satisfaction.
We offer workshops to high school students and their families on topics ranging from job seeking skills to post-secondary options.

Concurrent Enrollment

In May 2009, the Colorado State Legislature passed House Bill 09-1319 and Senate Bill 09-285, the Concurrent Enrollment Programs Act. The act created the concurrent enrollment program, defined as the simultaneous enrollment of a qualified student in a local education provider and in one or more postsecondary courses, including academic or career and technical education courses, which may include coursework related to apprenticeship programs or internship programs, at an institution of higher education. The collective intent is to broaden access to and improve the quality of concurrent enrollment programs, improve coordination between institutions of secondary education and institutions of higher education and ensure financial transparency and accountability. Beyond coordinating and clarifying the existing concurrent enrollment programs, the bills also created the “5th year” ASCENT program for students to continue participating in concurrent enrollment for one year following their 12th grade year.

https://www.coloradomesa.edu/admissions/requirements/concurrent.html

Technical Scholars & WCCC

Request Info: https://www.coloradomesa.edu/admissions/request-info.html