From the Chair: Many Postsecondary Paths

When my daughter Jordan was finishing kindergarten, we were expressing how proud we were that she had a great year. That evening, as I put her to bed, she turned to me and asked, “after kindergarten, do I go to college?” With a smile, I responded back, “no baby girl, you will go to first grade.” Afterwards, I giggled; maybe I pushed college a little too tenaciously.

As school counselors, we have made tremendous gains in educating the general public about the need for students to continue postsecondary training. Unfortunately, many people only read postsecondary as meaning college, and think college is the only successful path to a career. Twenty years ago, many districts were solely focusing on college matriculation. We need to shift this focus to more than college being an acceptable route after graduation. College is not the end goal; college is one pathway that can lead to a student’s career choice. It is crucial that we educate students and families about certifications, apprenticeships and other vocational training options.

We need to work with all of our stakeholders to ensure we are providing students and their families the most accurate information about different pathways to high-demand and high-wage jobs. A great online resource to find this information is the Occupational Outlook Handbook. Middle school and high school counselors can also partner with their career and technical education (CTE) programs. The goals and expectations in our CTE classes are a natural fit to preparing students for all different types as outlined in the 16 career clusters (see www.acteonline.org).

In elementary school, we primarily teach social/emotional learning (SEL), which can also be termed “soft skills” or “workforce skills.” These terms have become buzzwords in the school counseling and business communities. Workforce skills not only guide students to a successful career path or college option, but have a huge impact on how they problem solve, show compassion, interact and communicate with their peers, and how they think critically and creatively in the classroom. Employers tell us all the time: They want employees who possess these traits. When working on social/emotional learning in the classroom, we continue to make these connections for the students in elementary school all the way up through high school. Soft skills are just as important as technical skills. The efforts of school counselors every day not only prepare our students for postsecondary success, but also for career satisfaction.

As I circle back around to my daughter, Jordan, who is now almost 11, I reflect on my own parenting style and consider the realm of career options. Postsecondary alternatives are infinite, and as school counselors, we need to equip ourselves with the expertise to guide our students in considering not only college, but many endless career possibilities.

Contact Janine Menard, AzSCA board chair and 2018 Advocate of the Year, at jmenard@isaacschools.org.