AI in Early Postsecondary Planning
By Jina Kugler | November 2026
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming education. For school counselors, it offers powerful opportunities to support students’ postsecondary journeys. Although AI can’t replace the vital role of human connection, it can enhance student engagement, personalize planning and ensure equitable access to essential tools and information. It also allows students to access support on their own timetable. We’re doing our students a disservice if we’re not teaching and modeling for them how to use AI appropriately, safely and effectively.
Enter AI – not as a replacement but as a powerful assistant that can bring clarity, access and personalization into the hands of students and educators alike. With AI tools such SchoolAI, Magic School, Brisk, Napkin and Google NotebookLM, you can scaffold postsecondary readiness from elementary through high school in exciting, developmentally appropriate ways.
Postsecondary planning is critical to students’ life beyond graduation. One helpful way to structure this work is through a learning continuum, which outlines progressive, age-appropriate activities across three key stages:
Each stage requires different levels of support and types of experiences. AI can fill in gaps, enhance access and even improve success for each and every student.
To go further, students can use an educator-generated space in SchoolAI or Magic School to simulate the experience of interviewing that professional. This tool can role-play a career professional and answer the AI-generated questions in kid-friendly language, making it feel like students are conducting a real interview.
One of our fifth-grade teachers and I collaborated on a career research project and discussed how to best use AI to meet students’ needs, especially since more traditional search tools were not producing age-appropriate or engaging results. Students first completed a multiple intelligences activity to identify their top three intelligences. From there, they used SchoolAI to guide their exploration and narrow down their search to five careers that were a strong match for their profiles. The teacher created a SchoolAI sidekick named Buddy, designed specifically to help students find more information about each of their five chosen careers. With Buddy’s guidance, students explored job descriptions, salary ranges and educational requirements. Once students had selected one career from their list, they used Google Slides to create a presentation for the class.
Next year, with parent/guardian permission, this teacher plans to upload a current student photo to her Google Gemini account and use it to generate an image of each student in their future career. This can help students truly visualize their future selves in the roles they aspire to. We’re considering another AI tool to support presentation prep: With Microsoft Speaker Coach, students can practice giving oral presentations about their chosen careers. This tool evaluates their pacing, pitch, use of filler and repetitive words, and whether they were reading from slides. It even gives suggestions about inclusivity regarding disability, gender and race. It provides a report with specific feedback they could use to improve even if an adult isn’t available to coach them in real time.
One creative use of AI at this stage involves using SchoolAI or Magic School to create fictional job-shadowing scenarios. Students can input a prompt such as, “What would a day in the life of a marine biologist look like for someone my age?” and receive a detailed, imaginative simulation of that job experience. This helps them visualize their future and engage with career paths in a low-pressure, fun way. Students also might write silly career-themed songs or stories using AI or design cartoon mascots and comic strips that bring jobs to life through humor and creativity, blending factual information with playful twists to deepen their understanding.
Another approach is using AI tools such as Magic School, SchoolAI or Brisk to differentiate reading materials about various careers. Students can select career profiles, and the AI adjusts the reading level to fit their comprehension, ensuring accessibility for all learners. Tools such as NotebookLM allow students to create digital career journals, with research summaries, personal reflections or questions for informational interviews. To add an element of fun and peer connection, students might convert their research into podcasts (using a tool such as Google NotebookLM) or interactive quizzes, turning career exploration into a shared and enjoyable experience.
Let’s be clear – AI is never a substitute for human connection, mentorship or live guidance. School counselors, teachers and family members bring emotional intelligence, lived experience and personal care that no chatbot can replicate.
But AI can extend our reach by providing immediate access to tools, practice and information. It can guide students through planning steps, build their confidence and help them reflect on their choices. To help students use these tools wisely, educators just need to be curious, open-minded and committed to serving each and every student. We must also be safety-conscious and choose tools that are FERPA and COPPA compliant. With AI, we can expand access to opportunity, personalize support and empower each and every student, regardless of grade level or setting, to plan their future with purpose and confidence.
Jina Kugler is a graduate coach with Greenbush Virtual Academy, a virtual, asynchronous program that partners with districts across Kansas to provide virtual education for their K–adult students. She can be reached at jina.kugler@greenbush.org.
Powerful Assistant
For school counselors, the journey of career exploration and postsecondary planning is both essential and increasingly complex. But what happens when your time is limited, your resources are stretched thin and your field trip budget doesn’t allow for job shadows?Enter AI – not as a replacement but as a powerful assistant that can bring clarity, access and personalization into the hands of students and educators alike. With AI tools such SchoolAI, Magic School, Brisk, Napkin and Google NotebookLM, you can scaffold postsecondary readiness from elementary through high school in exciting, developmentally appropriate ways.
Postsecondary planning is critical to students’ life beyond graduation. One helpful way to structure this work is through a learning continuum, which outlines progressive, age-appropriate activities across three key stages:
- Career awareness (elementary school): Students begin to develop awareness and curiosity about different careers and connect them to their interests and values.
- Career exploration (middle school): Students deepen their understanding of career options and begin aligning them with their developing sense of identity.
- Career preparation (high school): Students make informed decisions about their future, engage in planning and build skills for postsecondary success.
Each stage requires different levels of support and types of experiences. AI can fill in gaps, enhance access and even improve success for each and every student.
Elementary School
Elementary students begin by becoming aware of different careers and developing curiosity about the world of work. A great entry point is using resources such as the Cool Careers video series on the HirePaths website, which introduces elementary-aged children to real-world careers in a fun, accessible format presented by their peers. After watching a video about a career of interest, students can use a tool such as Magic School or SchoolAI to generate interview questions they would ask someone in that career. For example, they might prompt AI with: “Help me come up with five interview questions for a veterinarian that a third grader could ask.”To go further, students can use an educator-generated space in SchoolAI or Magic School to simulate the experience of interviewing that professional. This tool can role-play a career professional and answer the AI-generated questions in kid-friendly language, making it feel like students are conducting a real interview.
One of our fifth-grade teachers and I collaborated on a career research project and discussed how to best use AI to meet students’ needs, especially since more traditional search tools were not producing age-appropriate or engaging results. Students first completed a multiple intelligences activity to identify their top three intelligences. From there, they used SchoolAI to guide their exploration and narrow down their search to five careers that were a strong match for their profiles. The teacher created a SchoolAI sidekick named Buddy, designed specifically to help students find more information about each of their five chosen careers. With Buddy’s guidance, students explored job descriptions, salary ranges and educational requirements. Once students had selected one career from their list, they used Google Slides to create a presentation for the class.
Next year, with parent/guardian permission, this teacher plans to upload a current student photo to her Google Gemini account and use it to generate an image of each student in their future career. This can help students truly visualize their future selves in the roles they aspire to. We’re considering another AI tool to support presentation prep: With Microsoft Speaker Coach, students can practice giving oral presentations about their chosen careers. This tool evaluates their pacing, pitch, use of filler and repetitive words, and whether they were reading from slides. It even gives suggestions about inclusivity regarding disability, gender and race. It provides a report with specific feedback they could use to improve even if an adult isn’t available to coach them in real time.
Middle School
As students grow, the focus shifts to career exploration, connecting students’ growing self-awareness in terms of personal interests, values and skills to curiosity about the future. AI tools can personalize this exploration and help students take ownership of their learning. Encouraging students to use AI creatively allows them to explore careers in ways that spark both imagination and learning.One creative use of AI at this stage involves using SchoolAI or Magic School to create fictional job-shadowing scenarios. Students can input a prompt such as, “What would a day in the life of a marine biologist look like for someone my age?” and receive a detailed, imaginative simulation of that job experience. This helps them visualize their future and engage with career paths in a low-pressure, fun way. Students also might write silly career-themed songs or stories using AI or design cartoon mascots and comic strips that bring jobs to life through humor and creativity, blending factual information with playful twists to deepen their understanding.
Another approach is using AI tools such as Magic School, SchoolAI or Brisk to differentiate reading materials about various careers. Students can select career profiles, and the AI adjusts the reading level to fit their comprehension, ensuring accessibility for all learners. Tools such as NotebookLM allow students to create digital career journals, with research summaries, personal reflections or questions for informational interviews. To add an element of fun and peer connection, students might convert their research into podcasts (using a tool such as Google NotebookLM) or interactive quizzes, turning career exploration into a shared and enjoyable experience.
Let’s be clear – AI is never a substitute for human connection, mentorship or live guidance. School counselors, teachers and family members bring emotional intelligence, lived experience and personal care that no chatbot can replicate.
But AI can extend our reach by providing immediate access to tools, practice and information. It can guide students through planning steps, build their confidence and help them reflect on their choices. To help students use these tools wisely, educators just need to be curious, open-minded and committed to serving each and every student. We must also be safety-conscious and choose tools that are FERPA and COPPA compliant. With AI, we can expand access to opportunity, personalize support and empower each and every student, regardless of grade level or setting, to plan their future with purpose and confidence.
Jina Kugler is a graduate coach with Greenbush Virtual Academy, a virtual, asynchronous program that partners with districts across Kansas to provide virtual education for their K–adult students. She can be reached at jina.kugler@greenbush.org.