Page 42 - Creating Pathways to Success

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CREATING PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS
These indicators are as follows:
• Comprehensive education and career/life planning programs meet the learning interests, strengths, needs, and aspirations of all students.
• Opportunities for authentic learning experiences and experiential learning exist in all classrooms and programs.
• Students, parents, and educators understand the full range of pathways, programs, options, and supports that are available.
• Students build on in-school and out-of-school experiences to further explore and reflect on their interests, strengths, skills, and education and career/life aspirations.
Similarly, the list of characteristics of comprehensive programs provided in section 2.3.2 of this document, and the development and implementation process outlined in section 6.1, can be used to develop indicators to monitor implementa- tion and measure effectiveness.
Strategies for monitoring the implementation of the program include:
• tracking of opportunities, in the classroom, the school, and the community, for students to develop their knowledge and skills in education and career/life planning;
• tracking students’ opportunities to reflect on and document their learning in their “All About Me” portfolio or IPP;
• conducting surveys with parents, teachers, and students to gauge their awareness of the program and their level of involvement in it.
Strategies for finding evidence of the effectiveness of the program include:
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gathering evidence of student learning (e.g., goal setting based on awareness of self and opportunities; planning next steps based on research, as documented in students’ portfolios or IPPs, especially at key transition points, such as at the end of Grades 3, 6, 8, and 11);
gauging students’ awareness of their personal strengths and needs as they reflect on their learning during parent/student/teacher conferences;
tracking students’ involvement in optional education and career/life planning activities (e.g., workplace field trips, presentations by postsecondary educational institutions, opportunity fairs);
gathering evidence from exit surveys completed by students who are graduating from elementary and secondary schools.