Focus on Freshmen 2018 - Santa Barbara
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Implementing the Stay Focused! Follow-up Modules
in the 10th, 11th, & 12th Grades
June 7 & 8, 2018

Session Descriptions

Session one
An Overview of the Get Focused...Stay Focused!® Follow-up Modules: Exploring the related pedagogy, goals, technology, and Common Core State Standards

Studies show that revisiting and upgrading future plans is vital to continued student success. In the years following the freshman course where students first created their 10-year plan, the three Get Focused...Stay Focused!® Modules, each with 16 Common Core-based lessons, will help ensure that students are college and career ready. Institute participants will come away with an understanding of the structure and value of the follow-up modules as well as a variety of resources to streamline the planning and buy-in process for school-wide efforts.

Session two
An In-depth Review of Follow-up Module 1: Developing Attitudes and Aptitudes to Promote College and Career Readiness

The 10th grade year is important for nurturing a post-secondary education and training mindset. In this session, participants will review each of the 16 activities in Follow-up Module 1 that lead students through the process of expanding and updating the 10-year Plan developed in their freshman course. Students review high-demand careers, the range of post-secondary options available, and start developing an education plan that covers the balance of high school and looks forward to college or technical training. Addressing key financial issues empowers all students to see a personal post-secondary path as possible. Throughout the review process, participants will learn instructional strategies that reinforce the Common Core State Standards.

Session three
An In-depth Review of Follow-up Module 2: Determining Your Informed Major and Post-secondary Education Path
Early in Follow-up Module 2, students identify and explore STEM career options before finalizing the career choice that will drive their post-secondary planning. Then, with that career path in mind, students learn strategies for choosing a major and a college that can help them achieve their career goals. Financial strategies that promote post-secondary accessibility and equity are presented, and the admissions and financial aid processes are reviewed in detail, supporting your school's counseling functions. Throughout the review process, participants will continue to explore instructional strategies that reinforce Common Core State Standards.

Session four
An In-depth Review of Follow-up Module 3: Preparing to Act on Your 10- year Education and Career Plan

As students approach Follow-up Module 3, they have identified their post- secondary path, whether college, technical school, apprenticeship, or on-the- job training. They should also have a personal understanding of the fact that the "College vs. Career" question is NOT an either/or proposition-they will inevitably need additional education and training AND they will also work. Learning sophisticated, self-directed strategies, they'll come away with a skills-based education and career plan that promotes life-long learning. Reviewing the 16 activities in Follow-up Module 3, participants will learn how to help their students create a vital education plan that studies point to as doubling college and post-secondary completion rates.

Session five
Strategies for Integrating the Get Focused...Stay Focused!® Online Activities into My10yearPlan.com®

One extremely powerful use of the Internet is in the process of researching possible careers and appropriate college and post-secondary options. For that reason, each of the Get Focused...Stay Focused!® lessons has a corresponding online activity that enriches students' 10-year Plans. Participants will review these activities, learn strategies for delivery, and experience a robust post- secondary planning process using real-world, online tools from the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Department of Education; tools that will be readily available throughout students' lives. A review of a variety of class structures-from one-to-one laptop scenarios to tips for managing limited computer lab time-will help participants ensure that all students can integrate these valuable tools into their planning.

Session six
Implementing Get Focused...Stay Focused!® School-wide

Every school is unique and the placement of the Get Focused...Stay Focused!® Follow-up Modules is unique to each school. In this session you will learn the different modules of placement, strategies for creating whole-school buy in, and how to recruit your best teachers. This session will, also, review advising strategies to share with your colleagues, and will give you experience with two key My10yearPlan.com® tools that can make student/mentor meetings more effective: Comparison Chart of College and Post-secondary Options and My Skills Inventory: Skills-based Education Plan.

Session seven
From an Instructor’s Perspective: Advice for Career Choices Teachers from Career Choices Teachers

Attendees from several Institutes will be treated to a very special panel discussion exploring freshman transition classrooms that work. This panel of Career Choices instructors will share some of the insights they've gained, techniques they've honed, and strategies they've implemented successfully in their own classrooms.