Focus on the Future Newsletter - March 2006

Tips and strategies for classroom teachers from the publishers of the Career Choices curriculum.

Career Counseling for Teens
AP reporter Dave Carpenter explores the growing field of career counseling for teenagers. Some feel that asking students to formalize their plans in their early teen years may cause unnecessary stress. According to Career Choices co-author, Mindy Bingham, it's about creating a "roadmap" by formalizing a plan -- not finalizing a plan.

"It's not about choosing a specific career, but...knowing the process so that if they have a boss who comes in the door and says 'We're closing down the business' or 'Technology just changed your job,' they'll be in a position to know how to make this change."

Read this article.

Grant-Writing Workshop for SLC Grants
A series of grant writing workshops will be held in early May for anyone interested in gaining an in-depth understanding of the Smaller Learning Communitities grant RFP and how to respond to the RFP successfully. The workshops are presented by the Center for Secondary School Redesign, NASSP, and UCLA School Management Program.

Visit the NASSP web site for more information.

New Guidance on Schoolwide Title I Plans
The Department of Education released new "nonregulatory" guidance for schools for setting up comprehensive Title I compensatory education programs. The guidance allows for schoolwide programs (rather than targeted programs) in schools where at least 40% of the students are determined to be low-income. A schoolwide program should be designed to "upgrade the entire educational program" ensuring that all students "demonstrate proficient and advanced levels of achievement on state academic-achievement standards."

Career Choices, when teamed with the supplemental anthology Possibilities, addresses many of the English/Language Arts standards for most states. A qualifying school could establish a Freshman Transition program with a literacy emphasis, using Career Choices and Possibilities as the core, thus providing a motivating classroom-based comprehensive guidance course while building important reading and writing skills.

Get a copy of the "Designing Schoolwide Programs" guidance document from the US DOE.

2-Day "How To" Workshops in Santa Barbara, CA

• June 26-27, 2006

Join us for an intensive two days as we discuss and explore the many benefits of integrating classroom-based comprehensive guidance into your school -- whether as part of your Smaller Learning Communities, Freshman Transition course, or in existing Career/Technical courses.

Visit our web site for details on this dynamic workshop.