The Swan Valley School District believes that a quality Career Pathways program is an integral part of the educational package offered to all students at all levels. The Career Pathways philosophy promotes a plan for all students K-12 and beyond that includes their interests, abilities, talents and all desired levels of education.

What is a Career Pathway?

Career Pathways are broad groupings of careers that share similar characteristics whose employment requirements call for many common interests, strengths and competencies. Career Pathways structure learning to aid educators and students in making meaningful connections to broad areas of actual career opportunities reflective of the current emerging world of work. A Career Pathways approach helps students by engaging them in a process that will provide a number of opportunities to fully identify, assess, and prepare for their career goals.

The Swan Valley School District has adopted the Career Pathways structure for organizing and teaching students K-12, in an effort to give them the necessary skills for success in a career of their choice.

Michigan's Six Career Pathways

Arts and Communications

Business, Management, Marketing, and Technology

Engineering/Manufacturing and Industrial Technology

Health Sciences

Human Services

Natural Resources and Agriscience

Creating a Career Pathways Focus involves the students, educators, and the parents working together.

• Career Awareness initiated
• Focus on work:

* As a life role
* Many and varied career options available
* Begin career vocabulary development

• Stimulate curiosity about the world of work
• Appreciate personal interests, strengths, and talents
• Understand value and importance of learning academics
• Value the contributions of workers in all career areas
• Understand that career opportunities are open to everyone

Career Pathways provide a generic framework for creating a career context within the curriculum to:

• Expose and provide introductory information to students on a full spectrum of work and careers
• Involve business/industry, parents, and community as resource people
• Demonstrate commonalities and differences in work and careers
• Guide students in discovering their likes, dislikes, interests, strengths, and talents
• Provide a foundation for middle and high school Career Pathways exploration

• Reinforce at home:

* work as a life role
* many career options available
* interests/abilities help guide choices

• Encourage and promote career awareness opportunities as part of home and family life
• Build recognition that careers are open to anyone with an interest and ability in that career area
• Voice and demonstrate positive attitudes about work and value of all careers
• Volunteer to serve as a classroom resource person
• Take child to work

• To increase opportunities for all students to:

* become involved in activities, courses, programs and services that provide structure to the career choice process
* develop career choices based on personal interests, aptitudes and opportunities; and
* prepare for a career and lifelong learning.

• To increase the number of Michigan education agencies that utilize a Career Pathway design in the teaching and learning process.
• To provide state level leadership and technical assistance to educational agencies developing and implementing Career Pathway Schools.
• To accelerate implementation of the Career Preparation System concept in Michigan to benefit all students.
• To align multiple school improvement and workforce development activities in an effective Career Preparation System for all Michigan students at all levels of education and training.
• To strengthen the relationships between educational agencies, parents, community, and business/industry partners.