SMS Families:

It is not too early to have conversations with your middle schooler about their future career plans.

Our schools begin career exploration as early as kindergarten and provide various opportunities for students to experience and learn about different life after high school graduation.

At Southern Middle School, our teachers partner with guest speakers, students complete monthly activities such as interest inventories, continue building their career portfolio in the SmartFutures software program, and participate in Junior Achievement YES (Your Economic Success).

Parent Resources for Career Conversations:

The Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center at The Ohio State University offers questions and suggests family activities for parents of middle school students at:
https://www.sst11.org/Downloads/Family-Conversation-Starters_Final2-with-Accessiblity.pdf

Advance CTE: A national organization of state Career Technical Directors (CTE) compiled a list of career ready practices needed for the modern workforce:

https://careertech.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Career-Ready-Practices.pdf

PA Career Education and Work Standards:

https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/education/documents/resources/careerreadypa/career%20education%20and%20work%20standards.pdf