Career Readiness: Mountain Prepares Students for the Real World

Career Readiness: Mountain Prepares Students for the Real World

Mountain View School District, Kingsley, PA was recently rewarded a “Career Readiness Mini-Grant” to implement a program that was designed to require all juniors to complete a job shadowing day, a mock interview with a professional in closely related career field, and peer discussion. A focus will be placed on having students research local High Priority Occupations (HPO) available in Pennsylvania Northern Tier. Through partnerships with the Local Workforce Development Board (Towanda, PA), Lackawanna College, Penn State Worthington, Susquehanna County CTC, the Montrose Area Chamber of Commerce, the Carbondale Great Chamber of Commerce, and local business owners, Mountain View School District plans to provide all students opportunities to acquire the information, experience, and skills for the 2017 Northern Tier HPOs.

This grant was written during the summer of 2017, as a collaborative effort of the district administration, school counselors, special education department, and the high school Family and Consumer Sciences program.

All eleventh grade students are currently required to take a course in Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS), titled FACS for Life. A portion of the curriculum emphasizes career selection, the process of applying for jobs, in addition to basic financial literacy.

Dr. Elaine Chichura, Family and Consumer Sciences teacher, explained that each student enrolled in the course will receive a copy of the recently published Pennsylvania Career Guide, which was made available free of charge by Virginia H. Turano, Executive Director, Lackawanna County Workforce Development Board Scranton, PA . The career guide is a detailed resource that includes a step by step “To-Do-List for High School Students” who plan to enter the workforce directly, who want to pursue post-secondary training, or who hope to attend a four year college degree. Other topics addressed include the cost of college, preparing a resume, completing job applications, networking and social media, and interviewing.