Combined in this post are both March’s and April’s action plans. Our school system that I am working with is under a new Superintendent Change and it has been a fun challenge to get everyone together to talk about this project. The goal for our project is to introduce junior high school students to various soft skills opportunities that they need to be successful as they work on their academics and future decisions about careers. In speaking to both the Scottsboro City Schools curriculum director and the principal at the Junior High School, they both feel this is going to be the best fit for the project. We are calling it “Skills for Success.” (Though that might change as we continue planning). The goal is to implement it during the start of the 2018 school year.
The main thing that we want to achieve is to build a project that can continue to be implemented in the junior high school annually, which will provide students with opportunities to learn critical skills needed to be successful in future career choices. This would include everything from understanding the importance of making wise choices with things posted on the Internet, to resume and interview skills, to character building among peers.
The main partnerships for this project include: The Scottsboro City Schools, The Scottsboro City Schools Junior High School, The Scottsboro Rotary Club and potential the Scottsboro Kiwanis Club. We are also looking at a partnership with the IMPACT Learning Center, who does something related to making good choices with 6th grade, but would like to do something more advanced for 7th and 8th grade.
The way this project would work is that we would use a designated time during the school day each month for a focus on a certain topic. For example, one 45 min period one month would focus on interview skills. We would talk about these skills with the students and bring someone in that is a community leader to also talk to the students.
As an addition to this project, we are going to provide a monthly meeting at the library for home school families to take part in. We have a huge home school following in our area and parents are becoming more involved in the library.
We are having a meeting in late May once school is out to discuss the outcomes for the project. This is the best time for me to meet with the school staff about it.
The outcomes that I am hoping to get from this project include:
- Students will learn about the importance of developing certain skills early in their lives to benefit future career and educational endeavors.
- Community leaders will become engaged in a project to inspire and provide leadership for students.
- Students will engage in a learning style that promotes the importance of making good decisions at an early age.