WJMS part of pilot program

The state is launching a new program in an effort to get students thinking about careers even before they reach high school. West Jay Middle School eighth graders will be among the first involved.

West Jay was selected as one of 16 middle schools to be part of the Indiana Career Explorer (ICE) Pilot Program, a partnership between the state departments of education and workforce development.

Other schools involved include New Castle and Heritage, as well as one each in South Bend, Evansville and Indianapolis.

Jay School Corporation superintendent Jeremy Gulley views the program as another part of a school corporation and community effort to increase educational opportunities, starting with the preschool and Jay County Promise college savings program and extending through educational opportunities provided at John Jay Center for Learning.

“What I see is a whole system focused on helping kids find success,” he said. “At the middle school, I think we needed to do more to help students and parents understand their options. And this fits into the career and technical education pathways that the high school has been working on.”

The program, which will be implemented in the spring, will focus on college and career readiness skills with instruction both in the classroom and online.

For instance, students may take a survey to help identify a list of careers that might fit their interests and skill set.

They will then be able to explore more about those careers with a goal of narrowing down their list.

“We really feel that students can’t be what they can’t see,” said Leslie Crist, director of youth initiatives for the department of workforce development, in a press release. “What we hope is that students are exposed to more opportunities at an earlier age and are also able to see what the demand is, so hopefully they’ll be more focused on exactly what career choice they select.”

If students are able to get an idea of what career path they might like to take, they will then use that information to develop educational goals. That will include what courses they need to take in high school in order to prepare themselves for college, technical schools or other post-secondary educational or career opportunities.

Gulley noted that the program will also be beneficial to parents, who will have access to the web-based parts of the pilot program.

The program will also be helpful in ensuring that students know about and take advantages of all of the tools available to them, such as the 21st Century Scholars program that can provide students up to four years of college tuition.

“We felt that it was the greatest opportunity for Jay School Corporation and for West Jay Middle School to help our kids get over the rut — some of them feel that they don’t have the abilities and they don’t have the skills and can’t get the financial help in order to pursue and higher education. And that’s all wrong,” said WJMS principal Mike Crull. “And I think this will give them the … opportunity to challenge them to proceed and make their lives better …”

And, once career goals are developed, it could lead to earlier connections between students and local businesses and industries for internship and job opportunities, Crull added.

For more information on the program, visit indiana.kuder.com.