This is the year students start treating their future as a real plan instead of a far-off idea. Students map out a path after high school, weigh what colleges, training programs, and jobs actually require, and practice the habits employers expect: showing up, communicating clearly, working on a team, and handling money. They also learn to research choices and think through trade-offs before deciding. By spring, students can explain a realistic next step after graduation and what it will take to get there.
Students take stock of what they are good at, what they enjoy, and what kinds of jobs and training exist after high school. Parents may hear about interest surveys, guest speakers, or first conversations about life after graduation.
Students practice showing up on time, following through, and acting with honesty at school and on the job. Parents may notice more talk about responsibility, deadlines, and what employers actually expect day to day.
Students learn to speak, write, and email in ways that fit the situation, and to work on a team with people who think differently than they do. Parents may see drafts of resumes, emails to adults, and group projects.
Students tackle real problems by breaking them apart, researching options, and trying new tools, including new technology. Parents may hear about projects where students had to figure something out instead of being handed the answer.
Students pull it all together into a plan for after high school, whether that is college, training, military, or work. Parents may be asked about budgets, applications, and trade-offs between cost, time, and goals.
Students map out a realistic plan for life after high school, connecting their interests and goals to actual options in college, trade programs, or the workforce.
Students learn to pick the right digital tool for the job, whether that means organizing work, communicating clearly, or solving a problem faster. They also practice adjusting when new tools replace old ones.
Working on a team means getting things done with people who have different backgrounds, habits, and ways of seeing a problem. Students practice listening, dividing tasks, and finding common ground so the group can move forward.
Students take ownership of their choices at school, on the job, and in the community. That means following through on commitments, admitting mistakes, and understanding that how they act affects the people around them.
Students take skills from class, like math, writing, or hands-on technical work, and use them to solve real problems they might face on the job. School knowledge meets actual work.
Students make everyday choices about sleep, food, money, and stress with an eye toward staying healthy and financially stable now and later in life.
Students practice matching how they speak, write, or post online to the situation: a job interview calls for different language than a group chat. The goal is clear, purposeful communication that fits the audience.
Before acting on a plan, students think through how a decision might affect the environment, other people, and money. They use that thinking to shape what they design or do next.
Students come up with original ideas and find new ways to use familiar tools to solve problems at school or on the job.
Students find trustworthy sources, check whether the information holds up, and pull the key details together into something useful. This is the research habit that shows up in almost every job and college course.
When a problem feels stuck, students break it into smaller parts and try more than one approach until something works.
Students practice honest decision-making and steady follow-through in school projects, jobs, and community work. They lead by example, manage tasks responsibly, and hold themselves to the same standard they expect from others.
| Standard | Definition | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Plan an education and career path aligned to personal goals, interests High School | Students map out a realistic plan for life after high school, connecting their interests and goals to actual options in college, trade programs, or the workforce. | PA-CDOS.CRP10.9-12 |
| Use technology to enhance productivity, communication High School | Students learn to pick the right digital tool for the job, whether that means organizing work, communicating clearly, or solving a problem faster. They also practice adjusting when new tools replace old ones. | PA-CDOS.CRP11.9-12 |
| Work productively in teams while using cultural and global competence to… High School | Working on a team means getting things done with people who have different backgrounds, habits, and ways of seeing a problem. Students practice listening, dividing tasks, and finding common ground so the group can move forward. | PA-CDOS.CRP12.9-12 |
| Act as a responsible and contributing citizen and employee, taking personal… High School | Students take ownership of their choices at school, on the job, and in the community. That means following through on commitments, admitting mistakes, and understanding that how they act affects the people around them. | PA-CDOS.CRP1.9-12 |
| Apply appropriate academic and technical skills learned through career and… High School | Students take skills from class, like math, writing, or hands-on technical work, and use them to solve real problems they might face on the job. School knowledge meets actual work. | PA-CDOS.CRP2.9-12 |
| Attend to personal health and financial well-being and make decisions that… High School | Students make everyday choices about sleep, food, money, and stress with an eye toward staying healthy and financially stable now and later in life. | PA-CDOS.CRP3.9-12 |
| Communicate clearly, effectively High School | Students practice matching how they speak, write, or post online to the situation: a job interview calls for different language than a group chat. The goal is clear, purposeful communication that fits the audience. | PA-CDOS.CRP4.9-12 |
| Consider the environmental, social High School | Before acting on a plan, students think through how a decision might affect the environment, other people, and money. They use that thinking to shape what they design or do next. | PA-CDOS.CRP5.9-12 |
| Demonstrate creativity and innovation by generating new ideas and approaches… High School | Students come up with original ideas and find new ways to use familiar tools to solve problems at school or on the job. | PA-CDOS.CRP6.9-12 |
| Employ valid and reliable research strategies to gather, evaluate High School | Students find trustworthy sources, check whether the information holds up, and pull the key details together into something useful. This is the research habit that shows up in almost every job and college course. | PA-CDOS.CRP7.9-12 |
| Use critical thinking to make sense of problems and persevere in solving them… High School | When a problem feels stuck, students break it into smaller parts and try more than one approach until something works. | PA-CDOS.CRP8.9-12 |
| Model integrity, ethical leadership High School | Students practice honest decision-making and steady follow-through in school projects, jobs, and community work. They lead by example, manage tasks responsibly, and hold themselves to the same standard they expect from others. | PA-CDOS.CRP9.9-12 |
Students work on the habits adults use at jobs every day: showing up prepared, communicating clearly, solving problems, and using technology well. They also start mapping out what comes after graduation, whether that points toward college, a trade, the military, or work.
Talk about jobs you see in everyday life and ask what looks interesting and why. Ten minutes at the dinner table about a relative's job, a news story about an industry, or a local trade can do more than a formal career night. The goal is curiosity, not a final decision.
Not at this stage. Most students change their minds several times between now and their mid-twenties. Encourage trying a club, a part-time job, or a free online course in something that sounds even mildly interesting. Ruling things out counts as progress.
Pick two or three practices to anchor each quarter and embed them in work students are already doing. Communication and teamwork fit group projects. Research and critical thinking fit any inquiry unit. Career planning fits naturally around scheduling and post-secondary deadlines.
Students should pick the right tool for a task, produce clean written and digital work, and learn a new platform without hand-holding. They should also recognize when a tool is the wrong fit and switch. Fluency matters more than knowing any one app.
Communication for a specific audience, evaluating sources, and sticking with a hard problem past the first attempt. Students often write or speak as if every audience is the same, accept the first search result, and stall when a problem resists a quick answer. Plan short, repeated practice on each.
Bring students into real decisions: a phone plan, a grocery trip on a budget, a paycheck and what gets taken out of it. Talk through trade-offs out loud. Ten minutes a week of real money talk beats a worksheet on compound interest.
A written post-secondary plan with a first choice and a backup, a current resume, two or three work samples that show research and clear writing, and evidence of a team project. Aim for artifacts students would actually share with an employer or admissions officer.
They can explain their plan in plain language, name the next three steps, and say who they would ask for help. They can write a clear email to an adult they do not know, work on a team with people unlike them, and stay with a problem long enough to solve it.