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Academic & Career Planning

Academic and career planning steps 1 - Self-discovery, 2 - Career exploration, 3 - plan, 4 - go.

  1. Self-Discovery: Get to know your strengths, skills, and interests.
  2. Career Exploration: Explore career pathways and educational opportunities needed for those fields.
  3. Plan: Plan your route by investigating course offerings, participating in clubs and activities, gaining financial literacy, and identifying your best-fit path to meet your goal.
  4. Go!: Complete applications for opportunities, careers, military, financial assistance, and/or college. Illustrated with a circular diagram showing steps one through four.

Academic & Career Planning (ACP) K-12 and Beyond

The Academic & Career Plan (ACP) and Academic & Career Plan Portfolio (ACPP) are designed to be working documents that maximize student achievement by having the student identify values, interests, and career understanding in elementary school, to include accomplishing goals also in middle and high school that lead to postsecondary and career readiness. The plan is student-driven and maintained by school professionals working cooperatively to assist the student in reaching their goals through academics and career planning.

Investigate the World of Work To Make Informed Career Decisions:

Timeline depicting the Academic Career Planning progression beginning at Kindergarten through fifth grade, when students use the Academic Career Planning Portfolio for Career Awareness and Exploration. Next is sixth through eighth grade when students use the Academic Career Planning with Naviance for Career Development and Planning, and last, ninth through twelfth grade, when students use the academic career planning with Naviance for Career Focus and Experiences. Timeline represented with a pictograph containing three circles joined together a light bulb, people, and hand on a wheel

Grades K-5: Career Awareness & Exploration

Virginia Education Wizard

The Academic and Career Plan Portfolio (ACPP) begins in the elementary school years. Students explore different occupations associated with career clusters based on selected areas aligning with personal interests, values such as dependability & respect, and skills supporting decision making about future goals and interests. Virginia Education Wizard is the platform utilized by PWCS elementary students to explore careers and find the best fit pathway,s including explorative activities, self-assessments, and access to students while in any VA school. Students access their account through PWCS Portal. Students complete lessons with their counselors in 4th and 5th grade within this platform. K-3rd grade includes counselor-led explorative activities producing career artifacts. >VA Wizard-FAQ sheet for elementary school students (K-5) PDF

Grades 6-12

The Academic and Career Plan (ACP) begins in sixth grade and includes college, career, and life readiness curriculum taught each year by school counselors and educators through Naviance. Students continue the creation of their personal learning plan and course of study that aligns with their evolving academic and career goals, which is reviewed annually.

Grades 6-8: Career Development & Planning

Students will identify and demonstrate the relationship of personal interests, goals, and course planning as it relates to career choices.

Grades 9-12: Career Focus & Experiences

Students will understand how the changing workplace requires lifelong learning, flexibility, and the acquisition of new employment skills.

Naviance logo

The Naviance platform is available to all middle and high school students in PWCS, allowing them the opportunity to complete self-discovery assessments, post-high school planning, career exploration, and college searching. This is also the platform used for requesting transcripts and letters of recommendation during senior year. Their account travels with them to any PWCS school. The "Student Readiness Report" provides a summary of the student's personalized ACP, which can be found in Naviance under the "About Me" tab in the top right corner (which is updated annually).

Learn about the Student Vision Profile

The Student Vision Profile is a tool that supports students and families in actively participating in postsecondary planning. It promotes college and career readiness by guiding students through self-discovery, career exploration, and planning for life after high school. Visit our Student Vision Profile webpage to learn more.