tcrow@taylorisd.org
Taylor Middle
School counselors are meeting with every seventh-grade student and his or her parents
or guardians to plan for success in high school. With certain decisions needing
to be made by the end of the eight-grade year, starting the process in seventh
grade will give families time to explore options and give some thought to the decision-making
process.
“We look at
possible future careers in career cruising,” TMS counselor Stella Masterson
said of the online program. “Students answer about forty questions and go
through different activities to narrow it down to ten top careers they might be
interested in. We take that information and have conversations to figure out
which pathway they may want to take in high school.”
Based on
students’ interests, they will choose from five different endorsements: STEM
(Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), Business and industry, Public
Service, Arts and Humanities and Multidisciplinary studies. Then within each
endorsement there are different pathways to choose from.
For example, if
a student is interested in public service as an endorsement, health science is
one of the pathways that could be chosen. The student would then take elective
courses, like nursing classes, that fall under that pathway. Four years of
nursing classes are available at Taylor High School to prepare students for success
in that chosen career.
At this point,
students have already completed the Career Cruising part of the process with
the counselors. When parents come in for conferences, they will begin
developing a plan with their child for high school.
“We will ask
students to identify goals they want to make for the remainder of their middle
school years,” said Catherine Presley, TMS counselor. “Middle school is the
time to explore career options and to really establish your study skills and
organization. On day one of your ninth-grade year, everything counts. Colleges,
vocational schools and others are going to see everything on your high school transcript.”
During
conferences, counselors will review grades and talk about the importance of good
attendance. They will also discuss finding places to volunteer and complete
community service, something that will be helpful in high school and in
applying to colleges.
“Even to just
join some of the clubs in high school, you’ve got to have community service
hours,” TMS principal Travis Motal said. “So, starting to think about that
already will help not only with career paths and college but with being
involved in high school.”
Other topics
discussed in the meetings will include responsible use of social media,
financial aid, and each student will receive a graduation toolkit to help them
map out their four years of high school.
The school has
contacted parents about setting up conferences through report card messages,
emails to all parents, the seventh-grade newsletter and messages on the
counseling page on the TMS website. Any seventh-grade parent who has not yet scheduled
a conference is asked to do so as soon as possible.
