Four Chicago area school districts recently purchased and are implementing WIN Learning’s web-based Personalized Career Readiness System.
Dolton School District 149, Pembroke School District 259, Prairie Hills School District 144, and the SPEED School District 802 are in various stages of implementing the system to help students develop the academic and foundational skills necessary to graduate from high school and then succeed in whatever path they choose, be it college, a trade school, the military or the workplace.
“Our job is to prepare students for the future. Post secondary education looks different for each learner. Further, many of our students have no idea what career options are available to them aside from minimum wage jobs,” said Gabrielle Herndon, director of Dolton School District’s 21st Century Learning Program. “We selected WIN Learning because it not only introduces students to hundreds of job categories, but it then provides detailed descriptions of what’s required to do that job, everything from courses to certifications and degrees. It then provides the content students need, all presented in ways directly related to career choices.”
The WIN Learning Personalized Career Readiness System encompasses four main modules:
• myStrategic Compass – offers a personalized career-planning tool for each learner based on skill, work and career interest, and then provides a framework for the education and path to succeed.
• College Readiness Courseware – For students looking to continue on to college, this courseware prepares learners with the necessary foundational skills in Pre-Algebra, Algebra, Geometry, Reading, Writing and English. Subjects include practice and application of concepts addressed by commonly accepted college placement exams.
• Career Readiness Courseware – Nine career-focused modules that prepare learners for career readiness certification. Topics include Reading for Information, Applied Mathematics, Locating Information, Listening, Observation, Applied Technology, and Business Writing, among others.
• Soft Skills – Professional attitudes, work habits and other key competencies are critical to success in college and the work place. Soft Skills teaches employability and social skills including conveying professionalism, communicating effectively, promoting teamwork and collaboration, thinking critically, and problem solving.
Serena Hewitt, a teacher in the STEM Academy at Dolton School District, added, “Our superintendent, Dr. Shelly Davis-Jones, is a true visionary and focused on developing soft skills with all Dolton students. She believes that while core subject knowledge may get you the interview, it’s the soft skills that will get you the job. We’re actively working with the students and honing these all-important skills on a daily basis.”
