Career Readiness and Development K-12
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The RCS Career Readiness Philosophy and Mission: We believe that knowing oneself through the exploration of skills, talents, and interests can lead to understanding our options, our systems and our ability to adjust. It leads to a solid foundation of knowing that we belong, are needed, and have worth to a larger system, which directly ties in to social-emotional health. If we seek our purpose, we feel purpose.
We want to empower students to impact our community positively.
We want to empower students to impact our community positively.
Discovery can be transformative: it can provide hope, change circumstances, and allow us to recognize how much our contributions matter to society at large. We also know that young people will need to be more flexible, adaptable, and committed to lifelong learning as technology changes, new jobs are developed, and systems change. It is the combination of discovery and of skills in three areas, academic, employability and technical/job specific skills, that we work to guide students toward attaining.
About Educational Development Planning
Career planning and development takes time and intention.
You need to provide yourself time to explore, research, and reflect on potential careers and plans for your future in order to make informed decisions. Our hope is that one day you will be able to identify careers that will match your passions, interests, skills and personality. It will be an amazing attainment for you when down the road you are working in a career that brings you satisfaction and a sense of purpose!
Because these are such important concepts, Oakland Schools and the State of Michigan require that all students have an opportunity to develop and update their EDP: Educational Development Plan each year.
Xello is the career planning program that RCS students use for their EDP. Its value as a tool for career and post-high school planning lies with the many features and resources it contains. It can help students learn about themselves and their options, and provides support for the decisions they make about their future. We encourage students to access Xello frequently to stay on the path of their career exploration and planning.
RCS students use Xello, a comprehensive career and education planning program. Xello provides our students with:
- Self-awareness assessments
- Career and skill matching tools
- Career awareness and exploration
- Educational planning information
- Space for documenting goals and plans
- Lessons in career and life skills
- A resume building tool
Student Access to Xello
Log in with your rcs-k12.us
school email account.
RCS's Career Readiness Initiative
RCS had guest speakers present on May 6th at our professional development meeting for secondary educators. They provided information on purposeful career connections to support our district's K-12 career readiness initiative.
- Brooks Harper: Career readiness author and speaker
- Deja Torrence: Economic research manager for the Workforce Intelligence Network (WIN)
- Tony Warren: Education consultant and counselor for Calhoun Intermediate School District
Our presenters with our RCS Career Coordinators.
Presenter Brooks Harper
Presenter Tony Warren
Presenter Brooks Harper
Presenter Deja Torrence
RCS Career Coordinators
Jennifer O'Toole-Seyka
Career Consultant Counselor
Rochester High School
Reuther Middle School
Brooklands Elementary
Hamlin Elementary
Hampton Elementary
Meadow Brook Elementary
University Hills Elementary
Allison Parliament
Career Consultant Counselor
Adams High School
Van Hoosen Middle School
West Middle School
Brewster Elementary
Delta Kelly Elementary
Long Meadow Elementary
Musson Elementary
Jennifer Wilson
Career Consultant Counselor
Stoney Creek High School
Hart Middle School
Baldwin Elementary
Hugger Elementary
McGregor Elementary
North Hill Elementary
Career & Job Outlook Resources
- Michigan's Hot 50: top 50 jobs in Michigan through 2028
- Nepris: video library and live chats with all types of professions. Available to middle school students through teacher setup.
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: career guidance featuring hundreds of occupations
- O-NET Online: career exploration and job analysis
- Overview of Wage Data by Area and Occupation (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Career Connections: Our monthly newsletter written for students at all grade levels
Elementary level:
Middle school level:
High school level:
