Planning for High School & Beyond

Welcome to the Johnston County Public Schools Career Development Plan (CDP) resource website. In grades 6-12, students begin exploring career and college readiness options through career inventory assessments, employability skills training, career and college research, and creating goals and plans. 

The CDP is a district program led by the Career & Technical Education (CTE) Department, in collaboration with School Counselors, Career Development Coordinators (CDCs), Student Support Services, and CTE Teachers. 

The JCPS CTE Career Development Continuum outlines the career development journey our students experience.

Questions? Contact Kathryn Farrior, CTE Workforce Development Specialist at kathrynfarrior@johnston.k12.nc.us. 

Career Guidance Themes

What is a Career Development Plan (CDP)?

A living, evolving plan that starts in middle school and goes through expansion and refinement as students' career goals come into focus through high school.  The CDP provides a systematic approach to helping middle and high school students of all backgrounds, abilities, and aspirations explore careers and colleges in a meaningful, personalized way. 

The CDP helps students gain knowledge and skills to plan current and future goals. Students revise their plan annually to accommodate changing interests, personalized pathway choices, and post-secondary goals on what they expect to do after they walk across the stage at high school graduation. Through this process students maximize their time in middle and high school by making intentional choices about the courses, programs, and opportunities they choose along the way. Transitions from middle-to-high school and high school-to-post-secondary training are smoothed out for students, making those transitions more seamless and less stressful. After high school graduation, our goal is that students are either: 

Every Student, Future Ready

Johnston County Public Schools has partnered with Xello to facilitate electronic CDP Portfolios for each student. This system includes career readiness lessons, career interest assessments, personal goal setting and career planning, career and college research, financial aid information, job descriptions, job growth, salary expectations, and high school planning. Students also benefit from: