College & Career Readiness
We are excited and off to another great start for a fantastic year for our students as they learn about themselves, develop 21st Century Skills, and gain experiences that will inform their decisions about their future. We have just wrapped up the initial rush of college resumes, essays and applications.
What are some other things happening in the CCR room??
Exploration of college/ career/ military / training / apprenticeship options with individual students.
Connecting students to employment, internships, volunteer opportunities, and professionals in their areas of interest
College admissions rep visits (so far this year ... Bryant, Babson, Bentley, UNH, Endicott, UCONN, Rhode Island College, University of New Hampshire, Western New England, Fairfield, Mitchell College, Ithaca, Northwestern, etc.
Help with Naviance, College Board, Common App
.........and so much more
The Boat for Next Gen 2023 - SD 480p.movHighlight
Seven students from Old Saybrook High School, and five from Westbrook High School, were chosen for an afterschool program in collaboration with Electric Boat. The students completed "The Boat for Next Gen" six-session, three-week program in November. They engaged in hands-on experience on site at the Electric Boat training facilities in Westerly and Groton in welding, sheet metal, electrical, pipefitting, machining, and ship fitting. These young men represented OSHS and the community beautifully and we are very proud of them. We hope to be able to offer this experience to another group in May. Watch the video HERE to see what our students did and hear in their own words what this opportunity meant to them.
What does CCR mean for OSHS students?
Our students are unique individuals, therefor the correct pathway and process for each student is highly individualized. In order to fulfill the College and Career Readiness credit, students work one on one with their CCR Coordinator to plan the self discovery, exploration and real-world experiences that will be the most meaningful, relevant, and informative for that student and their post-secondary goals. Some examples of the exciting ways OSHS students engage in the CCR experience include job shadowing experiences; in person or remote internships; guided career research; informational interviews with career professionals; self-discovery activities; community projects, summer academic and pre-college campus experiences, and much more! Students are also able to utilize extracurricular experiences such as their employment, Eagle Scout project, or community service towards their CCR credit, if it relates to their projected post-secondary pathway. Similarly, students may design a career-focused Capstone experience, propose a career-related project in News Media Now or English in Action that can be applied to the CCR credit requirement.
Ultimately, it is the goal of the Old Saybrook School District to ensure that each and every graduate is empowered, informed, and engaged as they take the next step in their post-secondary journey. All of these experiences help students develop vital 21st Century Skills.
Mission
Our mission is to prepare Old Saybrook students for success in their educational endeavors and careers beyond high school. We will accomplish this by fostering meaningful community partnerships that support individual student learning objectives.
Description
Old Saybrook High School's College and Career Readiness Program is designed to provide students with opportunities to become self-aware, to be exposed to a variety of careers and career pathways, and to interact with individuals who may serve as their remote mentors. They will have opportunities to pursue growth within their areas of interest and to participate in comprehensive and individualized experiences starting in grade 9 and continuing each year.
Goals
Establish an environment where 100% of our students participate in experience-rich activities, are provided with resources, and have access to career and post-secondary guidance from our CCR Coordinators.
Connect students to organizations and individuals within the local and broader career community and teach them the skills necessary to network for themselves and build meaningful connections.
Assist students in developing self-awareness.
Encourage students to welcome new challenges.
Teach students to apply what they have learned.
Help students gain the independence and knowledge necessary to succeed in post-secondary endeavors.
Click HERE to go to the CSCU Webpage. Additional questions can be directed to: CTStateStudentQuestions@commnet.edu or learn more about qualifying and get started HERE!
Pave the Path to Your Future, Build Your Resume, Earn CCR Credit with Pre-College and Summer Online Courses :
Did you know that many top universities offer pre-college online programs that allow motivated students to discover potential majors or career paths before college? Some are offered on campus while others are online. gain an advantage by studying subjects that may help shape your future. Whether you have interest in STEM, medicine, business, or more—there is a wide variety of options to help you prepare for your future. Click HERE to see some of the opportunities available.
Today's Skills, Tomorrow's Careers: Career Clusters, Career Pathways, Sample Occupations, and Programs of Study
CLICK HERE to learn more!
Interested in learning more about 21st Century Skills?? The specific 21st Century skills and descriptions can be found HERE
Earn CCR Credit While Having Fun With Friends and Family
We thought you might like to know some easy and fun ways to earn some of all or some of your credit while connecting with friends and family.
Interviews- Interview your family, friends and/or older siblings about their career, their education post-high school, or their college experience so far. (These interviews can take place informally, such as over a meal or over the phone.) Complete one of the forms below to document this interview.
a. If you interview individuals about their career, complete this google form: https://forms.gle/yR87k7CEH9ysGv3F8
b. If you interview individuals about their educational or college experience, complete this google form. https://forms.gle/kCjVbHvhiKRcF3P68
Research a career, university, or plan of post-secondary study. Use any of the links on the CCR website HERE or find your own source. Fill out this Google Form to document your research. https://forms.gle/iaa66Vw54dBEVZPRA
Complete one or more job shadows in person or utilize one of the following virtual job shadow links and use the Google sheet under letter "d" below to document your experience:
a. https://www.teleshadowing.com
b. https://www.careergirls.org
c. https://jobshadow.com/categories/
d.https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lgERdLjqurSYRueRB7CmYrhtYtm9Wmn9z67v_DAJ88U/edit?usp=sharing. MAKE SURE TO MAKE A COPY OF THIS and add your name to the title so you are not editing the original document.
Complete the following Naviance activities. (The more you do, the more credit you receive🙂) If you have already completed one of them, feel free to complete a second time as our interests and abilities change. These activities can all be found by clicking on the Self-Discovery tab in your student folder. Log in to Naviance HERE
a. AchieveWorks® Learning & Productivity helps students discover their sensory, environmental and mindset preferences to help them develop and adjust their study practices.
b. AchieveWorks® Personality helps students identify their personality type by asking them to choose scenarios that best represent how they behave in real life.
c. The Career Cluster Finder helps students identify their interests and discover career clusters that contain careers that might interest them.
d. The Career Interest Profiler captures student's interests to help identify their personality traits and suggest careers based on the U.S. Department of Labor's data.
e. The Career Key helps students identify their Holland traits, best match work environments and related careers by asking them questions about their interests.
f. StrengthsExplorer helps students identify their key strengths that they can use as they proceed on their college, career, and life readiness journey.
Complete the Free MajorClarity Soft Skills Course at: https://hubs.ly/H0_Xqt00
Have fun with whatever you choose!
Click Here to learn more about CT career paths in this exciting and easy to use guide to career strategies, job advice, education, training, wages, job descriptions and local, statewide and online resources published by the CT Career Resource Network Department of Labor.
ASVAB Testing at OSHS
We look forward to providing this opportunity for any student hoping to the military. The only requirement is that the student is in the 10th,11th or 12th grade. Please contact Ms. Using if you are interested in taking the test this year and she will assist in making this possible. Please visit the CCR room 221 or email cusing@oldsaybrookschools.org
Junior Volunteer Program At Mystic Seaport
Click HERE for job and volunteer opportunities for students (In some cases, you can also earn your CCR credit!)
Connection to the Strategic Plan
Mission/Description/Goals
Goal #2: Innovative and highly focused instructional design and practices that maximize student engagement while streamlining student work to that which is meaningful and essential.
Explore and pilot multiple strategies for expanding learning opportunities and choices beyond the school day and building (including technology use and new community connections).
Program Coordinators
This is Sarah Fawcett’s 6th year as College and Career Readiness Coordinator. Prior to this position, she taught English for 10 years at OSHS. Sarah received her 6th year in May 2019 in Remedial Reading and Language Arts at SCSU. She is a mother of 6 year-old twins and a 4 year old daughter. She enjoys reading mysteries and crime novels for fun, hiking with her family and running.
Cariña Using is in her 17th year as College and Career Coordinator. Prior to that she lived in 3 countries and 5 states, (including Alaska!), but still has a special place in her heart for her home state of Colorado. Cariña is mom to Aedan, a senior Biochemistry major and basketball player at Brandeis University and to Spot and Waffles, her four-legged children.