E4E/ACP Plan

Viroqua Area Schools 

Education for Employment (E4E) &

Academic & Career Plan (ACP)

Academic & Career Planning (ACP) was mandated by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) starting the 2017-2018 school year for students grades 6-12. According to the Wisconsin DPI (n.d.), ACP is a “student-driven, adult-supported process in which students create and cultivate their own unique and information-based visions for post-secondary success”. 

At Viroqua Middle School and Viroqua High School, students have been engaged in the Academic & Career Planning process through classroom activities such as exploring and discussing occupations and post-secondary opportunities, examining unemployment rates, learning about college tuition, preparing for high school, practicing resume writing and interview techniques, and completing interest and learning style inventories.  Lessons will be developed and delivered by the middle and high school counselors, and the CTE Coordinator.

Even though fifth grade is not required to participate in the ACP process, students still receive guidance lessons focused on career exploration to ensure a comprehensive ACP program is present in the middle school.

Besides the Xello software provided by the DPI, students in 8th through 12th grades will also have lessons focused on high school preparation, course selection, four year planning, high school graduation and college requirements, and career exploration through campus tours, career fairs, college admissions representatives visiting our building, and individual planning conferences provided by the School Counselor.  High School  teachers also provide ACP instruction by discussing and researching careers related to their specific content areas.

Xello provides students with a significant number of resources to aid in the Academic and Career Planning process and maintains their information in an online profile that transfers from year to year. Each grade will have different activities to complete as assigned by the school counselor or business education teacher. These activities may include taking a Career Matchmaker survey based on their interests, figuring out their learning styles and how this will benefit them in school, looking at their skills and how they align with career standards, documenting their hobbies/interests/extracurricular activities for future resumes, learning about career clusters, examining postsecondary educational opportunities, creating short/long term goals, and journaling about their experiences. 

Xello will be utilized during ACP lessons; however, students can access their ACP profiles in other classes and at home. Xello also has a parent/guardian portal which will allow parents/guardians access to their student’s ACPs with the goal of increasing parental engagement in the Academic and Career Planning process. 

Student log-in information has been linked to their Viroqua Blackhawk email accounts for easier student access. If students transferring to our district have started a Xello profile at another school, their information can be transferred over to our system. 

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. (n.d.). Academic and career planning (ACP). Retrieved from https://dpi.wi.gov/acp