Farmington plans career mentor program for high school students

With multiple career sessions, educator says students learn to map job goals

High school students need more than an annual career fair to learn from business professionals what it takes to succeed in a career, a Farmington assistant principal said.

Clayton Williams, Farmington Career Academies assistant principal, wants to expand the idea of a career fair into a program that gives the nearly 530 students in the 10th through 12th grades six opportunities a year to meet with professionals in an area where they have career interests.

Farmington Career Academies

Mission statement for Farmington Career Academies — “50 percent of students may go to college but 100 percent will enter a career … your career starts here.”

Farmington School District enrolls more than 2,300 students.

Source: Staff report

Williams hopes to have at least 25 volunteers for Career Mentor Groups of about 20 students during the 2015-16 school year. The program will start in September with an introductory meeting. He has outlined a plan for meetings during the rest of the year to cover what it's like to work in a particular job, what skills and education are necessary, and how to apply and interview for a job.

He hopes the program helps solidify goals students have after graduation.

"We want them to be able to articulate, 'This is what I want to do. This is why. This is what I'm planning to do to get there,'" Williams said.

About half of students from Farmington go to college, but all of them will need a job, Williams said. Employers say they worry less about students having technical skills and more about students knowing how to dress for work, having a strong work ethic and being able to work in a team, Williams said.

The high school staff began working toward a more career-oriented approach to education in 2014 while pursuing designation as a district-conversion charter school, a public school that receives waivers from some state regulations, Williams said. That designation was approved in December.

A career mentor program will help students make the transition to career academies, Williams said.

"We think this is a good first step toward developing those skills with our students," he said.

Over the long term, Williams hopes to develop an internship program for students, help students earn industry certifications and develop curriculum that supports students in their chosen career fields, he said.

Nearly every high school in Benton and Washington counties has partnerships with business and industry, and interest in promoting careers in high schools has grown, said Cheryl Pickering, career and technical education coordinator for the Northwest Arkansas Education Service Cooperative.

"We need to do a better job of letting students know what's available," Pickering said. "Business and industry can share knowledge so kids can make wise decisions when they graduate high school."

When Farmington students register for the new school year in August, they will complete an online survey with questions about broad areas of interest and specific jobs within those areas of interest they would like to pursue, Williams said. Those surveys will let the school staff know students' career interests and guide them in reaching out to potential mentors.

If mentors are not available in a certain career field, another mentor still could teach students skills they need to know for any job, Williams said.

Williams got the idea after hearing presentations from students involved in Mountain Home High School Career Academies who work with mentors from the business community. The Mountain Home students explained in detail what they want to do after high school, the reasons and their plans for achieving their goals.

"That's very impressive," Williams said. "We saw that as a great maturing process."

Williams sent letters to chambers of commerce in Benton and Washington counties about the plans for the program.

The Bentonville-Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce included information about the program in a recent newsletter, said Krista Khone, the chamber's vice president of special projects and leadership. Experiences with people from the business community can confirm for students whether they want to pursue a field that interests them or whether they should consider another career path, Khone said.

"It's crucial they have the opportunity and exposure to get an idea for the field they want to do when they graduate," Khone said.

State Desk on 07/18/2015

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