Due to be rewritten this spring (2009). This is the Pathways course as it was first presented in it's first year as a required course for high school graduation.

1. Hatboro-Horsham High School Seminar & Intern Program
“Seminar” is a graduation requirement
1. Junior/Senior Seminar is a ½ credit course covering the following topics:
a. Who Am I?
i. Self examination: personality and career interest surveys
ii. Character Awareness
1. Be a People Person (interpersonal skills)
2. Appreciate Diversity
3. Become a Team Player
4. A Person of Character (dealing with adversity)
5. Communicating Effectively
6. Become a Leader
7. Connecting to the World Around You
Character Education in Pennsylvania – New Legislation
On July 4th, 2004 Governor Rendell signed into law, as Act 70 amendments, to the Public School
Code, legislation written by Congresswoman Allyson Y. Schwartz, that encourages the
establishment of character education programs for all Pennsylvania schools.
In a letter to schools, Allyson Schwartz wrote that, “The experience of many school districts has
shown that integration of character education into their curriculum can have a substantial positive
impact on the learning environment at a school. Children who are not distracted by disruptive
behavior, by fear of bullying or by disrespectful conduct achieve significantly better grades and
are happier and more productive.”
The legislation does not mandate the institution of character education. But, it is a strong
endorsement of the importance of character education, and it should serve as an encouragement
for schools to develop or expand their character education programming.
Some of the recommendations for schools include;
1. Develop programs that include the following basic values and character traits of;
Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship.
2. Create a character education advisory board with representatives from a wide range of
the community; parents, teachers, administrators, community members and students.
3. Character education programs may also include and teach the importance of a service
ethic and community outreach.
Find the full report at;
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/BT/2003/0/SB0596P1986.HTM
We encourage all schools to read the legislation and then set a path to develop or enhance
character education programming for ALL students in the district.

2. Hatboro-Horsham High School Seminar & Intern Program
“Seminar” is a graduation requirement
b. What Do I Want? (career study)
PA Career & Work Standard 13.1.11: A, B, C, D
i. Career Pathways
ii. Major Trends in the Workplace (including “life balance”)
iii. Informational Interviewing
iv. Career Shadowing
v. Service Learning
vi. Career Speakers
c. How Do I Get There? (developing a plan to reach career/educational
goals)
PA Career & Work Standard 13.1.11: E, F
i. Goal setting
ii. Planning to reach goals
iii. Experiences valued most by college and employment recruiters
iv. The College Admission Game
1. Prepare
2. Compete
3. Win
v. Job Acquisition Skills
PA Career & Work Standard 13.2.11: A, B, C, D, E
1. Resume
2. Cover letter
3. Practice Interviewing
4. Following up
vi. Financial Literacy
PA Career & Work Standard 13.3.11: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
1. Making $ (including what taxes pay for what)
2. Manage $ (spend control as well as saving)
3. Multiply $ (AKA Make money while you sleep)
4. Protect $ (insurances, autos, personal independence)
5. Easy money (scams)
d. Portfolio: student developed tool used to reflect, collect and market
career and life experiences (Evidence of all standards reflected in
portfolio)

3. Hatboro-Horsham High School Seminar & Intern Program
“Seminar” is a graduation requirement
2. Student Internship
All PA Career & Work Standards are present in the Intern experience
After successfully completing the Seminar course, students can elect to
participate in the student intern program through career exploration internship
or service learning project.
a. In the first month of the experience students:
i. Identify important criteria they want in a career or service learning
experience (this can and does change from the first time they
examine this issue in the Seminar course)
ii. Read about and research career/service interests
iii. Talk to people about their options (informational interviews and
shadowing)
iv. Look at options in our community using their networking skills
v. Identify closely related fields or positions
vi. Students set learning goals for their experience
vii. Students use their job acquisition skills to locate and obtain an
intern position.
viii. Each student, their perspective mentor and I meet to discuss the
experience.
ix. Students begin their internship around the 4th
week of the semester.
b. Student Interns keep a reflective journal (this is a double entry journal; one
side they record what they did/what they observed, the second entry is
used to reflect. What did they think about it? What would they like to have
seen happen? What could be different the next time?
c. Student Interns meet each Friday for a discussion. The discussion reflects
on the week. Students learn about each others experiences. There is also a
topic of the week to consider (What makes a good mentor? Crossing the
“white space”, etc.)
d. During the week students keep a web log—a discussion concerning a topic
that I post. This activity keeps the students focused on observation while
interning and keeps them in discussion throughout the week even though we
are not physically meeting.
e. The course finale includes hosting classmates at their place of internship to
explain the business mission and the role that they saw themselves filling
during the internship. The students also plan a mentor luncheon to celebrate
the experience and thank their mentors.
f. A final reflection is completed where the student intern compares learning
goals to actual learning. The student also describes how they feel about the
experience. Were they able to use the skills and qualities they enjoy using?
Was the work performed important or valuable? How did they like the
atmosphere? Is this an environment in which they can see themselves
working? Is this field still of interest? Why or why not? What’s next in
their exploration? What do they still need to know?