Dan Blake Career Development Specialist Sonoma County Office of Education Santa Rosa, CA This presentation will provide multiple examples of ways to infuse career awareness and exploration into existing middle school structures. The Sonoma County Career Development Specialist will share program goals and standards, program planning and implementation procedures, program structure, and effective activities and curricular materials. Useful handouts will be provided.

2. Why Middle School Career Exploration?

3. Career Development is an ongoing lifelong process, and its challenges must be addressed beginning in elementary and middle school . (O’Brien, 1999)

4. Students at risk, girls, and minority group children often limit their career choices early. (O’Brien, 1999)

5. Sex-role stereotypes , particularly about gender-appropriate occupations are formed early . (Guss & Adams, 1998)

6. Most middle school students have only a shallow understanding of how school relates to work. (Johnson, 2000)

7. When surveyed, the majority of high school dropouts say they began to “disconnect” in middle school or earlier . (Castellano et al., 2002)

9. The most effective career development programs are systemic—developmental, accessible to all learners, and embedded in the curriculum as part of the whole process of educating a child for the larger thing called life. (Maddy-Bernstein & Dare, 1997)

16. Organizational Structure

17. Career Development Specialist Site Administration Site Coordinator Teachers & Counselors Advisory Committee

22. Program Planning & Implementation

25. Curriculum & Activities

26. The Real Game California Step-Up Classes Learning for Earning Career Choices California Career Zone Self-Directed Search Kuder Career Planning System Career Day

27. How and where does it fit?

28. Q & A