Metro Career Academy Info:

If you are interested in a Metro Career Academy for the 2023-24 academic year, there may still be opportunities in JumpStart Law & Public Safety (waitlist), Computer Programming or Cyber Security. Please reach out to Mrs. Koester or the ACCESS Your Future team, accessyourfuture@plcschools.org, to get your/your student's name added to the roster.

There is still room in JumpStart - Senior Transition. This academy is designed for 4-year college-bound seniors and students must qualify for ENGL 1010. This requires scoring an 18 or higher on their ACT English section. Mrs. K. will need to verify ACT scores and send ACT score reports to Metro.

Metro 'traditional' Career Academy applicants must complete a multiple-step application process in January or February. Only sophomores and juniors can apply for participation during next year. 

These academies can be very selective. Your application process is very important. Carefully work through Mrs. K's email or utilize the bullet points and resources below.

Mrs. K's resources for sophomores and juniors applying for a 2023-24 Metro traditional 'trades' career academy:

• Metro's Career Academy webpage
• Metro’s Career Academy Program Info (including classes, campus location and class times) 2023-24
  • New programs have been added for next year!
• New this year - Metro Career Academy applicants MUST first complete an online application for admission.
  • Click here for Mrs. K's step-by-step instructions.
• Metro’s Year 1 Career Academy application
  • This is a fillable PDF. Type in the form and save a copy so that you can email it to Metro at secondarypartnerships@mccneb.edu.
  • Mrs. K’s detailed tip sheet on how to complete your Year 1 Metro Career Academy application. Hardcopies are available in the Counseling Center.
• Metro’s Year 2 Career Academy application
  • This is more of a formality. It is a short application. Your progress in your academy classes will best determine if you are allowed to continue.
  • Complete and save a copy of this fillable PDF to email to Metro at secondarypartnerships@mccneb.edu.
• Complete this online form  so Mrs. K. is aware of and can assist with your application process.
• Log in here to save a copy of your unofficial transcript to send with your application. Put your name in the file title when you save it and make sure the fall 2022 semester is included. 

PLCS Academy Info.

If you missed ACCESS Your Future Night on Wednesday, November 9th, academy information is currently available at PLCS Academy site.

The PLCS academy application process is in November. In January 2024 applicants should receive an email notification as to their acceptance status. You could be accepted, declined or an alternate. If you don’t hear, contact the ACCESS Your Future team at accessyourfuture@plcschools.org.

If you applied for and were accepted into multiple academies, you may need to choose. If Mrs. Koester can be helpful in your decision-making process, feel free to email her at shelli.koester@plcschools.org or stop by the Counseling Center.

Once initial applications are considered, there may still be room in a PLHS academy (Zoo Academy and Health Academy are exceptions.) If you would like to see if there are still openings and if you can still apply, contact the ACCESS Your Future team at accessyourfuture@plcschools.org. 

The application for many of the traditional Metro academies is due to Mrs. Koester by March 1st. Information and resources are above.

Before you decide on a post-secondary path, you should investigate potential career options. Things to consider are your interest in a specific career, your aptitude (possessing the necessary skills) for that career and the job market in the future. For instance, the U.S. Department of Labor predicts that only 20% of the careers in the first quarter of the 21st century will require a four-year college degree and that 65% of potential careers will require post-secondary education of two years or less.

You can prepare for this job marketplace in a variety of ways:

✦ Network with parents and adult friends to learn more about the current job market.

✦ Take interest inventories. You will take one in 10th and 11th grades as a part of your counseling lessons or explore the links below.

✦ Participate in career area technology and/or career days. These will be promoted in the Monarch Memo and the Counseling Center Bulletin.

✦ Take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) if you are considering a military career. Mrs. K has a variety of resources to help you prepare for this assessment.

✦ Choose high school courses to investigate a variety of career possibilities.

✦ Seek employment in jobs that are potential careers if possible.

✦ Participate in volunteer experiences related to a potential career choice.

As part of our comprehensive approach to a counseling curriculum, I teach career-focused lessons to 10th and 11th graders. If your student missed those lessons, they can come to Mrs. K for handouts (Also linked below.) and you can access recordings of the lessons here:

• Junior Lesson Recording
  • Junior Lesson Resources
• Sophomore Lesson Recording
  
  • Sophomore Lesson Resources

Sophomore Lesson Recording

While we have a comprehensive approach to counseling curriculum lessons, there just isn't time to teach all that we would like to teach. A lesson I would love to offer would be based upon a resource from EducationQuest. EQ is an incredible organization offering FREE support to Nebraska families, college-bound students and school counselors. Check what they have to offer at https://www.educationquest.org and link to the lesson at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W-PiPdANazijkO3kbe_iZdBc0-mghZ9k/view?usp=sharing.  

• Area Health Education Center - To work with Douglas and Sarpy Counties to recruit, educate and inspire underrepresented students’ interest in careers in the health professions as well as encourage health care professionals in providing equitable and quality services to disadvantaged and underserved populations.

• ASVAB - The ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) Career Exploration Program includes a validated aptitude test and interest assessment. The results are used to guide career exploration using our career planning tools.

• H3  - High wage, High skill & High demand jobs (For more information on what H3 is all about, click on this PDF). 

• Mapping Your Future - A website to help with college planning and other questions students may have on postsecondary plans.

• MyFuture - Offers career search tools and military information and much more. The Work Interest Quiz can help you find some answers.

• My Next Move - A great site to explore interests and career fields

• Occupational Outlook Handbook - This handbook has nearly every job description that is out in the job force to date. 

• Reality Check - Use Reality Check to discover which careers will allow you to afford your desired lifestyle. No account required.

• Roadtrip Nation -  A place to explore interests and get careers, majors, and high school classes that match what they like to do. Students log in with a CollegeBoard account.

• Nebraska Career Cluster - Experience virtual industry tours that provide a unique opportunity to get a glimpse inside Nebraska-based industries without leaving your home or classroom. No account required.

• Nebraska Career Link  - Careerlink was founded as part of an Omaha, NE based nonprofit organization in the 1990s to offer job seekers access to all of the best Omaha jobs. We've grown exponentially since then and now offer great job opportunities across all 50 States in a variety of industries and skill levels.

• Nebraska Department of Labor 

• Nebraska Career Connections – Similar to Career Cruising, NCC provides students with assessments to help identify strengths and interests, as well as how those connect with possible career pathways. 

• NEworks – Nebraska Department of Labor website provides current job openings and labor market analysis facts, employment, wages and projections. Also available as a smartphone app. No account required to explore.

• Omaha Exploring - Exploring is a career education program for young men and women who are 14 through 20-years-old. Exploring is based on a unique and dynamic relationship between youth and the organizations in their communities.