Pennsylvania Pathways – A Middle School Educator’s Guide to Career Pathways
was published in August 2008 to assist middle school-level teachers and counselors implement Pennsylvania’s career education and work standards and the career pathways system. This publication follows the 2006 Pennsylvania Pathways booklet, the first to introduce schools to the four career education and work standards: career awareness and preparation; career acquisition; career retention, and advancement and entrepreneurship. The 2006 publication also introduced Pennsylvania’s high priority occupations and 16 national career clusters and pathways.
By request of the Pennsylvania State Board of Education, the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Bureau of Career and Technical Education has developed this guide so that middle school educators have a basis for implementing strategies that students can use to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The guide includes best practices from across the state with testimony from parents, students, and educators. Featured are county initiatives, electronic resources, advice to students and parents on selecting and financing higher education, and information on a statewide science, technology, engineering, and math preparation (STEM) that starts in middle school.
We hope that you read these pages carefully and decide which practices can be successful in your school. Please remember to share your success with your fellow educators.
