When Lori White started teaching career readiness at Star City High School, it was a year of firsts: Lori’s first year at the school, the first year for the Jobs for America’s Graduates program (JAG), and the first year of the College and Career Readiness course.
Because these programs were new to the school, no one had dedicated instructional materials to meet the course framework standards.
Not only did Lori need to meet standards, but she also needed to prepare students for the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate test, which all 11th grade students take at the end of the year.
With all of this on her shoulders, Lori searched for curriculum and resources to help her meet both of the College and Career Readiness standards and the Jobs for America's Graduates standards.
That’s when she found Business&ITCenter21.
Now, Lori has all the tools and information she needs to help her students thrive.
Lori’s Problem: No Resources for Teaching Career Readiness
Like many new career readiness teachers, Lori spent a lot of time searching for resources to teach soft skills and meet her standards. She also needed something that would help her prepare dozens of students for the end-of-year exam.
“I have six periods of College and Career Readiness. At the end of that class they take the ACT National Career Readiness Certification test. That helps them get a job in the future — a lot of businesses are starting to look for that in their employees. It says to the employers that the person already has those skills.”
Lori is motivated by the idea of prepping her students for success. That’s why she spent so much time looking for teaching resources.
“We’ve heard from businesses that students don’t know how to act in the workplace. They’re lacking the soft skills that are so essential to their success. We want to make sure we’re sending students that are better prepared for careers.”
Lori was ready to spend hours upon hours finding instructional materials and supplemental resources on the Internet. She didn’t want to use a textbook either because she believes teaching real-world skills should involve projects and interactive activities.
During her search, Lori found Business&ITCenter21, which she hoped would meet her JAG and College and Career Readiness standards and help teach those important skills.
Thanks to Business&ITCenter21’s robust curriculum and customization options, she got what she needed and then some.
How Business&ITCenter21 Helps Lori Teach Career Skills
When Lori started using Business&ITCenter21, she quickly realized that it was exactly what she needed.
The curriculum lines up perfectly with the JAG and College and Career Readiness course frameworks. It includes lessons on career development, job seeking skills, professionalism, and other important employability skills.
Plus, Business&ITCenter21 provides an interactive, engaging, and relevant way for Lori’s students to learn those skills.
“I love your program because it has the interactive component. Students aren’t just filling in worksheets. They’re going through it and they can interact with things and it gives them feedback. I really love it.”
With the extra resources like lesson plans, presentations, and student activities, Business&ITCenter21 had the variety of materials Lori needed all in one program.
“My year would not have gone as smoothly if it had not had Business&ITCenter21. It would’ve just been me trying to pull everything together on my own. It would have been really challenging.”
Business&ITCenter21 Bonus: More Student Centered Learning
As Lori used Business&ITCenter21 in her classes, she found another great benefit: more student centered learning.
Star City High School participates in the Schools of Innovation plan, which encourages educators to try new teaching approaches and focus on students. The school pushes teachers to be more student centered and understand how students learn best.
For Lori, Business&ITCenter21 has been invaluable for meeting that goal.
“Business&ITCenter21 is very student centered. Students can move through it at their own pace, it’s written in language they can understand, and it has things they can relate to.”
Like many elective teachers, she has a wide diversity of students. By allowing students to move at their own pace, Business&ITCenter21 helps Lori with differentiation in her classroom.
“Not all kids learn at the same pace. Sometimes they need more help. Some of my students I have to help more than others. Some can move quickly through a particular lesson, while others may need to go through a lesson more than once to reach mastery.
Everything in our classroom is about truly meeting the needs of our students.
But the way Business&ITCenter21 is set up and the way we are using it, they don’t ever feel pressure that another student finished and they didn’t yet because it’s not a race.”
By meeting the needs of her diverse students, Lori can ensure she aligns with the goal of having a student centered classroom.
With one simple solution, Lori is meeting standards, saving time, and providing a better learning experience for her students.
