Academic Career Planning

The Richland School District is dedicated to preparing our students for the next steps in their lives - whether that be a degree from a technical college/university or entering the workplace immediately after graduation.

To that end, we are providing the following information about our Academic Career Planning (ACP) process.

What does the job market look like in our area?
--The unemployment rate in Richland County has followed the national downward trend and had a rate of 2.7% in July of 2018.
--The five largest industries in Richland County for employment are manufacturing, trade/transportation/utilities, education/health, natural resources, and leisure/hospitality. Those industries are projected to remain the largest through 2024.
--52% of our population lives and works in Richland County (the largest percentage in Southwest Wisconsin).
--While there have been population increases in the state (1.5%) and nation (4.8%), Richland County lost -0.4% from 2010-2017.
--24% of our population relies on retirement income (the largest percentage in Southwest Wisconsin).

What do these job market facts mean to the students of the Richland School District?
As we strive to prepare our students for the current and projected job markets, we must modify our course offerings and curriculum. We want our students to have success and we want our community's market needs to be supported.

We will inform our students and families about this information by hosting orientations/open house events and by communicating via newsletters and electronic media (email, this website, social media, etc.). We also will schedule 1:1 meetings with students & parents to work together to plan out career and curriculum choices.

The partnerships we have built with our community are integral to the success of the ACP process. We are fortunate to also work with CEC (Career Education Cooperative) which is a sub organization of SWP (Southwest Partners) community planning group. These organizations work as a liaison between schools and businesses helping to arrange tours, job fairs, apprenticeships, etc.

We are lucky at the Richland School District to have a student to teacher ratio of approximately 20:1. This close connection we have with our students allows the staff to work with them developing long-term career plans. We also utilize several different software applications to help track the planning process.

All of the students at the Richland School District are given the same opportunities and expectations for learning and success. In order to provide a clear & concise plan for all students, we have developed a sequence of activities beginning in sixth grade that increases in quantity and focus as students near graduation and transition to the next step in their lives:

Grade 6	Grade 7	Grade 8	Grade 9	Grade 10	Grade 11	Grade 12
Forward Exam	Forward Exam	Forward Exam	CERT Testing	Forward Exam	ACT Prep	AP Classes
MAP Testing	MAP Testing	MAP Testing	ACT Monitor	CERT Testing	ACT Monitor	WI Education Fair
Response To Intervention	Response To Intervention	Response to Intervention	ACT Curriculum	ACT Monitor	ACT Curriculum	Application Bootcamp
Career Search	Matchmaker Career Assessment	Career Search	Response To Intervention	ACT Curriculum	Practice ACT & Actual ACT	Financial Aid Night
Xello Career Lessons	Personality Assessment	Career Interview	Matchmaker/Xello	ASVAB Career Exploration	PSAT Exam	Resume Writing & Career Essay
Learning Styles	Career Search	Resume	College Visits at SWTC and UWP	AP Classes	Get Real Simulation	College Placement Tests
Guidance Lessons	Financial Literacy	Cover Letter	Business Tours	College Visits Western & Viterbo	AP Classes & WIS Youth Apprentice	Scholarship Writing Workshop
	Create Activity List	Mock Interviews	County Government Day	College Research	College Visit to UW-P Richland	Lab Technician Program at SWTC
	Xello Career Lessons	4 Year Plan	3 Year Plan	2 Year Plan	College Research	CAPP UW-Oshkosh Dual Enrollment Courses
	Post-Secondary Options	Xello Career Lessons	Xello Career Lessons	Xello Career Lessons	Senior Year Plan	Housing Applications
					Xello Career Lesson	FAFSA Completion
					CERT Testing	WIS Youth Apprenticeships & Work Release
						Xello Career Lesson
						CERT Testing