Every year, the Indiana General Assembly passes educational laws that impact districts, schools and teachers. This year, during the 2018 legislative session, the Indiana General Assembly passed a bevy of laws ranging from a new computer science curriculum to reporting requirements. Among them is a new law that requires schools to implement a career coaching program that will be formed in the coming months. The program intends to focus on alerting students of “high-wage” and “high-demand” jobs along with making them aware of the educational requirements needed for such jobs. As of this moment Melinda Stephan, College and Career Programing Resources Coordinator said, she doesn’t know much about this new program or how it might be implemented at this school.

“We have not received any guidance, at least in our office, as to this new law, how it is going to affect schools, and how we are going to be expected to put it into practice. We have not been, in our office, been specifically told ‘There is a new career coaching law’ and we have to do something with it. Sometimes it takes time (for some laws) to filter down.” she said.

Although Stephan said does not know much specific information about the law she said believes that it seems to be a good idea.

Stephan said, “I think the intentions are right. We need to be doing more generally, to help our students figure out not just how to choose courses and graduate from high school, but also how to prepare for what comes next. You can’t take career questions out of the equation. You have to be able to spend time and resources to help students figure out what their interests are, what their strengths are, and what their values are in terms of professional values. So, they know something about themselves and then they need to learn about the world of work and to match those two things up. When they have that, they are better able to make better choices about course selection and better choices on how to continue their education after high school.”

Similarly, Sophomore Shreya Bothra said she believes the law will be beneficial to CHS.

She said, “When I grow up, I will probably specialize in a healthcare field. (At CHS) there are some opportunities to explore and take classes related to that and really gear yourself to that career. This law will probably just create more talk about (classes and careers together.)”

Though the new law may offer some additional benefits, Bothra said she also believes it’s not entirely necessary for this school.

Bothra said, “I think that, honestly, if you ask about your career, here at school, you will find a number of people willing to talk to you. You can talk to your teachers, your parents, other students or the counselors. Even though there is slightly more attention given to jobs after four year (colleges) or jobs right out of high school, as long as you breach the subject yourself there are many options and opportunities for you here.”

Stephan said she holds a similar view, but said she does think that the new law can help the counseling center improve in some aspects.

She said, “Yes (the new law can benefit CHS) on some levels and with some students. It kind of depends on the situation. Do we have processes in place where we talk about students’ post-secondary plans. Absolutely. You can’t talk about scheduling and courses that you want to take the following year without talking about what you are interested in and what are your plans after high school. It is part of the equation, but it is not the sole focus. I think that this bill is asking schools to be more intentional and have the (career and future planning) part of the process be more meaty.”

James Yin

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