8Th Grade Individual Meeting Prep

8TH GRADE INDIVIDUAL MEETING PREP

aka What do I do before that meeting with Mr. B??

#1 - TAKE THE ONET ONLINE INTEREST PROFILE

The online interest profiler will ask you a series of questions to determine where your interests lie in terms of career goals. Go to http://

Answer the questions online and follow the prompts. Feel free to explore the information provided so that you can learn about which careers interest you. Pay close attention to the following two documents:

YOUR CAREER MATCHES:

Feel free to print out a list of career matches once you’ve gotten to the careers tab for future reference.

SUMMARY PAGE FROM 4 to 6 career choices:

Make sure to keep copy of the summary of 4 to 6 career choices that interest you the most. Click on the hyperlink given to you on the careers tab. This will open up another page giving you information about that career. From there, click on the “see more details” link at the bottom of the page. This will give you a summary sheet that includes a necessary code. Do this for 4-6 career choices.

#2–DETERMINE WHICH PoS BEST MATCHES YOUR CAREER GOALS

Based on the information from #1 & #4, a student can determine which Program of Study (PoS) to follow while in high school. Please follow the steps outline below to determine which PoSis best suited for the student.

STEP 1

Go to and look for the various careers determined in #1 of this document. Look for the top 4-6, making note of the “career pathway” (the 2nd column). Make sure the special codes match up for double accuracy.

STEP 2

Try to determine a common “career pathway” between the top 4-6 careers chosen. If there is not a common thread, the student should determine with which career pathway he/she would like to start high school. It is important to remember that this CAN and WILL MOST LIKELY change throughout high school. An 8th grade student is NOT CHOOSING his/her eventual career at this time.

STEP 3

Once a career path has been chosen, please go to to find the PoS that matches with the career pathway. Download it and investigate information contained on the PoS. The PoS is a state-generated document that provides career-related information to help the student.

STEP 4

Cross-reference the desired PoS with the 4 that CSA currently offers. Please realize that just because the desired PoSisn’t “offered” at CSA does not mean that it can’t be used as a guide throughout high school. Whereas CSA only offers elective courses and career-specific activities for 4 PoS, we do offer a rigorous, college-preparatory multidisciplinary curriculum.

STEP 5

Choose which PoS you would like to follow throughout high school (regardless of whether or not CSA currently offers it).

#3 - CHOOSE ONE COHERENT SEQUENCE TO FOLLOW

CSA currently offers three different coherent sequences, from which each incoming freshman must choose one to follow. The courses for sophomore year & beyond will be determined each year, but the freshman course needs to be chosen now. Each coherent sequence comes from the three following career clusters:

HUMAN SERVICES COHERENT SEQUENCE

For more information about the Human Services Career Cluster (and what careers would be related to this coherent sequence):

Here are the Human Services Coherent Sequence Options (freshman course in blue, sophomore in red, junior in green, senior in purple):

Descriptions of the Freshman Course can be found here:

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COHERENT SEQUENCE

For more information about the Information Technology Career Cluster (and what careers would be related to this coherent sequence):

Here are the Information Technology Coherent Sequence Options (freshman course in blue, sophomore in red, junior in green, senior in purple):

In the information technology cluster, students have already taken the Freshman course – Principles of Information Technology. For students choosing the Information Technology Coherent Sequence, he/she will take Computer Programming as his/her 2nd course in the Information Technology coherent sequence (to be taken next year during his/her freshman year).

A brief description for the Computer Programming course is:

Students acquire knowledge of structured programming techniques and concepts appropriate to developing executable programs and creating appropriate documentation. Students analyze the social responsibility of business and industry regarding the significant issues relating to the environment, ethics, health, safety, and diversity in society and in the workplace as it relates to computer programming. Students apply technical skills to address business applications of emerging technologies.

Feel free to contact Mr. Davis if you have further questions about the two courses.

ARTS, A/V Technology and Communications COHERENT SEQUENCE

For more information about the Arts, A/V Technology and Communications Career Cluster (and what careers would be related to this coherent sequence):

Here are the Arts, A/V Technology and Communications Coherent Sequence Options (freshman course in blue, sophomore in red, junior in green, senior in purple):

A brief description for the Principles of Arts, A/V Technology and Communications course is:

Careers in the Arts, Audio/Video Technology, and Communications career cluster require, in addition to creative aptitude, a strong background in computer and technology applications, a strong academic foundation, and a proficiency in oral and written communication. Within this context, students will be expected to develop an understanding of the various and multifaceted career opportunities in this cluster and the knowledge, skills, and educational requirements for those opportunities.

#4 - CHOOSE A FOREIGN LANGUAGE OPTION

The new graduation requirements only indicate 2 years of a foreign language. The choices at CSA are between Computer Science Spanish.

COMPUTER SCIENCE ROUTE

If a student would rather take computer science instead of Spanish as the needed foreign language credit, he/she could take Computer Science I & II. This route is designed for students for whom a future in the computer industry or information technology is appropriate. If a student wishes to take a third year of a foreign language, this would not be the best option as there is no Computer Science III course, as of now. This option only exists for current 8th graders, although that could change during future legislations. Additionally, a particular university that requires 2 years of a foreign language during high school may not consider Computer Science as a foreign language, even though the state of Texas does for a high school diploma.

SPANISH ROUTE

If a student would rather take Spanish the needed foreign language credit, CSA currently offersSpanish I, II, II, IV (AP) & V (AP). As a freshman, he/she would take Spanish I.

ROUTE OTHER THAN SPANISH OR COMPUTER SCIENCE

If a student dislikes either of the options above, he/she could take courses outside of CSA to fulfill the foreign language requirements (e.g. French at ACC during his/her junior & senior year). However, for freshman scheduling purposes, it is most likely that a student in this situation would be scheduled for Computer Science I due to our small school setting. The student can use Computer Science as an elective for graduation.

#5 - CHOOSE AN ENDORSMENT

Currently, a student can earn at least one endorsement from all 5 endorsement possibilities as outlined below.

STEM OPTION 1

A total of 5 credits in mathematics by successfully completing Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II and two additional mathematics courses for which Algebra II is a prerequisite

A student can earn a STEM endorsement by taking PreCalculus and Calculus AB (AP) after Algebra II. For students who take Algebra I in 8th grade, this works out nicely by taking one math course per year.

STEM OPTION 2

A total of 5 credits in science by successfully completing Biology, Chemistry, Physics and two additional science courses

A student can earn a STEM endorsement by taking Chemistry (AP) and Anatomy & Physiology in addition to his/her other three courses. It is recommended that a student “double-up” on a science during his/her sophomore, junior or senior year with Anatomy & Physiology while taking Biology as a freshman, Chemistry as a sophomore, Physics as a junior & Chemistry (AP) as a senior.

BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY

A coherent sequence of courses for four or more credits in CTE that consists of at least two courses in the same career cluster including one advanced CTE course which includes any course that is the third or higher course in a sequence.

A student can earn a Business & Industry endorsement by taking the 4 course sequence offered in either the Arts,A/V Technology & Communications OR Information Technology sequence.

PUBLIC SERVICES

A coherent sequence of courses for four or more credits in CTE that consists of at least two courses in the same career cluster including one advanced CTE course which includes any course that is the third or higher course in a sequence.

A student can earn a Public Services endorsement by taking the 4 course sequence offered in the Human Servicessequence.

ARTS and Humanities

Four levels of the same language in a language other than English

A student can earn an Arts & Humanities endorsement by taking Spanish I-IV.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY OPTION 1

Four credits in each of the four foundation subject areas to include English IV and chemistry and/or physics

MULTIDISCIPLINARY OPTION 2

Four credits in Advanced Placement or Dual Credit selected from English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Economics, languages other than English or Fine Arts

On the school’s website, under HB5 Graduation Plans ( there is a handy visual guide that explains how a CSA student can earn each endorsement.