By the time a student enters middle school, he or she is developing lasting attitudes about learning, work, and values. Middle school students are developing a self-concept and social skills. This is a great time for educators to motivate middle school students to plan for their future by integrating college- and career-planning themes.
Alaska Career Information System (AKCIS)
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The Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education provides free access to the Alaska Career Information System (AKCIS) to every school in Alaska, including AKCIS Junior - an age-appropriate version for middle school students to research and plan for their careers.
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In AKCIS Junior, students can find information about occupations with custom data for Alaska, and work with parents or teachers on a number of activities to explore their options.
To learn how to receive a free account for your school, or to find out if your school or district has an active account, visit www.akcis.org.
Junior Activities
All material and activities in AKCIS Junior are age-appropriate for middle school students with a grade 6-8 reading level. AKCIS Junior guides your students through three stages:
As students complete planning activities, they can save their results and enter personal reflections on their goals.
Student Portfolios
Every student can create a custom portfolio account after logging in through the school account. The portfolio gives each student a personalized user name and password and access to special career planning tools:
- a section for saving personal resume data and a resume generator
- a career planning section including worksheets and personal reflection areas
- a course planner with recommended course plans included
- a section for saving occupations and assessment results
The portfolio is a valuable resource that remains with the student throughout their education - it can even be transferred to their high school so that their teachers and counselors there can continue to work with them on their goals.
Tools for Counselors and Teachers
AKCIS Junior provides tools that you can use to:
- incorporate activities into the classroom using different models
- present AKCIS assessments and interpret results
- review and manage student portfolios through administrations tools
You can also access practical learning activities designed to infuse career information and career development concepts into various secondary curriculum areas.