Profile of a Graduate
What is a Profile of a Graduate?
A Profile of a Graduate represents a school district’s vision for the 21st century skills, knowledge, character traits, and competencies that students need to succeed in their personal and professional lives.
Why develop a profile of a graduate?
Pennsylvania’s economic future depends on having a well-educated and skilled workforce that is prepared to meet both the current and projected demands of a global, knowledge-based, 21st century economy. It is imperative that Pennsylvania students, at all educational levels, have access to high-quality academic and technical education. Also important is the opportunity for students to identify aptitudes, develop employability skills, and explore career pathways that align with their post-graduation career plans. Pennsylvania 21st Century graduates possess the knowledge, abilities, and habits to enter and complete postsecondary education and move to a successful career. To achieve this outcome, students must possess robust employability skills. Students must be able to communicate, solve problems, think critically, persevere, set goals and work in teams. These employability skills are essential to equipping students to pursue their career opportunities with confidence and contribute positively to their communities.
The Township Ten
Career Readiness at Manheim Township School District
Elementary School
Awareness
Students in our elementary schools have a multitude of opportunities to experience the world of work through classroom instruction, field trips, guest speakers and career readiness lessons. Each child is encouraged to explore their developing strengths and interests through our diverse curriculum.
Landis Run
Exploration
Students begin to explore careers in a more personalized way. They learn about the importance of looking at their skills, interests and personality when determining if a career might be a good fit for them and worth further exploration. They participate in work-based learning experiences through JA BizTown, which combines in-class learning with a day-long visit to a simulated town. This popular learning experience allows elementary school students to operate banks, manage restaurants, write checks, and vote for mayor. Students are able to connect the dots between what they learn in school and the real world.
Middle School
Making Conenctions
Students will take courses that will help them to begin narrowing the focus of possible career options. Throughout their time at the Middle School, they will thoughtfully consider who they are, their strengths and interests and begin making connections to career clusters that could be a good fit. They will further explore important employability skills that are needed to succeed in school, work, and life.
High School
Planning and Management
Grades 9 and 10
Throughout freshman and sophomore year, students will explore course options while taking into consideration their skills, interests and personality. They will learn about multiple post-secondary options for the careers they are considering. Students will plan course sequencing that both aligns with their career interests and post-secondary needs while also learning the importance of getting involved in extracurricular opportunities.
Grade 11
Through personal reflection and opportunities offered by the HS Counseling Office and MTHS Advisory, juniors will research what is needed to be successful on the paths they are considering, assess themselves against those requirements and refine their plan as needed to meet their personal goals. This may be done through job shadows, interviews, career speakers and more. With these experiences students will be able to develop an actionable plan for their future.
Grade 12
During their senior year, students will execute their plan. Whether it is preparing for interviews, completing college applications or meeting with a recruiter - military or workforce, our students will be ready. The MTHS Counseling Office provides many opportunities to help students execute this next step.
Post-Graduation
Reflect
We encourage our graduates to continually reflect, study and refine their plan as they progress along their academic and career path. As a result of their learning experiences at MTSD, students should have the tools needed to navigate the world of work at any point in their lives, but should they need help making adjustments to their plan or they just want to connect, our College and Career Counselor is available to our graduates looking for support.
Blue Streak graduates are encouraged to complete a survey to reflect on their years at Manheim Township and to share their post-secondary experiences.
Pennsylvania's Measurement of Career Readiness
To help ensure that all students in Pennsylvania are on track for meaningful postsecondary engagement and success, the Pennsylvania Department of Education has included a measure of students’ career exploration, preparation, and readiness as part of Pennsylvania’s state and federal accountability system through the Future Ready PA Index and under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Pennsylvania schools are held accountable for ensuring each student meets the Pennsylvania Career Education and Work (CEW) Academic Standards. The CEW Standards focus on the following topics: Career Awareness and Preparation (13.1), Career Acquisition (13.2), Career Retention and Advancement (13.3) and Entrepreneurship (13.4).
The requirements are as follows:
- By the end of grade 5, the student has produced six or more pieces of evidence
- By the end of grade 8, the student has produced six additional pieces of evidence. One piece of the evidence for the 6-8 grade band must be the student’s individualized career plan.
- By the end of grade 11, the student has produced eight additional pieces of evidence. At least two of these pieces of evidence must demonstrate implementation of the student’s individualized career plan.
How will MTSD students complete these Career Portfolio requirements?
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K-6
- Evidence Collected: Counseling Lessons and Interdisciplinary Connections in ELA, Science, and Social Studies
- Examples: Personal Letter, Interests and Skills Reflection, Career Interview...
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Middle School
- Evidence Collected: College and Career Readiness I and II
- Examples: Career Matchmaker Results, Academic/Career Plan, Hard/Soft Skills Analysis...
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High School
- Graduation Requirement
- Evidence collected: Advisory Period and Freshman Academy
- Examples: Resume, Personal Statement, Interest Inventories...
MT Endorsement
Starting with the Class of 2025, students who complete their grade level Career Readiness Portfolio requirements and also meet additional criteria in the areas below will be considered for an MT Endorsement to be awarded their Senior Year. This is a credential that can be shared with post-secondary institutions or employers to demonstrate that the student is college, career, and life ready.
- GPA Requirements - unweighted GPA of 75% or higher
- Attendance Requirements - 95% or higher
- Demonstration of the Township Ten!
- Evaluation from Teacher or Employer
- Work-Based Learning Experience - must have two of the following:
- Industry-recognized credential
- Demonstration of industry skills through CTC
- Successful completion of a service learning project - min 10 hours
- Letter guaranteeing full-time employment or military enlistment
- Completion of an internship, externship, or cooperative education program
Industry Based Learning Indicator/Work-Based Learning Experiences
Another measure of Future Ready PA Reporting, the Industry-Based Learning Indicator is designed to evaluate how students are engaging in work-based and classroom-based activities by the end of 12th grade. Recognizing that industry-based learning activities should be developed and sustained throughout a student’s secondary level education, the Pennsylvania Department of Education recommends that school districts monitor students’ annual progress towards meeting the indicator.
The following experiences qualify for the Industry Based Learning Indicator.
- Industry Standards-Based Competency Assessments (NOCTI/NIMS): Score competent or advanced on Industry Standards-Based Competency Assessments (NOCTI/NIMS) by the end of the 12th grade.
- Industry Recognized Credential: Earn at least one industry recognized credential between grades 7 & 12.
- Work-based Learning Experience: Complete a work-based learning experience between grades 7 & 12 as listed below.
- Job Shadowing (3 separate job shadows, at minimum of 3 hours each)
- Internships
- Cooperative Education Programs
- Career Mentoring
- Apprenticeship
- Community-based Work Programs (students with IEPs)
- Community Service (60 Hours)
Students that meet the Industry-Based Learning Indicator by completing any of the work-based learning experiences above should submit documentation to the Counseling Office within their building. Students enrolled in the Career and Technology Center that meet the Industry-Based Learning Indicator criteria either by scoring competent or advanced on the NOCTI/NIMS assessment, earning an industry-recognized credential, or participating in a work-based learning experience do not need to submit documentation.
Industry Recognized Credentials
Industry-recognized credentials measure competence in core content and performance standards in a specific set of work-related tasks. The work-related tasks and assessment must connect and align with a student’s career interest, training, and workforce demands.
Benefits to students in obtaining industry-based credentials include:
- Shows that students are job-ready in a specific set of skills and knowledge required and recognized by business and industry
- Helps students stand out in today’s competitive job market
- Adds value to student transcripts for postsecondary education
- Adds value to student resumes when obtaining entry-level positions
Community Service
Manheim Township High School wishes to encourage and recognize students who are actively involved in community service. Students that would like their community service hours documented on their transcript must fill out and submit the Community Service form available in the HS Counseling Office. Hours must have a parent and supervisor signature. Students from the Class of 2025 should also save copies of any Community Service forms to their Schoology Career Readiness Portfolio if they would like their hours to be reviewed for the MT Endorsement.
Additional information and forms to document the above experiences can be found in the MTHS Educational Planning Guide. The EPG also provides details on how many of these activities or credentials can support Act 158 and Pathways to graduation.
Additional Resources related to Career Readiness
Interested in getting involved and sharing information about your career and professional experiences? You can do so in multiple ways:
Future Ready Index MTSD - To access the above indicators on the Pennsylvania Future Ready Index.