LM May 2017 Final

NewIASApartnershipseeks to bring clarity to complexprocess of college/career choices

By Michael Chamness IASA Director of Communications

The Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA) is entering into a partnership with MajorClarity, a new company that has developed a system allowing students to “test drive” careers and majors and utilizing algorithms to help students discover more about how their interests and abilities mesh before making final decisions embarking on college or career paths. It’s a new type of college-and-career readiness tool that IASA Executive Director Dr. Brent Clark says “embodies tremendous potential.” “This approach harnesses intellectual capacity to benefit students, parents and schools,” Clark said. “This can serve as an additional tool that can be a wonderful guide for kids and their parents to be able to bring clarity to what lies beyond the high school doors. It has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of dollars by avoiding having students pursuing a college major or a career that likely would not be a good match for their interests and capabilities.” Atticus Francken, one of the co-founders of MajorClarity, said that the technology platform was developed to offer students “unparalleled exposure to careers through our video responses to real student questions and one-of-a-kind career simulation activities.”

The plan starts students in the program when they are in junior high and follows them all the way through high school to help identify post-secondary options ranging from the selection of colleges to technical schools or labor/trade careers. “We match students with colleges based on their academics and the careers they have actually explored and we connect them with colleges that are interested in recruiting them,” Francken explained. “We do the same for students interested in technical schools, apprenticeship programs, and internship opportunities.” The program also assists school counselors by tracking students’ strengths, interests and college/career pursuits and organizing that information in an easy to use dashboard. It automates the creation of academic and career plans for students and simplifies sending them to parents for approvals/ signatures, something schools are legally obligated to do in many states. The system provides state-of-the-art privacy and security at every step of the process. The platform also creates customizable plans of study for high school students to follow and allows schools to seamlessly track students’ progress, flagging students at risk of falling behind. MajorClarity successfully piloted the program in New York City schools during the 2015-16 school year. A statement from the NYC Department of Education said: “MajorClarity brought the most tangible value to our students’ futures. It’s a wonderful addition to our school curriculum.”

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