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Career Development Overview
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Our Career and Technical Education (CTE) program is designed to assist students in making knowledgeable career choices that will prepare them to be globally competitive in the workforce, prepare students for employment opportunities, advanced education and productive lives.
CTE promotes best practices that enhance teachers' efforts to improve student achievement and encourage responsible career choices. We want to meet students' needs, cultivate their abilities and help them realize their aspirations. Your Career Development Coordinator can help you develop the skills you need to become career, college and citizenship ready.
Contact Us
Julie Dixon
jdixon@wcpss.net
919-363-1870,
ext. 21584
Become a business alliance partner! Complete our Interest Form.
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Career Development Coordinator
My name is Julie Dixon. I have a special job at Salem Middle School with a blended role of School Counselor and Career Development Coordinator. I am working on the Track 4 Schedule, but I will support all students at SMS with their career readiness and understanding of the world of work.
I am excited to meet all of our students and engage them in development across the spectrum of their personal, social, academic, and career growth. At Salem Middle School, I will be coordinating with teachers to visit classrooms. Utilizing tools such as Major Clarity and NC Careers are excellent ways to have students process information about their personality and interests and compare it against research based data. I am always trying to connect their decisions to their future.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What is School-to-Career?
School-to-Career (STC) is an initiative and a philosophy. It is a method of delivering curriculum to our students that links classroom knowledge to real life. Students learn better when information is made relevant, and STC ensures that relevancy occurs by linking schoolwork to workplace realities. School-to-Career links the world of school to the world of work by supporting school-based activities such as classroom speakers, mentors, soft-skills presentations, and real-world activities and by infusing these into the Common Core through collaboration between members of the business community and classroom teachers.
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What is a Career Development Coordinator?
The Career Development Coordinator is responsible for:
- Providing career development services for all students
- Facilitating a network of parents, business professionals, college/university educators, and community organizations
- Supporting students’ transition to high school
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What does the Career Development Coordinator do for students?
The Career Development Coordinator provides a number of career-related experiences for students, including:
Job Shadow Opportunities - Enabling students to be present in a “real world” job site, personally witnessing the connection between classroom and career.
Guest Speakers - Providing students the opportunity to hear from an individual in a specific field (their career of interest) discuss the aspects of their work.
Field Trips - Exposing students to the real world of work, reinforcing what is being taught in their classroom.
Interest Inventories - Assessing students on what careers best fit them, as well as providing opportunities to learn about careers unfamiliar to them
Career Fairs/Days - Introducing students to a wide variety of real world professions and professionals.
Tutors/Mentors - Pairing students with members of the Business Alliance for career and academic support
Service Learning Opportunities - Integrating meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities -
What is a business alliance?
Salem Middle School Business Alliance is a collaboration of business, community, and school leaders committed to educating each student to be a responsible and productive citizen who can effectively manage future challenges. Through the support, dedication and commitment of our volunteers, we are able to provide a variety of opportunities to our students that help them understand the skills needed to become successful in their future.
If you are interested in joining our Business Alliance, please complete this Google Form.