ICAP (Individual Career and Academic Plan)

The academic curriculum at Colcord High School prepares students to create a future of their design including careers that continue to emerge. Beyond academics, students are best served by engaging in a purposeful exploration of the world of work, learning about the relationship between potential careers and their personal values, interests, and strengths. Students will be introduced to concepts related to postsecondary planning through the postsecondary curriculum. In May 2017, the Oklahoma State legislature passed legislation that introduces the concept of an Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP), a required element for all students in grades 9th-12^th grades. During the 2018 and 2019 academic school years, pilot programs were developed in the state of Oklahoma. The ICAP will be in implementation at Colcord High School during the 2019-2020 school year beginning with all freshmen students.

What Does an ICAP at Colcord High School involve?

The elements and activities included in a student's grade level ICAP help a student link the student's interests, current choices and achievements to his/her future opportunities in higher education and the world of work. The activities within the student's ICAP portfolio are designed to help the student define personal goals; identify personal strengths using career and interest surveys, and understand the benefit of planning ahead as well as maintaining an accurate record of personal information. Students will explore careers through learning about “career clusters,” accessing online career based videos, and will gain an understanding of the postsecondary education that a particular career might require.  Colcord HS will be using the OK Career Guide as a tool to help implement the ICAP plans for our freshmen students during the course of this school year.

A student's ICAP will be housed and maintained in the student’s personal account on OK Career Guide. Students will update and complete tasks in their grade level ICAP during monthly sessions. The monthly sessions will take place in a required freshmen class (Introduction to AG, Family Consumer Sciences I, or Careers).

Each ICAP will include:

• Four-year academic plan
• ICAP Goals and Yearly Benchmarks
• Standardized Test Scores
• An ongoing record of extracurricular activities and achievements 

By Grade level, the ICAP may include:

• Interest Survey Results
• Career Interest Survey Results
• Possible postsecondary institutions/pathways
• Possible careers and majors
• Financial Aid and Scholarship Information
• Post-secondary Documentation
• Record of student's college and post-secondary applications
• Record of student's progress toward securing scholarships and financial aid

Perspectives from Employers:
The 21st Century Ready Skills that employers are looking for in future employees include:

• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Information management
• Collaboration skills
• Self-direction
• Invention (innovation)
• The ability to apply all of the above!

Employers also observe that an individual's work ethic, facility in oral communications and a sense of social responsibility are factors in evaluating a new employee's ability to positively contribute to their organization. For more on the employer's perspective, watch this video!

Useful Resources for CAREER EXPLORATION

ASVAB Career Exploration Program Once a student has taken the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery, this site will assist with interpretation of the results and with consequent career exploration strategies.

Career Clusters Take a look at these graphs and learn about multiple careers that fall under a general category that you may have already identified.

Integris Job Shadowing Opportunity

Occupational Outlook Handbook  Explore career projections; earnings; descriptions; educational requirements.

O*Net Interest Profiler  Learn how your interests might relate to a number of careers.

https://daok.org/

Career One-Stop Career exploration, training and jobs sponsored by the Dept. of Labor

Education Planner This site offers career assessments and much more!

What Can I do With a Major In? Explore the wide variety of careers that a college major will prepare you for.

Career Cornerstone Center  This site has a wealth of information about careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Computing and Healthcare

Reality Check   This site helps students to discover which careers will allow them to afford their desired lifestyle. We will also attend a planned Reality Check Event that will be hosted at the local Tech Center during the course of the school year.

SUGGESTED TIMELINE FOR ICAP COMPLETION

This suggested timeline is not a requirement but rather provides a structure to ensure that students use their ICAPs continuously throughout the school year, and reach 100% completion. ** Beginning 2019 - 2020 school year ICAP Implementation must begin with all ninth grade students, however these activities can be implemented as early as the sixth grade. 

SEPTEMBER

Career Awareness - Using one of the free online tools allow students to complete the appropriate surveys, allow time for discussion of results. All results are to be saved in the online tool for further review.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Goals - Using one of the free online tools allow students to use completed surveys to explore career clusters, post - secondary plans, and set post - secondary goals. All results are to be saved in the online tool for further review.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY

E - Portfolio - Using one of the free online tools allow students to use completed surveys to explore career clusters, post - secondary plans, and set post - secondary goals. All results are to be saved in the online tool for further review.

MARCH/APRIL

Plan / Program of Study - Using findings from completed surveys to explore career clusters, post - secondary plans, and set post - secondary goals, complete a plan of study choosing offered courses with consideration to post - secondary goals. In appropriate grades students should also use results from aforementioned tools to select or explore a program of study offered at a career tech center or make progress towards a degree i.e. concurrent.  All results are to be saved in the online tool for further review.

MAY

Parent Review: Parents/guardians should review the ICAPs prior to the Annual ICAP Review, and before June of every school year.

What is an ICAP?                     Why an ICAP?                      ICAP Components

ICAP Timeline                          ICAP FAQ’s                           Career Development Checklist

OK Career Guide  Sign-Up Instructions                             Counselor Scholarship Pages