Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Section 1
Mariposa High School is the main high school campus for the mostly rural county of Mariposa. Situated in the Sierra Nevada foothills and including most of Yosemite National Park within its boundaries, Mariposa County has a total population of 17,130 residents. Tourism is the primary economic base for the county as 3.4 million people visit Yosemite per year. Most of our counties residents are employed in service industries relating to tourism or for the various local, state, and federal government agencies that operate within the county. Our high school was established in 1914 and its main building was constructed in 1937, a product of the New Deal programs during the Great Depression. Current enrollment stands at about 640 of our districts 2,360 students. The Grizzlies have maintained California Distinguished School status for many years and continue to perform well on the STAR tests. Though the waves of budget cuts over the past ten years have stripped most of our old vocational programs we have an excellent ROP program that provides education and experience in the fields of welding, firefighting, and multimedia. Many of our students go from these programs directly to jobs in these fields. Mariposas lack of a large industrial base for its economy means that many of its residents are employed in service industries. Consequently our school serves a population that is 30% economically disadvantaged. One
percent of our population consists of English learners and 14 percent are identified as having disabilities. Despite the economic challenges, however, our school maintains a 98.7% graduation rate.
Section 2
September Exploring Career Options
Begin the year with a topic that is of high interest to the students themselves and their interests. Considering and exploring careers of interest should help the students understand the relevance of academic and transitional activities that will follow throughout the school year. Activity 1: Complete personal inventories, listing hobbies, interests and current career goals. Follow up with whole class discussions that focus on descriptions of and paths to the careers identified by the students. Activity 2: Complete a career interest assessment at California Career Zone (www.cacareerzone.org) and report the results, along with a listing of the required skills and education for two careers of interest. Guest Speaker 1: Guidance counselor Guest Speaker 2: Professionals from the areas of interest indicated by the students.
Guest Speaker 1: An owner or manager of a local business who can discuss what he/she looks for when reviewing resumes of potential employees. Guest Speaker 2: A school administrator or other government agency employee to discuss what he/she looks for when reviewing resumes of potential employees.
Guest Speaker 2: A representative from the Department of Rehabilitation who can discuss job placement and the assistance they can provide for educational funding.
Guest Speaker 1: Merced College representative to discuss costs of college and instruct students about how to properly complete the FAFSA. Guest Speaker 2: Representative from Merced Colleges Disabled Student Services office to present the departments services.
Activity 2: Prepare a list of interview questions that inquire as to the expectations of college teachers and conduct an interview of a college student. Turn in the responses in writing. Guest Speaker 1: Local business person to discuss general expectations of employees. Guest Speaker 2: A former MCHS student who is currently attending college classes to discuss general expectations of college teachers.
Section 3
I have been teaching U.S. and world history, civics and economics, and study skills at Mariposa High School for ten years as of this month. In addition to my teaching and other duties I am a case manager for twenty-five students. Transition planning is, of course, a major component of high school IEP writing and it has been the most enjoyable aspect of the process for me. When I first began working with special education students I encountered an appalling level of self-doubt among the mild-moderate students in my classroom. Many of them believed that they would be incapable of educational achievement beyond high school and had never considered attending a college or trade school. More appalling were the low expectations for the academic performance and potential of these students. The first step to successfully transition a student is to ensure that the student believes they can successfully transition. By increasing academic expectations, these students and those who have followed them have become believers in their own abilities and many have pursued postsecondary education successfully. Beyond encouraging an I can attitude in my students I have helped them to determine careers that match their interests and abilities and helped them to take steps that have bridged the gap from secondary to postsecondary education. In my study skills classes my students are required to complete a career interest inventory using the California Career Zone website that I referenced in the above plan. The process leads them to a listing of jobs that may be of
interest to them based on the information provided by their answers to 150 questions. I require them to report the skills and education that are required for the three jobs that interest them the most from the listing. Ive never made transition planning a part of my history classes, though I plan to use biographical projects to have my students learn resume writing and become aware of basic and specific job requirements for a variety of fields. During their senior year I have my civics and economics students complete the reality check exercise referenced in my career education plan. Additionally I have them apply for a pin and complete the online FAFSA forms as part of our second semester grade. Finally, I have taken my seniors on a field trip to Merced College in the spring where we meet with the Disabled Student Services and tour the campus facilities and services. Since taking these trips many of my students have enrolled at Merced and other colleges. Several have graduated with certificates or degrees and many others are still attending. As these students have returned to visit, and even participate in our annual tours, they have provided great encouragement to the students who are currently in our program.