Career Exploration

Learn about careers and how we connect each one to your school!

The Career Exploration program introduces students to the concept of careers, workplace expectations, and self-discovery.

Through interactive projects, personality assessments, and exposure to all twelve CTE fields at Porter’s Academy, students identify their interests, strengths, and potential career pathways.

This course serves as the foundation for the entire Porter’s Academy model — helping students connect daily CTE experiences with long-term goals.

Daily Activities in Your Building

During this course, students engage in structured daily learning designed to build confidence, awareness, and readiness for the CTE pathway they will join next semester.

✔ Explore All 12 CTE Career Fields

Students learn what each CTE does inside your school and which real-world careers are connected to each pathway.

✔ Hands-On Mini Tasks & Career Simulations

From quick design activities to health demonstrations, basic trade tasks, communication exercises, and more, students get a taste of multiple industries.

✔ Guest Speakers & Career Panels

Professionals from healthcare, trades, education, law enforcement, manufacturing, and community partners share their experiences and answer students’ questions.

✔ Interviews With Staff & CTE Student Leaders

Students conduct structured interviews with:

CTE Managers and Assistant Managers
Teachers and support staff
Visiting professionals

This builds communication, confidence, and workplace awareness.

✔ Building Tours of Every CTE Workspace

Students tour each room to see how the Broadcasting team runs announcements, how Graphic Design produces merchandise, how Trades completes repairs, and how Home Ec supports food service and events.

✔ Self-Discovery & Personal Assessments

Students complete:

Career interest inventories
Personality assessments
Skills & values surveys
Goal-setting reflections

This helps them understand who they are and what careers may fit them best.

✔ Career Notebook & Reflection Activities

Students build a personalized career portfolio including notes, assessments, interview summaries, and reflections on each CTE and career field.

✔ Selecting Their CTE Pathway

At the end of the semester, students use all the collected data to choose their top pathways for the remaining five semesters of middle school.

Curriculum & Skills Learned

Students completing Career Exploration build foundational skills in:

Understanding all 12 CTE pathways
Workplace expectations & professionalism
Time management and personal responsibility
Communication & interview skills
Goal setting
Digital literacy
Teamwork and self-advocacy
Career awareness and early planning

This course establishes the foundation for success in the simulated workplace.

What Makes This Program Different

Unlike a traditional one-day career lesson or stand-alone elective, Career Exploration at Porter’s Academy is:

Fully connected to your building’s real CTE system

Students see firsthand how career fields operate through real student-run jobs.

Hands-on, engaging, and personalized

Students actively do tasks from each industry, not just read about them.

Designed for pathway selection

Students choose a meaningful 3-year CTE placement based on real data and experience, not a random elective.

A launchpad for the Simulated Workplace

Career Exploration prepares every student to enter a real job role within their chosen CTE team in January.

What Makes Career Exploration Different

Fully integrated into the school day (NOT a stand-alone elective)
Tied to daily CTE job responsibilities and real work-order systems
Created specifically for schools that face staffing shortages, resource limitations, or high student need
Provides a unified framework that connects all 12 CTEs into one buildingwide simulated workplace
Helps schools build student culture, purpose, attendance, and pride from the inside out