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LNHS Students: Hi, I'm Stella. I'm Lara. I'm Olivia. And we're from Lake Nona High School. Coming up is one of the coolest tools to help you plan for your future.

Student Announcer: Presented by Addition Financial Credit Union. Here's our OCPS Superintendent, Dr. Maria Vazquez.

Dr. Vazquez: Hi, everyone. Today we're talking about career pathways and how we do that with even our youngest learners in elementary school, then through middle and into high school. With me today are Ericka Scheid, the district's new Senior Director of Student Services; Karla Owens, Director of Academic Services; and Robert Palmer, Senior Administrator in Student Services. Welcome. 

Dr. Vazquez: It’s great to have you. All right, so Ericka, let's start with you. We begin planting those seeds of career pathways, starting in elementary school, right? Talk to us a little bit about what that looks like and what parents can expect.

Ericka Scheid, Senior Director of Student Services: Okay. So in elementary school, it's really about getting that curiosity and students having that self-discovery. And they do that through those Xello lessons. That happens that first week of school. So your student, if you have an elementary student, may be talking about it when they come home. In kindergarten through second grade, they are exploring on the Xello platform, Career Town. So they're exploring different job opportunities that may be available in the community. And then our third, fourth, and fifth graders are finding their interests. They are learning about how to be resilient, and then also learning tools that just help them with overall academic success.

Dr. Vazquez: It's also great for our families to have those conversations with their students - uh-huh. Beginning early on so that they, they, parents can help guide their child - Yes. In different directions, right? Definitely. All right. So, Karla, let's talk a little bit about Xello. I remember the first time I saw that, I go, "Oh my gosh, like, what is this?" And it's spelled X-E-L-L-O. Tell us.

Karla Owens, Director of Academic Services: Correct. So, absolutely. Xello is a K-12 college and career platform that we use to get students ready for their post-secondary goals. So, whether they want to go to college or university, whether they want to go to technical school, whether they want to join the military, or even just join the workforce right out of high school, they're prepared to do that.

Dr. Vazquez: It's a new tool, correct? Mm-Hmm. We just implemented it a couple of years ago. Right?  

Karla Owens: Right. Yes, we did. We kind of explored it a couple of years ago, kind of slowly delved into it a little bit then. Of course, now we are fully implemented in Xello. Yeah.

Dr. Vazquez: Robert, so let's, let's talk a little bit about why this is so important for our families to start to think about careers, pathways early on and not wait until high school. I remember when my children were in school, we didn't talk about careers formally and really didn't start planning until they were at the end of middle school. So share some info with our family.

Robert Palmer, Senior Administrator, Student Services: So it's so important to begin with the end in mind, especially as we have so many diverse and ranging options within OCPS that students can take advantage of as a part of their academic and extracurricular experiences. Xello allows for students to really take a proactive approach along with their families to have that end of career exploration that allows them to really think about some of those course planning options as they continue to go through our K-12 experience here at OCPS and use that to better align with their future goals, really making sure that as a part of their time here in OCPS, they're taking advantage of those options that may align with the opportunity to go into career and technical education or be more prepared for the workforce, but also maybe meet the competitive requirements to get into a four-year college or university.

Dr. Vazquez: So we've said it's a tool, right? And we want to make sure families know this is not a replacement for the individuals we have in our schools that are there to help guide through course selection and career pathways. So, can you speak to the support that is available at our school so families know how to engage?

Robert Palmer: Absolutely. As you mentioned, Xello is a tool. An important part of utilizing that tool effectively is going to be the student's School Counselor as a part of that process. And with their school counselor, the more the students engage with Xello, the more individualized advising their school counselor can provide to them. And then for our high school students, they also have a College and Career Specialist there that's an added layer of support to them, along with their high school counselor, to make sure that they graduate with a plan in place, whether it's enrolling, enlisting, employment, or deeper intentional exploration. So really using Xello as a part of that process as a tool to prepare, but also empower families outside of the school building to receive better support when they come back in working with that Student Services staff member.

Dr. Vazquez: All right. So, before we close out, I think one important thing for families to know is: how do I access Xello? So, do you want to speak a little bit to that?

Ericka Scheid: Sure. I can. So, parents received an email in July or August; check your spam or junk folder if you did not receive an email from Xello. And if you do not have one, reach out to the school. But it allows parents to connect their account with their student's account. So it links the two together. That gives the parents an opportunity to have conversations with their child about what their interests are. And it's really part of that whole collaborative process with the school team and the family team about helping the student move in the direction that they want to post-secondary.

Dr. Vazquez: All right. So great information. Xello is a tool. We want families to engage with our students, their child. They should have gotten an email. If not, reach out to the school. Correct. And as early as kindergarten, we can start having those conversations. So, thank you all for being here. Very important topic, and it allows our families and our students to really explore all the choices that are available to them. Well, I hope you have found this conversation to be of value to you. Thank you all for joining me today. Coming up on the podcast: how your College and Career Specialist can help you navigate career choices. Thank you for watching. Don't forget to like, follow, and subscribe. Have a great week.

Student Announcer: For an extended conversation on today's topic, listen to the Mondays with Maria Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts. Mondays with Maria is presented by Addition Financial Credit Union. Count us in for every step on your financial journey. Learn more at Additionfi.com. For more OCPS news and information, visit TheSlice.ocps.net. I'm your announcer, Jamir Jones, a student at OCVS. Thanks for watching, and have a great week.