DESCRIPTION:

‍ Rural schools often know their students better than anyone. They know who shows up early, who works after school, who is quiet but capable, who is drifting, who is overwhelmed, and who might just need one adult to ask the right question at the right time. And yet, even in small communities, schools can still struggle to answer three surprisingly difficult questions: Are students okay? Do they have direction? Are they ready for life after high school? The challenge is not that rural schools lack commitment. They have plenty of that. The challenge is that student engagement, Academic and Career Planning (ACP), course selection, career exploration, readiness, and business partnerships often live in separate places—different staff, different systems, different spreadsheets, and different meetings for the same students. This session introduces Opening Doors, a year-long framework designed to help rural schools connect those pieces into one coordinated system.

Session Explanation

The idea is simple: Engagement without direction develops students who feel connected to school but drift without a sense of purpose. (When am I ever going to use this?) Career preparation without engagement shows students what’s possible but leaves them unsupported and unmotivated to pursue it. (Where do I start? Am I going to graduate?) Readiness without both becomes a state-mandated checklist instead of a launchpad. Using the eighth-to-ninth-grade transition as one example, presenters will show how schools can use student voice data to identify kids who may need support before they fall off track. The session will then connect that transition work to a broader framework (called Opening Doors) that helps schools measure engagement, support career exploration, assess life/work/college readiness, strengthen course planning, and build meaningful partnerships with local businesses and community organizations. Because this system has already been in use across rural Wisconsin districts (from Peshtigo and Marinette to Tomahawk and Rhinelander), we can leave attendees with real and practical ways to think about student pathways across the school year:

• Fall: Are students okay?

• Winter: Do students have direction?

• Spring: Are students ready? ‍

HERE IS THE FULL DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTATION