Background
Why have a Career Lab?
While sporadic classroom presentations of careers occurred each year, the school’s
Site Based Team wanted to build a parent career database from which teachers could
request parent volunteers to do workshops with students. In 2007, Ms. Lilavois suggested
it was time to move forward with a full-scale event that would provide a forum for
parents to showcase their careers while addressing the NY State Career Development
and Occupational Studies (CDOS) Standards at the elementary level.
The CDOS standards for K-12 are:
Standard 1 – Career Development
• Who am I? Where am I going? How do I get there?
Students will be knowledgeable about the world of work, explore career options,
and relate personal skills, aptitudes, and abilities to future career decisions.
Standard 2 – Integrated Learning
• What am I learning? Why am I learning it? How can I use it?
Students will demonstrate how academic knowledge and skills are applied in the workplace
and other settings.
Standard 3a – Universal Foundation Skills
• What do I need to know? What skills are important to me?
Students will demonstrate mastery of the foundation skills and competencies essential
for success in the workplace
For more information:
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/pub/cdoslea.pdf
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/cte/careerplan/docs/cdos4panel.pdf
At its core, the Career Laboratory echoes the tenets of Renzulli’s model of Schoolwide
Enrichment (Renzulli, 1977; Renzulli & Reis, 1985, 1997) which focuses on enrichment
for all students through high levels of engagement. The Career Laboratory provides
those enrichment activities designed to expose students to a wide variety of disciplines,
topics, occupations, hobbies, persons, places, and events.
Ms. Lilavois had created and implemented a successful schoolwide enrichment program,
Expeditions, in another setting. In Expeditions, students in grades 3-5 participated
in enrichment clusters over a 10-12 week period to investigate real-world topics
they had selected. That program and this one reflect Ms. Lilavois’ belief that students
must have opportunities to:
a) make their own learning choices;
b) interact with experts in their field of interest; and
c) participate in meaningful, authentic projects.
The Career Laboratory embodies this educational philosophy, combining both state
expectations and well-respected research, to provide an unparalleled experience
to engage our children in meaningful work.
For more information:
http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/sem/
http://www.renzullilearning.com/
http://www.aps.edu/aps/gifted/renzulli.html