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Lower Savannah Region Career Specialist

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Time to prepare your End Of Year report!

As the 24-25 school year comes to a close, don’t forget to take the time to gather and share the results of your counseling program. More specifically, how did your students’ attitudes, knowledge, and skills change because of your program? What changes did they experience in attendance, discipline, or achievement? Sharing results using an End of end-of-year report could help your stakeholders make necessary connections between your work and student success.

What is an End of the Year Report?
An End of the Year Report is a report you create to show how many students you served, how many counseling and career lessons you taught, and even how much time you spent with students! You can use it to show anything; student self-assessment and survey data, behavior progress individual students made, etc.

Why use an End of the Year Report?
It is a great way to highlight your program’s impact on students! You can showcase all the data you’ve been collecting all year, and your stakeholders can see what’s working (and sometimes what’s not!). It’s a great way to reflect on and modify your program to best fit all students’ needs.

Don’t Know Where or How to Start?
Check out this Resource from Hatching Results with FREE TEMPLATES!

Contact

Jean Rickenbaker

Jean Rickenbaker
Lower Savannah Regional Career Specialist
rickenbakerjh@octech.edu
803.535.1232

Seals of Distinction Updates:

Here is short video on how to code the Seals of Distinction in PowerSchool. Be sure to check with your district-level Seals of Distinction Contact to ensure that recipients are identified (students must earn a SC high school diploma to be eligible for Seals of Distinction):

Questions? Contact Wendy Stephens: wstephens@ed.sc.gov

Here are some important reminders about the Seals of Distinction:

Earned Seals of Distinction are coded in PowerSchool on the SC Student Information page. Only earned and verified Seals of Distinction should be entered on this page. The Postgraduate Student Email is also on that page!

The deadline to enter earned Seals of Distinction and postgraduate student email addresses in PowerSchool:

  • June 15, 2025 for spring graduates.
  • August 31, 2025 for summer graduates 
24-25 Seals of Distinction Overview and Guidelines

Individual Graduation Plan Updates:

  • All students in grades eight through twelve must complete an Individual Graduation Plan (IGP) during the 2024-25 academic year.
  • The deadline to complete IGPs will be set by your District EEDA Accountability Coordinator. If you are unsure of your deadline, reach out to your District EEDA Accountability Coordinator.
  • Be sure all completed 24-25 IGPs are marked ‘Primary’ on the students’ IGP Success Planner page.

You can access IGP reports by clicking “Real Time Reports” under the Level Data heading in Power School to track IGP completion and ensure that 100% of the IGPs are ‘locked’ and ‘primary’ in compliance with the state-mandated reporting.

Once all students’ IGPs are completed, locked, and designated ‘Primary’, take a screenshot of the Level Data IGP Analysis Report showing 100% completion. Save the screenshot as verification that all IGPs were completed. 

Helpful Videos

IGP Reports
IGP Common Mistakes to avoid
My P I logo

mypi

The South Carolina Department of Education – Office of Career and Technical Education and Student Transitional Services will offer a four-time national award-winning youth preparedness, leadership and educational outreach program known as MyPI (My Preparedness Initiative) for teenagers across South Carolina.

Learn more

OCtech Advanced Manufacturing and Truck Driving Programs

Automotive Technology

Electronic Instrumentation

Engineering Design

Industrial Technology

Machine Tool Technology

Mechatronics

Truck Driving

Welding

CTE and Career Training Program Videos

These videos highlight different programs and careers from around the Region to provide students a look into some of their many educational options. If you have a video you would like featured here, please contact Jean Rickenbaker.

More Videos

Padlets

Helpful and interesting updates from around the state

SCOIS Padlet

Made with Padlet
SCOIS Padlet

SC 7 CS Updates by A. Duvall

Made with Padlet
SC & CS Updates

SC Workbased Learning

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SC Workbased Learning

Event Schedule

Mark your calendars!  View events that we have planned throughout the year and makes plans early to participate:

View the events

Resources

  • EVERFI – Digital Lessons for Life Skills such as Social-Emotional Learning, Health & Wellness, Financial Capability, & Career Readiness.
  • PBS Kids – Activities, e-learning books, games, and apps such as Play and Learn Engineering, The Cat In the Hat Invents, Molly of Denali, Ready, Jet Go! Spa Scouts, Sid’s Science Fair, Jet’s Bot Builder, Splash & Bubbles for Parents, The Cat In the Hat Builds That!, Play and Learn Science. They also feature Prankster Planet, PBS Parents Play and Learn, Super Why! Power to Read, and many more exciting apps and games to learn and choose from.
  • Focus2 –  This website assists students to connect their interests with college majors and career opportunities.  Students can also design a resume.
  • TALLO – This website provides career advice and networking for students. Students may be matched with jobs, scholarships and internship opportunities.  Tallo Marketing & Classroom Tool Kit
  • Career Builder – This website provides another option for students to build a resume and explore careers.
  • Resume Builder – This website provides resume tips as students build an online resume.
  • O*Net – This is a counselor focused tool for career exploration and job analysis. It has detailed descriptions of the world of work for the use of job seekers, workforce development, HR professionals, and student researchers.
  • Jobs Made Real – By Teens for Teens: Discover Your Career Path
  • CareerOneStop – This site includes the Career Exploration Toolkit, career self assessments, occupation profiles, skills matchers, and career videos.
  • At-Home Learning: KnowItAll.org – This is resource Is updated weekly with K5-6 grade and 7th grade -12 grade. It is comprised of resources from SCETV to assist students with their subjects at home. There is a wealth of information on SCETV for parents, students, counselors, and teachers to utilize.
  • SC Works
  • Roadtrip Nation
  • I Defy
  • I Made It
  • CA Career Zone
  • Today’s Military – There are hundreds of ways to make a living in the Military, and many of these careers provide the training and experience needed for a rewarding second career in the private sector.
  • NASA Quest – Women of NASA -This site was developed to encourage, more young women to pursue career in math, science, and technology.
  • Career Videos – Career Videos by Dr. Kit who is a Psychology Professor at Bishop State Community College in Mobile, Alabama.  He developed Dr. Kit website 3 years ago and he works on it in his spare time.  He won the website at a conference and this is what he decided to make out of it.  He has been teaching Psychology for approximately 30 years.
  • Career Village: This online community provides a forum for students to ask questions about career exploration and planning directly to current professionals. From “How much does a music producer earn?” to “How to find your dream job,” students are able to have their specific questions answered from real-life professionals working in the fields they are exploring.
  • Job Shadow: At Job Shadow, students can read interviews from professionals working in a vast number of fields, including some more unique professions that might be of interest to students such as jobs in the arts, roles that involve work with animals, and “jobs you may not have heard of.” Students can also search for interviews based on compensation structure or work environment.
  • Be Something Amazing - Health Care Career - Learn more about health careers in SC
  • College Essay Guy - Help with college admissions essays
  • ACT CCRW Toolkit

To request a Resume Workshop or Mock Interviews, contact Jean Rickenbaker at rickenbakerjh@octech.edu.

RESUME WORKSHOPS AND MOCK INTERVIEWS
We can provide a customized Workshop upon request.
CAREER FAIRS

  • Provide contacts for a successful Career Fair
  • Relay tips for a successful Career Fair
  • Assist in planning for a Virtual Career Fair

Here is a great example of a successful Virtual Career Fair:  Wade Hampton High School’s (Greenville SC)  VIRTURAL CAREER FAIR

FIELD TRIPS AND INDUSTRY TOURS
We can provide contacts for scheduling tours for classes or groups.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

Career Cluster Information:

Career and Technical Education:

Career Specialist Resources

Counselor Resources

Training for counselors is provided in the Lower Savannah Region in the following areas:

U.S. Dept of Education Crisis Planning Guide

FEMA Ready Kids: Flooding

FEMA Ready Kids: Hurricanes

ASCA Webinar Effective Crisis/Trauma Response

  • SCOIS – South Carolina Occupational Information System-This system has a three-part system, which includes an elementary/middle, high school, and Post-Secondary exploration. It has a wealth of up-to-date information for counselors, students, and teachers to utilize.
  • O*Net – A great tool for career exploration and job analysis. It has detailed descriptions of the world of work for the use of job seekers, workforce development, HR professionals, and student researchers. You can also browse information/job codes in the military to find what the equivalent job would be in civilian life.
  • Bureau of Labor and Statistics explains about wages by the area that one lives in, occupation, data, tools, career outlook, employment projection, pay, and benefits.
  • SC Department of Employment and Workforce Development – This is the Employment Security Commission where they have upgraded their system drastically and made everything electronic.  You can file for unemployment benefits, look for a job, tax information, input your information for looking for a job, etc.
  • SC DEW Workforce Information Panel
  • US Department of Labor- To foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.
  • Career One Stop
  • Occupational Outlook Handbook – Occupational Outlook Handbook-Published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Occupational Outlook Handbook is a nationally recognized source of career information, designed to provide valuable assistance to individuals making decisions about their future work lives.

This website is a trusted source for Career and Post-Secondary exploration and interests.  The SCOIS career skills inventory allows students to connect their interests to a Career Cluster occupation.  Students can design a resume and access MicroCareerBurst Job Shadowing.  (If you do not have a password, please contact SCOISASSISTANCE@ed.sc.gov  or 1-800-264-9038. )

Technologies to Explore Career Options and Virtual Reality

Hands-on, interactive, and dynamic experiences are important to engage students and give them a realistic window into what a career will entail. Some of the most innovative work in career exploration is utilizing virtual reality (VR) to provide immersive experiences for students to do jobs. Though internships, apprenticeships, and other immersive, real-world experiences are only possible for a small number of students, VR can provide access to the environments, tools, and opportunities in a wide variety of industries without leaving the classroom.

  • Oculus VR Career Experience: This free resource designed for the Oculus Go platform, the most popular consumer VR headset, provides students with the opportunity to learn the complex world of pipe fitting, HVAC, and welding. The application was designed by the International Training Fund of the United Association, an international union of plumbers, fitters, and technicians, to provide students with an immersive and realistic window into these jobs.
  • ByteSpeed: ByteSpeed, available for a fee, provides students ranging from elementary school to higher education a wide variety of career VR experiences including agriculture, fashion design, health care, and engineering.
  • SC Codes – free online coding courses
  • Computer Science and Engineering Resources for Women in STEM
  • SCBIO K-12 Workforce Initiative – The SCBIO Foundation is committed to inspiring, developing, and cultivating the next generation of life sciences workforce. We partner with SCBIO investors to bring career-based learning into the classroom for students and teachers.
  • Teen Science Cafe – Teen Science Café out-of-school programs are a free, fun way for teens to explore the big advances in science and technology affecting their lives. Teens and STEM experts engage in lively conversations and activities to explore a topic deeply.
  • Learning Blade – Complete toolbox of online lessons, projects, and activities designed to grab your students attention while introducing them to the careers, tools and technologies found throughout the STEM fields.
  • The South Carolina Aquarium Teen Science Café out-of-school programs are a free, fun way for teens to engage in lively, educational conversations with STEM experts.  For teens ages 13-17 via Zoom.
  • Career Videos – Career Videos by Dr. Kit who is a Psychology Professor at Bishop State Community College in Mobile, Alabama.  He developed Dr. Kit website 3 years ago and he works on it in his spare time.  He won the website at a conference and this is what he decided to make out of it.  He has been teaching Psychology for approximately 30 years.
  • Glossary of Coding and Programming Terms

Student Information System Power School Data Entry Manual 2022

23-24 Activity Coding Systems Manual Excel Table  (Questions about this table may be directed to Nicole Ivery at nivery@ed.sc.gov )

PowerSchool-Cheat-Sheet

PowerSchool Webinar Video

Enrich Seals of Distinction Report Webinar Video and Instruction Flyer

Junior Achievement of SC – Junior Achievement USA provides several ways that you can get involved whether you’re someone looking to volunteer, part of a district or school looking for educational materials, or part of a business looking to help us expand the reach of our mission. Junior Achievement USA is providing free online resources to teachers and parents. We are doing this so our kids can spend more time planning for and dreaming about tomorrow, and less time worrying about today. We are committed to doing this until we can all be certain again.

CTE Student Organizations

All Work-Based Learning must be entered into PowerSchool no later than May 30, 2025.

DID YOU KNOW?  OCtech has placed students in Mechatronics, Machine Tool and Welding apprenticeships.

3250 St. Matthews Road
Orangeburg, SC 29118

Information:

803.536.0311
info@octech.edu

Admissions:

803.535.1234
info@octech.edu
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