Career Coaches Close the Gaps
In addition to the ACPS, Alabama is addressing its workforce skills gaps with the Career Coach Initiative. The program increases awareness in youth about career opportunities with over 100 career coaches throughout the state.
The career coaches cultivate students’ understanding of the process necessary to obtain their career goals, encourage and advise students as they complete Kuder assessments and build multi-year course plans, and help students navigate their post-graduation education and career paths. The career coaches also serve as the “missing link” between schools, businesses, and community leaders through networking with local chambers of commerce, regional workforce development councils, etc.
“I believe having career coaches in every high school is a huge factor that differentiates our approach to CTE,” said Melissa Godsey, a Lawrence County, Alabama career coach. “We help integrate the value of CTE in any field and encourage students to explore their options. I feel that we help students understand the significance and value of CTE,” she said.
Godsey pointed out that assessments help students begin meaningful exploration of career pathways and related education and training options based on their personal results. She and her fellow career coaches take students through this discovery process by identifying where students’ interests and values intersect with local industry needs and trends.
But Alabama isn’t relying solely on its career coaches to ensure students are future-ready: “Career development is the responsibility of all educators,” said Stevens. “Career development is everyone’s responsibility in school.”
HOW CAN YOUR CAREER COACH HELP YOU?
♦Represent the Career Coach Program in local high school and conduct
public relations efforts to promote the CTE programs
♦Provide career development guidance for high school student with
emphasis on technical programs
♦ Plan and implement student recruitment activities for technical
programs
♦ Assist prospective students with career exploration activities and career
assessments
♦ Assist prospective students with admissions and financial aid and
resignation procedures of college
♦ Provide guidance to students regarding career choices
♦ Conduct high school classroom presentation promoting college and
career programs and activities
♦ Provide prospective student with information regarding the current job
market trends in career choices
♦ Schedule and attend college campus tours and industry tours with high
school students
♦ Coordinate job shadowing opportunities for students
♦ Maintain ongoing database of students and classrooms that services are
offered
♦ Comply with all policies of the LEA and the State Department of
Education
FAFSA SEASON IS HERE!!!
Your Career Coach can help! Need to know what to bring to your Career Coach? See below for all the info needed to complete your FAFSA for the 2022-2023 school year.
If you need financial aid to help pay for college, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. The 2021–22 FAFSA form is available beginning Oct. 1, 2020. You should fill it out as soon as possible on or after Oct. 1 at the official government site, fafsa.gov.
It’ll be easier to complete the FAFSA form if you gather what you need ahead of time. Here’s what you’ll need to fill it out.
1. Create a Parent FSA Account (we already made a student account in class)
Create an FSA Account
2. Your Social Security Number
If you are not a U.S. citizen but meet Federal Student Aid’s other eligibility criteria, you’ll also need your Alien Registration number. Both parents and students need this information for the FAFSA form.
3. Your Driver’s License Number
If you don’t have a driver’s license, don’t worry about this step.
4. Your 2019 Tax Records
On the 2021–22 FAFSA form, you (and your parents if you are a dependent student) will report your 2019 income information.
- Since you’ll probably already have filed your 2019 taxes by the time the FAFSA form is available, you may be eligible to import your tax information into the FAFSA form right away using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT).
- Not everyone is eligible to use the IRS DRT, and the IRS DRT does not input all the financial information required on the FAFSA form. Therefore, you should have your 2019 tax return and 2019 IRS W-2 available for reference.
The IRS DRT is the fastest, most accurate way to input your tax return information into the FAFSA form. To address security and privacy concerns related to the IRS DRT, the tax return information you transfer from the IRS will not display on
- You cannot use your 2020 tax information. We understand that for some families, 2020 income doesn’t accurately reflect your current financial situation. If you have experienced a reduction in income since the 2020 tax year, you should complete the FAFSA form with 2020 information, and then contact each of the schools to which you’re applying to explain and document the change in income. Schools have the ability to assess your situation and adjust your FAFSA form if warranted.
5. Records of Your Untaxed Income
The FAFSA questions about untaxed income, such as child support, interest income, and veterans’ non-education benefits, may or may not apply to you. On the 2021-22 FAFSA form, you’ll report 2019 tax or calendar year information when asked these questions.
6. Records of Your Assets (Money)
This section includes savings and checking account balances, as well as the value of investments such as stocks, bonds, and real estate excluding your primary residence. Report the current amounts as of the date you sign the FAFSA form, rather than reporting the 2019 tax year amounts.